support_desk 0.3.0 → 0.4.0

data/app/controllers/support_desk/tickets_controller.rb

@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ module SupportDesk
     before_action :set_wizard, only: %i[new create]
     include Chats::SendRateLimited
 
+    # The ticket page renders chats' thread template, which names chats'
+    # routes bare (SupportDesk::ThreadHelper) and asks for these two.
+    helper SupportDesk::ThreadHelper
+    helper_method :chats_current_messager, :chats_counterpart
+
     # Their cases: open ones as rows, closed ones folded away, and the door
     # to open another.
     def index
@@ -67,10 +72,15 @@ module SupportDesk
     end
 
     # A stable URL for a case — what an email or a push notification links
-    # to. The case is READ in its conversation, so this is a redirect and
-    # nothing else.
+    # to. Under `thread_page = :chats` the case is read in the inbox's thread,
+    # so this is a redirect and nothing else. Under `:support` it is the page
+    # the case is read on: chats' own thread, with its back link leading
+    # here rather than to an inbox support is not part of.
     def show
-      redirect_to conversation_path_for(find_ticket)
+      ticket = find_ticket
+      return redirect_to conversation_path_for(ticket) unless SupportDesk.config.support_thread_page? && ticket.conversation
+
+      render_thread(ticket)
     end
 
     # "Prefiero hablar con una persona." The one thing a requester can
@@ -96,6 +106,61 @@ module SupportDesk
 
     def chat_rate_limit_messager = current_requester
 
+    # chats' thread page, rendered here: the same latest page of messages,
+    # the same «new messages» line and the same read on open as
+    # Chats::ConversationsController#show, for chats' own template. Older
+    # pages, the composer and the live updates are chats' endpoints, which
+    # reach this conversation through SupportDesk::ConversationAccess.
+    def render_thread(ticket)
+      @ticket = ticket
+      @conversation = chats_conversation(ticket)
+      @participant = @conversation.participant_for(current_requester)
+
+      scope = @conversation.messages.includes(:sender, :reactions)
+      scope = scope.with_attached_files if scope.respond_to?(:with_attached_files)
+      page = scope.recent_first.limit(Chats.config.messages_per_page + 1).to_a
+      @more_messages = page.size > Chats.config.messages_per_page
+      @messages = page.first(Chats.config.messages_per_page).reverse
+
+      if @participant&.unread?
+        @first_unread_id = @participant.unread_messages.where(id: @messages.map(&:id)).oldest_first.pick(:id) ||
+                           @messages.first&.id
+      end
+      # A pointer resting on a link (Turbo's hover prefetch) is not somebody
+      # reading the case; the visit that follows reads it. Read through the
+      # last message on the page, not merely "now": an acknowledgement pinned
+      # one tick after the message it answers may sit just ahead of the clock.
+      @participant&.read!(at: [ Time.current, @messages.last&.created_at ].compact.max) unless prefetch_request?
+
+      render :show
+    end
+
+    # The case's conversation, as chats' own endpoints would find it: chats'
+    # `find_conversation` on a chats controller bound to this request, so
+    # every rule the host or a product gem added there (its lookup scopes, its
+    # own `find_conversation`) decides here exactly as at the chats URL. Then
+    # it must be this very case's conversation: direct, about this case (the
+    # rule Ticket.conversations_of holds the chats lookup to). A 404
+    # otherwise, never a hint.
+    def chats_conversation(ticket)
+      lookup = Chats::ApplicationController.new
+      lookup.set_request!(request)
+      conversation = lookup.send(:find_conversation, ticket.conversation_id)
+      raise ActiveRecord::RecordNotFound unless conversation.direct? &&
+                                                conversation.subject_type == ticket.class.polymorphic_name &&
+                                                conversation.subject_id.to_s == ticket.id.to_s
+
+      conversation
+    end
+
+    def prefetch_request?
+      request.headers["X-Sec-Purpose"] == "prefetch" || request.headers["Sec-Purpose"].to_s.include?("prefetch")
+    end
+
+    # What chats' thread template asks its controller for.
+    def chats_current_messager = current_requester
+    def chats_counterpart = @conversation&.counterpart_for(current_requester)
+
     def set_wizard
       @wizard = SupportDesk::Wizard.new(current_requester, params)
       # A token that is forged, expired, or points at somebody else's record

data/app/helpers/support_desk/engine_helper.rb

@@ -84,14 +84,11 @@ module SupportDesk
       content_for(:head) { stylesheet_link_tag "support_desk", "data-turbo-track": "reload" }
     end
 
