A system for visually presenting a message in a communication session, the system comprising: at least one processor; and one or more computer-readable storage media including instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the at least one processor, cause the system perform operations including: detecting that a participant in a communication session sends a message via a client device of the communication session, wherein the message includes text, a hyperlink, a photo or a file transfer; identifying a visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within a graphical user interface, GUI, for the communication session; ascertaining a linking configuration for visually linking the message to the visual representation of the participant based on whether the participant is an active participant or a passive participant in the communication session, wherein the linking configuration for an active participant is different than a linking configuration for a passive participant, wherein the participant is categorized as active or passive by quantifying their activity level in the communication session based on voice data detected in media streams from the participant's client device, wherein the quantification of activity level is based on at least one of an aggregate amount of voice input detected from the participant, how recent voice data from the participant is detected, or how frequently voice data from the participant is detected; and presenting at least a portion of the message (1502,1506) within the GUI by visually linking the message to the visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within the GUI and according to the linking configuration. at least one processor; and one or more computer-readable storage media including instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the at least one processor, cause the system perform operations including: detecting that a participant in a communication session sends a message via a client device of the communication session, wherein the message includes text, a hyperlink, a photo or a file transfer; identifying a visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within a graphical user interface, GUI, for the communication session; ascertaining a linking configuration for visually linking the message to the visual representation of the participant based on whether the participant is an active participant or a passive participant in the communication session, wherein the linking configuration for an active participant is different than a linking configuration for a passive participant, wherein the participant is categorized as active or passive by quantifying their activity level in the communication session based on voice data detected in media streams from the participant's client device, wherein the quantification of activity level is based on at least one of an aggregate amount of voice input detected from the participant, how recent voice data from the participant is detected, or how frequently voice data from the participant is detected; and presenting at least a portion of the message (1502,1506) within the GUI by visually linking the message to the visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within the GUI and according to the linking configuration. detecting that a participant in a communication session sends a message via a client device of the communication session, wherein the message includes text, a hyperlink, a photo or a file transfer; identifying a visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within a graphical user interface, GUI, for the communication session; ascertaining a linking configuration for visually linking the message to the visual representation of the participant based on whether the participant is an active participant or a passive participant in the communication session, wherein the linking configuration for an active participant is different than a linking configuration for a passive participant, wherein the participant is categorized as active or passive by quantifying their activity level in the communication session based on voice data detected in media streams from the participant's client device, wherein the quantification of activity level is based on at least one of an aggregate amount of voice input detected from the participant, how recent voice data from the participant is detected, or how frequently voice data from the participant is detected; and presenting at least a portion of the message (1502,1506) within the GUI by visually linking the message to the visual representation (302,304,306,308) of the participant within the GUI and according to the linking configuration.