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I think Matrix is a very hot candidate here - federation (while P2P might be interesting for some, it definitely isn't something for everyone - yet, see below)

I think Matrix is a very hot candidate here - federation (while P2P might be interesting for some, it definitely isn't something for everyone - yet, see below) - scalable from private messaging up to thousands of users ((soon) with Spaces and threading) - unlimited multi device with synchronization - prospectively P2P with offline usage (Pinecones) - open standard enabling competition

fauigerzigerk 5y ago
I agree Matrix is promising and I use it on a regular basis, but I wish they made it easier for non-technical people to join and use. I haven't been very successful convincing people to join. Some tried but were immediately put off by the complicated UI. It takes too much explaining and hand holding. Those constantly in-your-face "session verification" prompts are bewildering and useless. And then it's impossible to disable spell checking in the Element client. I hope it continues to get better.
- tombert 5y ago
  Granted, this was about 1.5 years ago, so a lot has probably changed, but when a fellow engineer friend and I decided to switch to Matrix, we have a lot of trouble getting the end-to-end encryption working. It required a lot of finagling and sharing of keys and was pretty annoying. Being engineers, we did figure everything out, but I couldn't see any non-technical users going through the headache, particularly when Signal is just "install and you're done".
  - fauigerzigerk 5y ago
    That one appears to have been fixed. It's just a one-click thing now to enable E2EE.
    - tombert 5y ago
      oh? I'll have to check it out then. I would definitely prefer federated chat.
      - kitkat_new 5y ago
        Matrix now and 1.5 years ago is day and night
NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago
Don't forget the bridges! beeperhq is doing this for I believe $10/month (even iMessage). Free, reliable bridges would be the special sauce for Matrix IMHO.

fauigerzigerk 5y ago

I agree Matrix is promising and I use it on a regular basis, but I wish they made it easier for non-technical people to join and use. I haven't been very successful convincing people to join. Some tried but were immediately put off by the complicated UI. It takes too much explaining and hand holding. Those constantly in-your-face "session verification" prompts are bewildering and useless. And then it's impossible to disable spell checking in the Element client. I hope it continues to get better.

tombert 5y ago
Granted, this was about 1.5 years ago, so a lot has probably changed, but when a fellow engineer friend and I decided to switch to Matrix, we have a lot of trouble getting the end-to-end encryption working. It required a lot of finagling and sharing of keys and was pretty annoying. Being engineers, we did figure everything out, but I couldn't see any non-technical users going through the headache, particularly when Signal is just "install and you're done".
- fauigerzigerk 5y ago
  That one appears to have been fixed. It's just a one-click thing now to enable E2EE.
  - tombert 5y ago
    oh? I'll have to check it out then. I would definitely prefer federated chat.
    - kitkat_new 5y ago
      Matrix now and 1.5 years ago is day and night

NoImmatureAdHom 5y ago

Don't forget the bridges! beeperhq is doing this for I believe $10/month (even iMessage). Free, reliable bridges would be the special sauce for Matrix IMHO.