Hello, I think it would have been handy if one would not be able to see incoming messages while being in Zen Mode. The purpose of Zen Mode is to minimize distractions, right?
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Iād cut a check right now to have zen mode become truly distraction-free.
Would $100 USD help grease the wheels?
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Expanding on this based in part on an energetic discussion about undo requests in English chat, Iād actually love to see a mode in which thereās basically nothing but a board and clock (could call it something awesome like Spartan Mode).
No undo button, no message window popups, no analysis, no conditional movesā¦ nothing extra.
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Yes, I think that would have been very good.
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I know I was just in chat, but I gotta let the mods know Iām all for this Spartan Mode.
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I would love to see this implemented too 
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If this is accepted, incoming messages should be hidden in Zen mode.
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Not to me. We are talking about the visual experience in my mind. What I see is what counts. Functionality has no bearing on it at all. What about you @HarveyCrichton, @Icedrinker, and @mekriff?
I only really use arrow keys after the game, so itās fine by me.
I donāt use zen mode, but I think if youāre specifically requesting functionality (pushing the arrow keys) then itās fine if they still work (maybe even ideal) but the main thing is how clean the default UI is for people who just want to play.
In my case there are 2 separate issues:
- Zen mode being free from interruption, including chat popups, for distraction-free playing. Some people who use the ārequest undoā feature have expressed a concern that someone might not know their request wouldnāt be seen, which nods toā¦
- A no-frills ranked play mode in which everyone knows to expect just a board and clock. I would play this by default daily.
I know this makes things a lot more difficult, but the board is made smaller (at least I think so, correct me if I am wrong) by the entire side panel being present. If the side panel contents could be added above or below the board, or be moved closer to the board (maybe even stacked on one another to further reduce size of side panel), that would be better (IMO).
In terms of Zen, my big issue is just removal of distraction such as messages popping up.
The other āSpartan Modeā issue I wedged into the thread is related but boils down to ranked play undisturbed by undo, analysis options, etc.
On the general topic of hiding things in Zen mode, I noticed that it still displays whose turn it is. This is completely unnecessary as the information is already given by the last-move marker on the board (or absence after a pass).
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It depends on your display size. On my 1080p Display, the board would be even bigger, since I removed the navigation buttons. The clocks would be smaller as well, since we donāt need space for the player icons. It could be possible to place blacks clock below whites, since we donāt need the vertical space for anything else.
About the board size: When you are not in zen mode, is the unused space around the goban on the sides of it or at the top and bottom.
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You can create games with analysis disabled, then neither analysis nor conditional moves is available.
As for undo and chat, no-one is obligated to use them. You can hide them using browser plugins if you like. But I donāt think a game option will be there anytime soon.
I usually donāt see it just because my focus is on the goban and not on the buttons. 
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The unused space is on the sides. I donāt know why I suggested adding the clock to the top or bottom when there is unused space on the sides 
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