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It's always great to see new software titles land on F-Droid. The rub with messengers is that for each new messenger we've further fragmented our ability to com

by vhsdev 5y ago

It's always great to see new software titles land on F-Droid. The rub with messengers is that for each new messenger we've further fragmented our ability to communicate with one another. Rember the telephone? You used to be able to call literally anyone and you didn't have to ask which operator they were using.

posterboy 5y ago
Where I'm from, there used to be exactly one opperator.
TuringTest 5y ago
Matrix.org should be able to function as the telephone exchange that connects all communication services, as it is well posed to work as a universal connector. If, at some time in the future, it manages to create a usable bridge to connect between two popular private services (say Whatsapp and Telegram, or Teams and Slack) it could start accumulating network effects, and become a desirable target for all other networks so that it is appealing for them to build their own bridges to the Matrix services.
- kitkat_new 5y ago
  > If, at some time in the future, it manages to create a usable bridge to connect between two popular private services (say Whatsapp and Telegram, or Teams and Slack) it could start accumulating network effects Well, I think usable bridges for such apps are a thing already. See e.g. https://element.io/element-matrix-store https://element.io/element-matrix-store and https://beeper.com https://beeper.com Problems are: - it's a subscription based service - End to end encryption is not active for these services as long as you don't run the bridge yourself (which in principle is possible as well, see e.g. the description at the website of Beeper) which stretches usable a bit... Both problems would likely be solved if these services would provide an API for other messengers and would cooperate on a common standard for E2EE like MLS, however the likelihood for that ... seems pretty small. 1.
sigg3 5y ago
This is essentially what signal achieves IMO: it's replacements for sms, mms, audio with added security (plus video and group chat). Using your telephone number as username the experience is transparent and unlike all other messaging apps. I can write texts to whomever and if they do have signal, it defaults to encrypted coms. It's inclusive by design. Other services require usernames and email and whatnot, which effectively ensures it will not be the default. (I understand Apple users cannot change the default messaging app to only use Signal, which is a choice in tune with the walled garden and exclusive by design.)
- npteljes 5y ago
  Signal doesn't achieve this at all. In this regard, they are just another messaging service that's not compatible with anything and also they are discouraging (to say the least) unofficial clients from connecting official servers. They are yet another fragment in the already fragmented ecosystem. What's a step forward in this regard is projects like libpurple or Matrix bridges. Whose goal is to make already existing networks interconnected.

by vhsdev 5y ago

posterboy 5y ago

Where I'm from, there used to be exactly one opperator.

TuringTest 5y ago

Matrix.org should be able to function as the telephone exchange that connects all communication services, as it is well posed to work as a universal connector. If, at some time in the future, it manages to create a usable bridge to connect between two popular private services (say Whatsapp and Telegram, or Teams and Slack) it could start accumulating network effects, and become a desirable target for all other networks so that it is appealing for them to build their own bridges to the Matrix services.

kitkat_new 5y ago
> If, at some time in the future, it manages to create a usable bridge to connect between two popular private services (say Whatsapp and Telegram, or Teams and Slack) it could start accumulating network effects Well, I think usable bridges for such apps are a thing already. See e.g. https://element.io/element-matrix-store https://element.io/element-matrix-store and https://beeper.com https://beeper.com Problems are: - it's a subscription based service - End to end encryption is not active for these services as long as you don't run the bridge yourself (which in principle is possible as well, see e.g. the description at the website of Beeper) which stretches usable a bit... Both problems would likely be solved if these services would provide an API for other messengers and would cooperate on a common standard for E2EE like MLS, however the likelihood for that ... seems pretty small. 1.

sigg3 5y ago

This is essentially what signal achieves IMO: it's replacements for sms, mms, audio with added security (plus video and group chat). Using your telephone number as username the experience is transparent and unlike all other messaging apps. I can write texts to whomever and if they do have signal, it defaults to encrypted coms. It's inclusive by design. Other services require usernames and email and whatnot, which effectively ensures it will not be the default. (I understand Apple users cannot change the default messaging app to only use Signal, which is a choice in tune with the walled garden and exclusive by design.)

npteljes 5y ago
Signal doesn't achieve this at all. In this regard, they are just another messaging service that's not compatible with anything and also they are discouraging (to say the least) unofficial clients from connecting official servers. They are yet another fragment in the already fragmented ecosystem. What's a step forward in this regard is projects like libpurple or Matrix bridges. Whose goal is to make already existing networks interconnected.