Tab has audio playing or is muted: let audio symbol linger

[Nordlys]

Nordlys last edited by

Issue:
Sometimes a tab will play audio irregularly, for example if it's streaming without any BGM or background noise, plays random sounds or has a stream that stutters, has voice communication, etc. The audio symbol does not linger long enough, so trying to mute or unmute it can cause it to disappear as you're trying to click it. This will lead to either selecting an inactive tab, or potentially closing an active one (as the x moves).

Suggestion:
Let tabs that played audio display the audio symbol for a few seconds after stopping. It should also linger for as long as possible if the user is already hovering over the audio symbol with the mouse. This will minimize the chance that the user accidentally selects or closes a tab.

It would also be nice if a muted tab could always display the muted symbol, instead of it disappearing when there is no audio. This would make it easier to unmute a muted tab if it has since stopped playing audio, or is playing irregular sound. Currently, we have to right clock the tab and unmute from the context menu. Perhaps no audio in a muted tab could still be indicated by the mute icon turning red instead, as it could still be useful to know if there is sound or not.