4 ms·

> The state of secure messaging is really bleak. I wish Matrix had an IM-style client that was decent enough for non-technical users to adopt. See Element [1]

> The state of secure messaging is really bleak. I wish Matrix had an IM-style client that was decent enough for non-technical users to adopt. See Element [1] which uses Matrix [2]. It feels like IM, and is super simple to onboard new users. I'm not involved with it, but I'm a huge fan of the Matrix ecosystem. If you want group chats to be mixed in with 1-1 chats, try SchildiChat [3], a fork of Element. [1]: https://element.io/ https://element.io/ [2]: https://matrix.org/ https://matrix.org/ [3]: https://schildi.chat/ https://schildi.chat/

mtsr 6y ago
Even with a fast home server Element is quite slow. Slow enough that even I, trying to get my circle to use it, feel some reluctance to open the app. Hopefully the upcoming Hydrogen client can solve this.
- ptman 6y ago
  element-web? element-android? element-ios? all of them? Have you tried fluffychat on android? Or any of the other clients https://matrix.org/clients-matrix https://matrix.org/clients-matrix
  - remirk 6y ago
    I love FluffyChat. Been using it for a month now and it's significantly faster than Element/SchildiChat on Android. It has the basic chat features I would expect from a Matrix application. Only feature I don't think it has crosssigning at the moment. (In which you're signing your friends master-key, which they use to sign their new devices, so you don't have to have a cryptoparty anytime a friend adds a new device)
JeremyNT 6y ago
I occasionally use Element on my Android device, waiting for it to get to the point where I can seriously recommend it as an alternative to silos like Signal or Telegram. It's sadly not at that point. Fundamentally, Element "feels" more like an IRC client than a typical IM client like Signal. It isn't focused on direct, one-off, or small group communications (this isn't a technical thing and it has nothing to do with federation, it's simply the UX paradigm that Element has adopted). The SchildiChat fork looks promising, although it's clearly too early to recommend it. It's not even available on the Google Play store, which makes it unsuitable for non-technical users.

mtsr 6y ago

Even with a fast home server Element is quite slow. Slow enough that even I, trying to get my circle to use it, feel some reluctance to open the app. Hopefully the upcoming Hydrogen client can solve this.

ptman 6y ago
element-web? element-android? element-ios? all of them? Have you tried fluffychat on android? Or any of the other clients https://matrix.org/clients-matrix https://matrix.org/clients-matrix
- remirk 6y ago
  I love FluffyChat. Been using it for a month now and it's significantly faster than Element/SchildiChat on Android. It has the basic chat features I would expect from a Matrix application. Only feature I don't think it has crosssigning at the moment. (In which you're signing your friends master-key, which they use to sign their new devices, so you don't have to have a cryptoparty anytime a friend adds a new device)

JeremyNT 6y ago

I occasionally use Element on my Android device, waiting for it to get to the point where I can seriously recommend it as an alternative to silos like Signal or Telegram. It's sadly not at that point. Fundamentally, Element "feels" more like an IRC client than a typical IM client like Signal. It isn't focused on direct, one-off, or small group communications (this isn't a technical thing and it has nothing to do with federation, it's simply the UX paradigm that Element has adopted). The SchildiChat fork looks promising, although it's clearly too early to recommend it. It's not even available on the Google Play store, which makes it unsuitable for non-technical users.