-    # "Normalmente respondemos en menos de 24 h" for a desk, or nil when the
-    # desk promises nothing. The same `config.reply_within` the SLA breaches
-    # on — one setting, one truth.
+    # "Normalmente respondemos en menos de 24 horas" for a desk, or nil when
+    # the desk promises nothing. The same `config.reply_within` the SLA
+    # breaches on — one setting, one truth.
     def support_reply_promise(desk_key = :default)
-      within = SupportDesk.config.desk(desk_key).reply_within
-      return nil if within.nil?
-
-      t("support_desk.thread.promise", time: SupportDesk.humanize_duration(within))
+      SupportDesk.config.desk(desk_key).reply_promise
     end
 
     # The status line under a case in the requester's list: who owes the next
@@ -178,10 +175,13 @@ module SupportDesk
       chats_verified_badge(support_desk_record(desk_key))
     end
 
-    # Where a case is read and answered: its chats conversation. Falls back
-    # to the engine's own ticket URL (which redirects to the same place) for
-    # the one case that has no conversation yet, so a link is never dead.
+    # Where a case is read and answered: its chats conversation, or the
+    # engine's own ticket page under `thread_page = :support` (by reference:
+    # the URL people read back from a screen). Falls back to the ticket URL
+    # (which redirects to the same place) for the one case that has no
+    # conversation yet, so a link is never dead.
     def support_thread_path(ticket)
+      return support_desk_routes.ticket_path(ticket.reference) if SupportDesk.config.support_thread_page?
       return support_desk_routes.ticket_path(ticket) if ticket.conversation.nil? || !respond_to?(:chats_routes)
 
       chats_routes.conversation_path(ticket.conversation)

data/app/helpers/support_desk/thread_helper.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module SupportDesk
+  # The ticket page (`config.thread_page = :support`) renders chats' own
+  # thread template, and that template names chats' routes bare:
+  # `conversation_path`, `read_conversation_path`,
+  # `conversation_messages_path`… Inside chats' engine those are its own;
+  # rendered from this engine they would be looked up here and not exist.
+  #
+  # So on that page any route helper this engine does not have is chats',
+  # through its mounted proxy (`chats_routes`), and the one name both
+  # engines draw stays ours: `root_path` is the support list, which is
+  # exactly where the thread's way back should lead.
+  module ThreadHelper
+    def method_missing(name, ...)
+      chats_route?(name) ? chats_routes.public_send(name, ...) : super
+    end
+
+    def respond_to_missing?(name, include_private = false)
+      chats_route?(name) || super
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def chats_route?(name)
+      name.end_with?("_path", "_url") && chats_routes.respond_to?(name)
+    end
+  end
+end

data/app/views/support_desk/tickets/show.html.erb

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<%# One case, read where support lives (`config.thread_page = :support`).
+
+    It is chats' thread: the same template, so the same bubbles, composer,
+    read state and live updates as every conversation in the app, with the
+    desk's verified name in its header. Only the way back differs: its
+    `root_path` is this engine's, the support list (SupportDesk::ThreadHelper).
+    Eject this file to put anything of your own around it. %>
+<%= render template: "chats/conversations/show" %>

