Icons on the key thread menu actions make them faster to find

[joshka]

When I right-click a thread, I'm usually after one of a few actions: pin, settle, snooze or archive. On macOS the menu is all text, so I have to read down the list every time. A few well-chosen icons would let me find those actions at a glance.

Why icons help here

• Pictures are found faster than words. You read a text-only menu line by line. A distinct shape gets noticed before you read anything, so you can jump straight to it.
• Recognition over recall. After a few uses, you know where Pin lives by its pin. Finding the action becomes recognizing a shape you've seen before, not reading labels.
• Pairs that mean the same thing. The sidebar row already shows a clock for snooze and a check for settle. Using the same symbols in the menu ties the two together.

Why only a few

• Icons only stand out when most items don't have one. A marked item gets noticed because the items around it are plain. Put an icon on every row and none of them stands out. You're back to reading, with more on screen.
• Abstract actions make bad icons. Rename, Regenerate title, Mark unread and Copy have no clear picture. A vague icon is noise you still have to read past. Text is clearer for these.
• Precedent. macOS Tahoe added icons to almost every menu item and drew a lot of criticism for exactly this. An earlier attempt here, #10504, also iconned every item and was closed.

Proposal

Use icons only for the actions that move a thread around the sidebar: pin, settle, snooze and archive. Delete keeps its existing trash icon. Use native macOS symbols so the menu still looks like macOS, and leave everything else as text.

Today	Proposed

Prototype: #29659

Does this help others scan the menu? Would you draw the line somewhere else?

🤖 Claude Opus 5.5