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Apologies if this is offtopic, but why matrix over discord? I'm just starting to learn about both (still salty about IRC's demise).

by tra3 6y ago

approxim8ion 6y ago
Can't comment much on feature parity beyond the fact that Matrix has had most things I need, but Discord is proprietary software and is pretty hostile towards any third-party clients. Wouldn't be a good fit for FOSDEM, imo.
SubGenius 6y ago
Well, Discord is proprietary. I'm not super interested in the chat/IM aspects of Matrix. What I really like is the protocol and the built-in federation and pub/sub mechanism that you can use to build cool decentralized apps that pass events around.
Arathorn 6y ago
Discord is a for-profit unencrypted proprietary centralised walled garden. It’s forbidden to connect unofficial clients to their server, and there’s nothing stopping them from monetising your data/metadata in future. Matrix is a non-profit open source project that defines a decentralised communication protocol that forms an open global end-to-end encrypted communication network. Anyone can run a server to participate, and anyone can use whatever client they like. You could see Matrix as descended from IRC, and Discord from AOL chatrooms. The only advantage to Discord is that historically it has slicker UX than flagship Matrix clients like Element, more users, better room management, and exposes voice/video chat as dedicated chatrooms. Matrix is steadily catching up however.
- jcul 6y ago
  And they can run any server they like too, of which there are many up and coming options - synapse (official / reference python implementation), dendrite (go), conduit (rust), construct (C++).
eredengrin 6y ago
If you're an IRC fan then you might also be interested to know that the matrix team has made a pretty good effort to ensure that matrix and irc can play nice together, vs discord being hostile to any sort of third party apps as mentioned, so if your main criteria is wanting to extend longevity of irc, matrix is certainly the better option.

Apologies if this is offtopic, but why matrix over discord? I'm just starting to learn about both (still salty about IRC's demise).

by tra3 6y ago

Apologies if this is offtopic, but why matrix over discord? I'm just starting to learn about both (still salty about IRC's demise).

approxim8ion 6y ago

Can't comment much on feature parity beyond the fact that Matrix has had most things I need, but Discord is proprietary software and is pretty hostile towards any third-party clients. Wouldn't be a good fit for FOSDEM, imo.

SubGenius 6y ago

Well, Discord is proprietary. I'm not super interested in the chat/IM aspects of Matrix. What I really like is the protocol and the built-in federation and pub/sub mechanism that you can use to build cool decentralized apps that pass events around.

Arathorn 6y ago

Discord is a for-profit unencrypted proprietary centralised walled garden. It’s forbidden to connect unofficial clients to their server, and there’s nothing stopping them from monetising your data/metadata in future. Matrix is a non-profit open source project that defines a decentralised communication protocol that forms an open global end-to-end encrypted communication network. Anyone can run a server to participate, and anyone can use whatever client they like. You could see Matrix as descended from IRC, and Discord from AOL chatrooms. The only advantage to Discord is that historically it has slicker UX than flagship Matrix clients like Element, more users, better room management, and exposes voice/video chat as dedicated chatrooms. Matrix is steadily catching up however.

jcul 6y ago
And they can run any server they like too, of which there are many up and coming options - synapse (official / reference python implementation), dendrite (go), conduit (rust), construct (C++).

eredengrin 6y ago

If you're an IRC fan then you might also be interested to know that the matrix team has made a pretty good effort to ensure that matrix and irc can play nice together, vs discord being hostile to any sort of third party apps as mentioned, so if your main criteria is wanting to extend longevity of irc, matrix is certainly the better option.