data/config/locales/support_desk.en.yml

@@ -14,12 +14,37 @@ en:
       closed_notice: "This conversation is closed. Start a new one if you need anything else."
       reopened_notice: "We reopened this conversation."
       promise: "We usually reply in under %{time}"
+      acknowledgement: "Thanks, we got it."
+      acknowledgement_with_promise: "Thanks, we got it. We usually reply in under %{reply_within}."
       opened_by_support: "%{desk} opened this conversation with you about “%{label}”. You can reply right here."
       unavailable_notice: "This account can no longer send or receive messages. The conversation stays here to read."
       human_door: "I’d rather talk to a person"
       human_requested_notice: "Done. Somebody from the team will take it from here."
       handled_by_assistant: "Handled by %{name}"
       handled_by_humans: "Somebody from the team will take it from here"
+    # The answer promise, in the unit the desk wrote it in (SupportDesk.humanize_promise).
+    durations:
+      seconds:
+        one: "1 second"
+        other: "%{count} seconds"
+      minutes:
+        one: "1 minute"
+        other: "%{count} minutes"
+      hours:
+        one: "1 hour"
+        other: "%{count} hours"
+      days:
+        one: "1 day"
+        other: "%{count} days"
+      weeks:
+        one: "1 week"
+        other: "%{count} weeks"
+      months:
+        one: "1 month"
+        other: "%{count} months"
+      years:
+        one: "1 year"
+        other: "%{count} years"
     transcript:
       deleted: "[message deleted]"
     notifications:
@@ -55,6 +80,9 @@ en:
       closed_section:
         one: "1 closed conversation"
         other: "%{count} closed conversations"
+      closed_capped:
+        one: "Showing the most recent one."
+        other: "Showing the %{count} most recent."
       state:
         awaiting_reply: "We're on it"
         answered: "We replied"

data/config/locales/support_desk.es.yml

@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ es:
       closed_notice: "Esta conversación está cerrada. Abre una nueva si necesitas algo más."
       reopened_notice: "Hemos vuelto a abrir esta conversación."
       promise: "Normalmente respondemos en menos de %{time}"
+      acknowledgement: "Gracias, lo hemos recibido."
+      acknowledgement_with_promise: "Gracias, lo hemos recibido. Normalmente respondemos en menos de %{reply_within}."
       # La línea con la que se abre un hilo que ha empezado el equipo: quien
       # recibe un mensaje de un sitio al que nunca ha escrito necesita saber
       # qué es esto.
@@ -28,6 +30,29 @@ es:
       human_requested_notice: "Hecho. Una persona del equipo seguirá con tu consulta."
       handled_by_assistant: "Atendida por %{name}"
       handled_by_humans: "Una persona del equipo seguirá con tu consulta"
+    # La promesa de respuesta, en la unidad en que la escribió la mesa (SupportDesk.humanize_promise).
+    durations:
+      seconds:
+        one: "1 segundo"
+        other: "%{count} segundos"
+      minutes:
+        one: "1 minuto"
+        other: "%{count} minutos"
+      hours:
+        one: "1 hora"
+        other: "%{count} horas"
+      days:
+        one: "1 día"
+        other: "%{count} días"
+      weeks:
+        one: "1 semana"
+        other: "%{count} semanas"
+      months:
+        one: "1 mes"
+        other: "%{count} meses"
+      years:
+        one: "1 año"
+        other: "%{count} años"
     transcript:
       # Un mensaje borrado sigue siendo un turno. Quien lea la conversación
       # después, una persona o el modelo al que el host se la pasa, tiene
@@ -70,6 +95,9 @@ es:
       closed_section:
         one: "1 conversación cerrada"
         other: "%{count} conversaciones cerradas"
+      closed_capped:
+        one: "Se muestra la más reciente."
+        other: "Se muestran las %{count} más recientes."
       state:
         awaiting_reply: "Estamos con ello"
         answered: "Te hemos contestado"

data/lib/generators/support_desk/install_generator.rb

@@ -44,6 +44,12 @@ module SupportDesk
                            File.join(db_migrate_path, "add_assistants_to_support_desk.rb")
       end
 
