Chat, notifications, and alerts in Librarius

Chat and notifications are Librarius short-form channels: what does not belong on a public wall or a book page comment. Chat is for talking privately with another reader. Notifications surface activity (a comment, an invite, a message) without you checking every corner by hand. Both live in the free iOS and Android app; the web is for browsing, not for replacing the thread or the bell.

This article covers four topics people often mix up: when to use chat, how to send a photo, what the in-app inbox is, and what a system push alert is. If you only want the product map, see messages and notifications. Here is day-to-day use.

Chat lets you talk privately when the feature is on and both people can message each other. It complements the wall and clubs: coordinate a swap, clarify a recommendation, continue a conversation without flooding the feed. It is not a club group or an event wall; those spaces stay on their own pages.

To start, open a profile and tap Write. You need an active profile: if you manage more than one (reader, library, bookstore), confirm which one is in the foreground. From the chat list you can also open New message: people you follow and people who follow you appear there. To message someone else, go to their profile.

• The conversation list can be filtered by name.
• You can load older messages in a long thread.
• You can delete a message for yourself or, when the app offers it, for everyone.
• Delete chat for me hides the thread on this device; if they write again, it reappears without the old history.

Chat needs a connection. If real time drops, check Wi‑Fi or mobile data and retry; when the network returns, messages sync. Do not treat chat as permanent storage for sensitive data: it is person-to-person messaging, not a vault.

In a private conversation you can attach an image (a cover, a shelf, a page) when your version allows it. The attachment stays in that thread, not on the feed. Before sending, look at the photo as if someone might forward it: no documents, no screenshots with email or address, no faces of people who have not agreed.

If the image fails to send, try again; a send error does not mean chat is broken. It also does not replace a post: if you want more people to see a quote or review, publish it on the wall. Chat is the short channel; the feed is the open one.

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Write with the same judgment you would in person: no harassment or spam. A message to coordinate a swap or ask for a translation title is fine; a string of links or pressure to meet is not. If something bothers you, you can block or report from the app options. Details on those tools are in account, privacy, and security.

• Do not share data you would not want in a screenshot.
• For a swap, agree on place and book condition; chat does not handle payment.
• If you report, describe the problem with context: it helps whoever reviews.

The marketplace uses chat to coordinate when someone is interested in a listing. How that buy-or-swap conversation works is in selling and swapping books. Here the point is simple: the deal is between people; Librarius is not a checkout.

Tap the bell to open a history: comments on your posts, likes, mentions, messages, club or event invites, activity on walls you care about, interest in a listing, new followers, and more depending on what you turned on. Each row takes you to where the activity happened. You can mark one as read or all at once.

From a row menu you can stop getting that alert type (mute this type) or turn it back on. That does not delete your account or history: it only changes what keeps arriving. If the inbox is empty, there is no recent activity for the types you have on; it does not mean the product is broken.

The inbox still exists if you turn off system alerts. It is where to look if you think you missed something on the lock screen. Check here first; push is an extra, not the archive.

The operating system can show an alert outside the app (lock screen, notification shade) when you allow it. That is push. Asking permission, denying it, or enabling it later happens in device settings. Turning off push does not delete your account or clear the inbox: it only changes whether you get interrupted when Librarius is closed.

Sometimes the system already allows notifications, but the device never finished registering for alerts. Then the inbox can look fine while nothing appears outside the app. The app explains this and offers to register the device again. That is not the same as I am not getting messages: check whether the thread is in chat and the row is in the bell.

1. Open the bell: is the alert in the inbox?
2. If yes, the product recorded it; the gap is push or system permission.
3. If not, check notification settings: that type may be off or muted.
4. For lock-screen alerts, grant Librarius permission in system settings and, if needed, register the device.

In notification settings you choose, type by type, what you want on the device. The catalog covers comments and likes, direct messages, mentions, club invites and requests, club polls and walls, event invites and reminders, book walls, marketplace interest, followers, and alerts for books in your favorites. You do not need everything on.

If you run a club or event, requests, confirmations, and date or venue changes matter. If you mostly read, you can keep invites and messages and turn off likes or the weekly wall digest. Someone who mutes club comments and turns on the weekly digest stays informed without every post buzzing the phone. Adjust when your role changes, not once forever.

The FAQ answers short account and app questions. Chat and alerts are not support channels: for a bug or idea, use the app or web form, not a message to a team profile on social media.

You can read pages and profiles on the web. Sending a message, attaching a photo, opening the bell, or flipping an alert switch is app territory. If you do not see chat, confirm you have an active profile and the other person accepts messages. If you do not see push, do not assume Librarius does not notify: check inbox, app settings, and system permission, in that order.

Used well, chat and alerts remove friction: you hear about an invite in time, close a swap without cluttering the feed, and you are not glued to the bell. The rule is the same as in person: be clear, do not flood, and let muting an alert type be your choice, not an accident.

In real life, chat, notifications, and alerts show up when you mix solo reading with clubs, events, or the marketplace. Librarius does not replace human judgment: it organizes information so you can agree on dates, conditions, and who does what without losing messages in generic apps.

Before you touch advanced settings, check what is public and what is members-only. Many conflicts come from assuming a private club wall is visible outside.

Document agreements in the right place (club calendar, event page, swap chat) instead of splitting details across three parallel conversations.

When the club grows, name moderators and rotate tasks (book pick, spoiler control). Polls with a close date keep a loud minority from always choosing.

For chat, notifications, and alerts, review every quarter whether the rules still work. An annual cleanup of lists and archived chats cuts noise.

If something breaks technically, take a screenshot and use support; do not post other users personal data on a public wall.

Watch for pressure to buy, harassment in chat, or swaps without confirming condition. Pause, report, and move to a public meeting place.

If notifications overwhelm you, mute secondary threads and keep only club alerts and direct messages. Deep reading needs boundaries.

When chat, notifications, and alerts feel chaotic, return to one official channel per topic for a transition week.