Disconnect notification

I don't know why chess.com disconnects and I'm sure there are a ton of reasons all of which are my fault.  But the current approach to dealing with that problem is programmers run amok.  Currently when you disconnect a pop-up warning comes up and both clocks start flashing.  I used to code for a living and then hired other people to do it and I always stressed that there is an implicit contract between the programmer and the user so that the program always respected the user's expectations.  That means every window, button, message, etc had all the features on them a user would expect and none that it didn't.  A message needs to convey useful information.  Chess.com's handling of disconnect s shatters that contract.  "Flashing" as an error condition means "Something is very bad and you need to pay attention to this now".  On chess.com there is nothing you can do when the disconnect happens (or if there is that needs to be told to us in the message).  The flashing then says "Do something! Do Something!" when there is nothing to do.  I know why that's there.  Programmers hate error states caused by something outside their control.  It's a limitation on how robust your program can be and flashing lights say "Not My Fault! Not My Fault!".  But a programmer screaming "Not My Fault!" is disruptive and that is the programmer's fault.  And forget the dire threats about how we will be resigned in 2 minutes.  That is getting close to punishing the user, the ultimate programming error (threatening is very close to punishing).  A clear but not urgent indication (say a slightly changed border around the game) and a message indicating disconnected would keep the contract.  Telling us about our opponent's disconnection problems is even odder.  I can't solve my own problems but now I am supposed to be concerned with the Wifi in a Romanian library?  That's seriously "Not My Fault!" stuff.  Ultimately, the asynchronous internet was not designed for synchronous chess.  But telling us that is not the programmer's fault repeatedly is distracting and irritating.  Let's cut the urgent flashing lights, the threats, and the notifications of problems 12,000 miles away.  Thanks.

The reason it tells you that your opponent is disconnected is so you don't wonder if they are still there, just sitting on a move and whether or not you're going to have to wait for the X minutes until the game finally gets marked as abandoned. Though, maybe a status icon next to the player disconnected would be better?

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