+      def create_message_registrations_migration
+        migration_template "create_support_desk_message_registrations.rb.erb",
+                           File.join(db_migrate_path, "create_support_desk_message_registrations.rb")
+      end
+
+
       # The annotated initializer — every setting the gem has, with what it
       # means and what it defaults to.
       def create_initializer
@@ -90,9 +96,9 @@ module SupportDesk
         say "  #   routing(/^support@/i => :support_desk)"
 
         say "\n  Already installed and bumping the version? 'rails g support_desk:upgrade' copies"
-        say "  only the migrations the new version needs (0.2.0: who opened the case), and"
-        say "  nothing you own. Follow the CHANGELOG's drained cutover: migrate, pause"
-        say "  support traffic, drain old web/workers, backfill, then serve only 0.2."
+        say "  only the migrations the new version needs (including 0.3.2 receipts), and"
+        say "  nothing you own. Follow the README drained cutover: pause support writes,"
+        say "  drain old web/workers, migrate, then start only the new version."
 
         say "\n  Assistants (0.3): when a machine should answer first, 'rails g support_desk:assistant"
         say "  Rose --disclosure signature' writes the harness and prints the stanza. Read the"

data/lib/generators/support_desk/templates/create_support_desk_message_registrations.rb.erb

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# Stop support writes and drain old web/jobs before migrating. Old processes
+# cannot write receipts. Existing messages at/before the legacy clocks form
+# the historical baseline; messages ahead of those clocks remain repairable.
+# A pre-upgrade lost callback behind a clock cannot be inferred from old data:
+# review historical suspect cases before resuming writes (see README).
+class CreateSupportDeskMessageRegistrations < ActiveRecord::Migration<%= migration_version %>
+  def up
+    return if table_exists?(:support_desk_message_registrations)
+
+    create_table :support_desk_message_registrations, id: false do |t|
+      t.column :message_id, column_type(:chats_messages, "id"), null: false
+      t.column :ticket_id, column_type(:support_desk_tickets, "id"), null: false
+    end
+    add_index :support_desk_message_registrations, :message_id, unique: true, name: "index_sd_registrations_message"
+    add_index :support_desk_message_registrations, :ticket_id, name: "index_sd_registrations_ticket"
+    add_foreign_key :support_desk_message_registrations, :support_desk_tickets, column: :ticket_id, on_delete: :cascade
+    add_foreign_key :support_desk_message_registrations, :chats_messages, column: :message_id, on_delete: :cascade
+
+    execute <<~SQL
+      INSERT INTO support_desk_message_registrations (message_id, ticket_id)
+      SELECT m.id, t.id FROM chats_messages m
+      JOIN support_desk_tickets t ON t.conversation_id = m.conversation_id
+      WHERE m.kind = 'text' AND (
+        (m.sender_type = t.requester_type AND m.sender_id = t.requester_id
+          AND m.created_at <= t.last_requester_message_at)
+        OR (m.sender_type = 'SupportDesk::Desk' AND m.sender_id = t.desk_id
+          AND m.created_at <= t.last_agent_message_at))
+    SQL
+  end
+
+  def down
+    drop_table :support_desk_message_registrations, if_exists: true
+  end
+
+  private
+
+  def column_type(table, name)
+    connection.columns(table).find { |column| column.name == name }.sql_type
+  end
+end

data/lib/generators/support_desk/templates/initializer.rb

@@ -61,6 +61,18 @@ SupportDesk.configure do |config|
   # screen, so a logged-out visitor meets YOUR login flow.
   #
   # config.authenticate_method = :authenticate_user!
+  #
+  # Where a case is read:
+  #   :chats    in the chats inbox's own thread (/messages/:id), with the
+  #             desk as one grouped row there
+  #   :support  on this engine's own page (/support/tickets/T-AB12CD): a
+  #             support area of its own, for a host that keeps support out
+  #             of the inbox (`inbox_entry = :never`, and a chats
+  #             `inbox_scope` that leaves SupportDesk::Ticket conversations
+  #             out). The thread is still chats': its bubbles, composer and
+  #             realtime, on a page whose way back leads here.
+  #
+  # config.thread_page = :chats
 
