Chat User Flairs (WIP)

Problem

We need a flexible system to display per-user visual markers such as:

• flairs (text/icons)
• badges
• role colours
• platform indicators

These must work across:

• web chat
• embeds
• overlays
• future clients

Non-Goals

• Hard-coding Twitch-style roles
• UI-specific storage
• Per-message decoration

Constraints

• Must be derivable server-side
• Must survive reconnects
• Must be cacheable
• Must not be computed on the hot path

Candidate Models

Option A: Role-Derived Presentation

User
  -> Roles[]
     -> StyleTokens

Pros

• Simple mental model
• Low storage cost

Cons

• Poor expressiveness
• Hard to do stacked visuals

Option B: Explicit Presentation Layer

User
  -> PresentationProfile
      -> badges[]
      -> flair
      -> nameColor

Pros

• Highly flexible
• UI-agnostic
• Forward-compatible

Cons

• More storage
• Requires sync logic

Open Questions

• Should presentation be mutable by mods?
• Are time-limited flairs needed?
• How do platform badges coexist?

Next Steps

• Decide storage ownership (chat backend vs shared user service)
• Define read model for frontend
• Define mutation permissions