> you can't federate with only a few servers ...Except you can? federation_domain_whitelist in synapse settings. Seems to have been working since 2018. I'm usi

> you can't federate with only a few servers ...Except you can? federation_domain_whitelist in synapse settings. Seems to have been working since 2018. I'm using it. Enabling it can sometimes cause significant delays when communicating with users on homeservers you're not federating with, though - I have some vague memory of seeing an open issue around improving relaying in these scenarios. I do agree that there's a long way to go before I can start recommending anything Matrix-based for friends and family. Things are just too slow, broken and inconsistent on both server- and client sides. There has been steady progress on all fronts, though. Maybe in a year or two.