   # ==========================================================================
   # THE DESK
@@ -135,6 +147,13 @@ SupportDesk.configure do |config|
   # config.opening_line = "Has abierto una conversación sobre «%{label}». Te contestamos aquí."
   # config.opening_line_from_support = "%{desk} ha abierto esta conversación contigo sobre «%{label}»."
   #
+  # The line posted right UNDER a requester's first message ("Thanks, we got
+  # it. We usually reply in under 72 hours."): the answer to "did that go
+  # through?", before anybody has read it. Same values and interpolations as
+  # the opening line; nil (the default) posts nothing. The gem ships one:
+  #
+  # config.acknowledgement = :"support_desk.thread.acknowledgement"
+  #
   # What a requester writing into a closed ticket does:
   #   :reopen_on_reply  the case comes back (no wall, no dead end)
   #   :locked           the composer is replaced by a notice
@@ -143,7 +162,8 @@ SupportDesk.configure do |config|
   #
   # The answer promise: the SLA breach threshold AND the line requesters are
   # shown when they write ("normalmente en menos de 24 h"). One setting, one
-  # truth. `at_risk_after` is the earlier, softer warning for the queue.
+  # truth, said in the unit you write it in (72.hours reads "72 hours").
+  # `at_risk_after` is the earlier, softer warning for the queue.
   #
   # config.reply_within = 24.hours
   # config.at_risk_after = 4.hours

data/lib/generators/support_desk/upgrade_generator.rb

@@ -9,16 +9,14 @@ module SupportDesk
     # bump needs into an EXISTING install. Nothing else: the initializer, the
     # views, the console and the routes you already own stay untouched.
     #
-    # Currently writes the 0.2.0 migration (who opened the case), which is the
-    # SAME template a fresh install runs — one file owns those columns, so a
-    # fresh install and an upgraded one end up with the same schema and the
-    # same rollback. Running this twice writes nothing the second time: the
-    # migration already sitting in db/migrate is identical, and Rails skips it.
+    # Install and upgrade use the same templates for opened_by, assistants,
+    # and message receipts. See the README for the drained receipt cutover;
+    # old writers do not know how to record message identities.
     class UpgradeGenerator < Rails::Generators::Base
       include ActiveRecord::Generators::Migration
 
       source_root File.expand_path("templates", __dir__)
-      desc "Add the migrations a support_desk version bump needs (0.2.0: opened_by, 0.3.0: assistants)"
+      desc "Add the migrations a support_desk version bump needs (opened_by, assistants, message registration receipts)"
 
       # Rails' migration numbering, borrowed from ActiveRecord's generators.
       def self.next_migration_number(dir)
@@ -35,6 +33,12 @@ module SupportDesk
                            File.join(db_migrate_path, "add_assistants_to_support_desk.rb")
       end
 
+      def create_message_registrations_migration
+        migration_template "create_support_desk_message_registrations.rb.erb",
+                           File.join(db_migrate_path, "create_support_desk_message_registrations.rb")
+      end
+
+
       def display_post_upgrade_message
         say "\n🎫 support_desk upgrade migrations copied.", :green
         say "\n  1. Run 'rails db:migrate'. It adds `opened_by` and points every existing"
@@ -53,7 +57,11 @@ module SupportDesk
         say "       rails g support_desk:assistant Rose --disclosure signature"
         say "     writes the harness and prints the stanza, the subscription and the two"
         say "     scheduled tasks. It never edits your initializer."
-        say "  5. See the CHANGELOG for the full list.\n", :green
+        say "  5. 0.3.2 receipts require a drained cutover: pause support writes and stop"
+        say "     old web/jobs, migrate, then start only the new version. Review historical"
+        say "     suspect callbacks before resuming; old clocks cannot prove delivery."
+        say "     Do not roll code back to a writer that cannot record receipts."
+        say "  6. See the CHANGELOG for the full list.\n", :green
       end
 
       private

data/lib/support_desk/brief.rb

@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ module SupportDesk
       {
         key: desk&.key,
         name: desk&.name,
-        reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_duration(reply_within) if reply_within)
+        reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_promise(reply_within) if reply_within)
       }
     end
 

