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I hope you're right about Matrix. I use it for my developer conferences [0] but their main chat client [1] is still derided by my audience. Subpar UX is the bar

I hope you're right about Matrix. I use it for my developer conferences [0] but their main chat client [1] is still derided by my audience. Subpar UX is the barrier to overcome. Element has come far, but Slack and Discord have more solid product direction. [0] https://www.handmade-seattle.com https://www.handmade-seattle.com [1] https://element.io https://element.io

feanaro 5y ago
Are there any specific UX pain points that frequently get raised?
- abnercoimbre 5y ago
  See my reply to the comment above. Sometimes I feel these UX issues or bugs linger for too long, even if they're acknowledged. Could be due to the complexity of open-source + decentralization but still :(
  - cvwright 5y ago
    Matrix is one team trying to build three apps. Android, iOS, and web are all distinct code bases. Plus all the server side stuff. They’ve taken on a huge amount of work.
    - abnercoimbre 5y ago
      Not "giving them up" anytime soon. I'll continue to use Matrix at the conference.
StavrosK 5y ago
I'd also be interested in hearing what UX gripes your audience has, and am surprised to hear you praise Slack, which has lately become the just-good-enough-to-not-be-bad slow and bloated default.
- abnercoimbre 5y ago
  I wouldn't dare say Slack has buttery-smooth performance. The problem with Element is all the little "what the f#ck?" bugs that add up. An emblematic example is where the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else. To be charitable I heard a fix is "on the way," but wow. The markdown editor can also be glitchy. When I use italics or the triple backticks for code it won't always render in your client. It still feels like a hit and miss (albeit far more rare these days.)
  - StavrosK 5y ago
    > the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else Wow, ouch. > When I use italics or the triple backticks for code it won't always render in your client Infuriatingly, Slack very often does the same thing. It's super broken.
  - feanaro 5y ago
    > An emblematic example is where the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else. To be charitable I heard a fix is "on the way," but wow. Hmm, interesting, do you have a link to the issue? This is the first time I hear about this bug.

feanaro 5y ago

Are there any specific UX pain points that frequently get raised?

abnercoimbre 5y ago
See my reply to the comment above. Sometimes I feel these UX issues or bugs linger for too long, even if they're acknowledged. Could be due to the complexity of open-source + decentralization but still :(
- cvwright 5y ago
  Matrix is one team trying to build three apps. Android, iOS, and web are all distinct code bases. Plus all the server side stuff. They’ve taken on a huge amount of work.
  - abnercoimbre 5y ago
    Not "giving them up" anytime soon. I'll continue to use Matrix at the conference.

StavrosK 5y ago

I'd also be interested in hearing what UX gripes your audience has, and am surprised to hear you praise Slack, which has lately become the just-good-enough-to-not-be-bad slow and bloated default.

abnercoimbre 5y ago
I wouldn't dare say Slack has buttery-smooth performance. The problem with Element is all the little "what the f#ck?" bugs that add up. An emblematic example is where the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else. To be charitable I heard a fix is "on the way," but wow. The markdown editor can also be glitchy. When I use italics or the triple backticks for code it won't always render in your client. It still feels like a hit and miss (albeit far more rare these days.)
- StavrosK 5y ago
  > the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else Wow, ouch. > When I use italics or the triple backticks for code it won't always render in your client Infuriatingly, Slack very often does the same thing. It's super broken.
- feanaro 5y ago
  > An emblematic example is where the Android app sometimes glitches out and makes it seem a message you sent was sent by someone else. To be charitable I heard a fix is "on the way," but wow. Hmm, interesting, do you have a link to the issue? This is the first time I hear about this bug.