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Actually, it is an important feature for a lot of people, with virtually every popular messenger implementing it. Telegram and Whatsapp both go one step further

Actually, it is an important feature for a lot of people, with virtually every popular messenger implementing it. Telegram and Whatsapp both go one step further and not only show when a user is at his keyboard, but also if he's currently typing. In the grand scheme of things, a few strings being routed regarding presence information don't pose a big problem for server providers (I know two of those and they didn't complain nor think of it as an issue whatsoever). You shouldn't impose your use case to "a lot of people", and more importantly also shouldn't conclude that it's "definitely not worth it" from that. The industry disagrees with you, and so does my mom.

oofbey 5y ago
When somebody is typing or not does not get broadcast to every contact. It’s only sent to the individual who is about to receive the typed message. O(1) communication vs O(N). That is a different feature which is not XMPP presence and I agree way more relevant in the modern world. Even if the server load from presence is acceptable (we clearly disagree here) it’s not okay to bombard somebody’s mobile device with these messages all the time. If your phone’s CPU and radio need to wake from sleep every time any one of your contacts picks up or puts down their phone, your battery life is ruined. You may think these messages important, but they are not urgent.
- f1refly 5y ago
  Honestly, I can't disagree with you on technical terms, because what you're saying makes sense and on other topics this discussion would be over. But in this case, I have Conversations on my phone and can say from experience that it didn't degrade my battery life whatsoever. I know that android restricts this behaviour heavily by default and for good reason, because lots of apps will drain the battery in a matter of hours. No idea how the conversations devs do it, there must be a quirk to it I don't know which makes modem usage acceptable. I'm not a zealot in this case and I accept the flaws, but I can't leave you thinking mobile xmpp hurts the battery in a relavant way because that's (in my experience) not true. I'm not deep into xmpp xep standards, but I'd imagine theres a way to tell the server "I don't care about event type x please don't send those until I ask for them again"

oofbey 5y ago

When somebody is typing or not does not get broadcast to every contact. It’s only sent to the individual who is about to receive the typed message. O(1) communication vs O(N). That is a different feature which is not XMPP presence and I agree way more relevant in the modern world. Even if the server load from presence is acceptable (we clearly disagree here) it’s not okay to bombard somebody’s mobile device with these messages all the time. If your phone’s CPU and radio need to wake from sleep every time any one of your contacts picks up or puts down their phone, your battery life is ruined. You may think these messages important, but they are not urgent.

f1refly 5y ago
Honestly, I can't disagree with you on technical terms, because what you're saying makes sense and on other topics this discussion would be over. But in this case, I have Conversations on my phone and can say from experience that it didn't degrade my battery life whatsoever. I know that android restricts this behaviour heavily by default and for good reason, because lots of apps will drain the battery in a matter of hours. No idea how the conversations devs do it, there must be a quirk to it I don't know which makes modem usage acceptable. I'm not a zealot in this case and I accept the flaws, but I can't leave you thinking mobile xmpp hurts the battery in a relavant way because that's (in my experience) not true. I'm not deep into xmpp xep standards, but I'd imagine theres a way to tell the server "I don't care about event type x please don't send those until I ask for them again"