data/lib/support_desk/configuration.rb

@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ module SupportDesk
         # this one has a default and `opening_line` does not: existing hosts'
         # threads keep opening exactly as they do today.
         opening_line_from_support: :"support_desk.thread.opened_by_support",
+        acknowledgement: nil,
         find_requester: nil,
         reply_policy: :anyone,
         announce_assignments: :first_only,
@@ -166,6 +167,28 @@ module SupportDesk
         @settings[:opening_line_from_support] = ensure_line(value, "opening_line_from_support")
       end
 
+      # The system line posted right UNDER a requester's first message, in the
+      # same transaction: "Thanks, we got it. We usually reply in under 72
+      # hours." The answer to "did that go through?", said where they are
+      # looking, before anybody on the desk has read it. Only for a case the
+      # requester opened; a case the desk opens starts with
+      # `opening_line_from_support` instead.
+      #
+      # Same values as `opening_line`, and the same interpolations. nil (the
+      # default) posts nothing; the gem ships a line to opt into:
+      #
+      #   config.acknowledgement = :"support_desk.thread.acknowledgement"
+      def acknowledgement(&block)
+        return @settings[:acknowledgement] = block if block
+
+        read(:acknowledgement)
+      end
+
+      # Set it, validating on assignment (see the reader above).
+      def acknowledgement=(value)
+        @settings[:acknowledgement] = ensure_line(value, "acknowledgement")
+      end
+
       # How a console finds the person an agent types: email, phone, handle,
       # whatever this host lets staff search by. Given the typed string,
       # returns a requester record or nil.
@@ -192,7 +215,7 @@ module SupportDesk
       # it needs a ticket, and running a host's callback as a diagnostic is
       # not a diagnostic.
       def opening_line_problems # :nodoc:
-        %i[opening_line opening_line_from_support].filter_map do |setting|
+        %i[opening_line opening_line_from_support acknowledgement].filter_map do |setting|
           value = public_send(setting)
           next if value.nil? || value.respond_to?(:call)
 
@@ -214,22 +237,46 @@ module SupportDesk
       # What to post for THIS ticket, resolved and interpolated in the
       # current locale. nil or blank means post nothing.
       def opening_line_for(ticket)
-        setting = ticket.opened_by_support? ? opening_line_from_support : opening_line
-        return nil if setting.nil?
-
-        line = case setting
-        when Symbol then I18n.t(setting, **line_interpolations(ticket), raise: true)
-        when String then interpolate_line(setting, line_interpolations(ticket), "opening_line")
-        else setting.call(ticket)
+        if ticket.opened_by_support?
+          line_for(ticket, opening_line_from_support, "opening_line_from_support")
+        else
+          line_for(ticket, opening_line, "opening_line")
         end
-        return nil if line.nil?
+      end
 
-        unless line.is_a?(String)
-          raise ConfigurationError,
-                "an opening_line block must return a String or nil, got #{line.inspect}"
-        end
+      # The acknowledgement for THIS ticket, the same way: nil for a case the
+      # desk opened, and nil or blank means post nothing.
+      def acknowledgement_for(ticket)
+        return nil if ticket.opened_by_support?
 
-        line
+        line_for(ticket, acknowledgement, "acknowledgement")
+      end
+
+      # "We usually reply in under 72 hours", in the current locale, or nil
+      # when this desk promises nothing. The line the requester reads above
+      # the composer and on the door, from the same `reply_within` the SLA
+      # breaches on.
+      def reply_promise
+        within = reply_within
+        return nil if within.nil?
+
+        I18n.t("support_desk.thread.promise", time: SupportDesk.humanize_promise(within))
+      end
+
+      # What every line and notice of this desk can say about +ticket+:
+      # %{label}, %{desk} and %{reply_within} (the promise, in its own unit).
+      def line_interpolations(ticket)
+        { label: ticket.label, desk: ticket.desk.name,
+          reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_promise(reply_within) if reply_within) }
+      end
+
+      # The `_with_promise` variant of an I18n key, when this desk promises a
+      # time and the variant exists; the key as written otherwise.
+      def promised_key(symbol)
+        return symbol if reply_within.nil?
+
+        promised = :"#{symbol}_with_promise"
+        I18n.exists?(promised) ? promised : symbol
       end
 
       # --- Who answers ----------------------------------------------------------
@@ -554,9 +601,24 @@ module SupportDesk
               "#{LINE_INTERPOLATIONS.keys.map { |key| "%{#{key}}" }.join(", ")}."
       end
 
-      def line_interpolations(ticket)
-        { label: ticket.label, desk: ticket.desk.name,
-          reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_duration(reply_within) if reply_within) }
+      # One configured line, resolved and interpolated for +ticket+. An I18n
+      # key reads its `<key>_with_promise` variant when this desk promises a
+      # time and the variant exists, so a desk with `reply_within = nil` never
+      # says "we usually reply in under ." (the gem's assistant lines work the
+      # same way).
+      def line_for(ticket, setting, name)
+        return nil if setting.nil?
+
+        line = case setting
+        when Symbol then I18n.t(promised_key(setting), **line_interpolations(ticket), raise: true)
+        when String then interpolate_line(setting, line_interpolations(ticket), name)
+        else setting.call(ticket)
+        end
+        return nil if line.nil?
+
+        raise ConfigurationError, "a #{name} block must return a String or nil, got #{line.inspect}" unless line.is_a?(String)
+
+        line
       end
     end
 
@@ -949,7 +1011,7 @@ module SupportDesk
       def line_interpolations(ticket)
         reply_within = ticket.desk_config.reply_within
         { name: name, desk: ticket.desk.name,
-          reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_duration(reply_within) if reply_within) }
+          reply_within: (SupportDesk.humanize_promise(reply_within) if reply_within) }
       end
     end
 
@@ -957,7 +1019,7 @@ module SupportDesk
     # top-level accessors forward to the `:default` desk, which is also what
     # every other desk falls back to.
     DESK_SETTINGS = %i[
-      name avatar email opening_line opening_line_from_support find_requester reply_policy
+      name avatar email opening_line opening_line_from_support acknowledgement find_requester reply_policy
       announce_assignments closed_tickets reply_within at_risk_after open_rate_limit max_open_tickets
       inbox_entry routing mirror_replies_by_email auto_close_after assistant
     ].freeze
@@ -999,6 +1061,12 @@ module SupportDesk
     # own. Read through #console_authorized?.
     attr_reader :authorize_console
 
+    # Where a requester reads a case: :chats (the default) is its
+    # conversation in the chats inbox; :support is this engine's own ticket
+    # page, for a host whose support lives apart from its inbox.
+    THREAD_PAGES = %i[chats support].freeze
+    attr_reader :thread_page
+
     # A fresh configuration: one `:default` desk, every setting at the
     # documented default.
     def initialize
@@ -1010,6 +1078,7 @@ module SupportDesk
       @authenticate_method = :authenticate_user!
       @visible_desks_for = nil
       @authorize_console = nil
+      @thread_page = :chats
 
       @desks = { default: DeskConfiguration.new(:default) }
       @assistants = {}
@@ -1029,6 +1098,18 @@ module SupportDesk
       @console_parent_controller = ensure_class_name(value, "console_parent_controller")
     end
 
+    def thread_page=(value)
+      page = value.respond_to?(:to_sym) ? value.to_sym : value
+      unless THREAD_PAGES.include?(page)
+        raise ConfigurationError, "thread_page must be one of #{THREAD_PAGES.map(&:inspect).join(", ")}, got #{value.inspect}"
+      end
+
+      @thread_page = page
+    end
+
+    # Whether a case is read on this engine's own page (`thread_page = :support`).
+    def support_thread_page? = thread_page == :support
+
     # --- The console ------------------------------------------------------------
 
     # Narrow what the console can reach: