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The phone number requirement is the only thing making Signal remotely close to usable for the wider public. Similarly, non-phone messaging is niche in the extre
by lucian1900 5y ago
The phone number requirement is the only thing making Signal remotely close to usable for the wider public. Similarly, non-phone messaging is niche in the extreme. Unusable software is not an ally of user freedom.
The actual problem with Signal is that they took US State Department funding. That doesn't mean it's an op necessarily, but suspicious nonetheless.
- Freak_NL 5y agoWhy? If someone wants to use a phone number for their identifier, fine. But make it optional. If I join Signal with another alias (free-form string perhaps) then they could just add me via that. Not really harder than using my phone number.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago> Why? If someone wants to use a phone number for their identifier, fine. But make it optional Network effects. If you’re only findable via custom handle versus the phone number your network already has, you’ve reduced the network’s value to your contacts. Put another way, if I join a messaging service and it says two of my contacts are on it (but many more may be), that’s close to a non-starter.
- Freak_NL 5y agoI'm fine with people not finding me automatically. If Signal wants to keep the low-resistance method of bulk-checking your contact's phone numbers, fine. Just give me the choice of joining without it.
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago> fine with people not finding me automatically That’s a private gain at the network’s cost. For a challenger, their decision to bar that albeit limited form of free-riding is perfectly rational. For a dominant network, I am much more sympathetic to the call for anonymity.
- turminal 5y agoPrioritizing your market share over private gains of your users is precisely the thing that makes you "not an ally of user freedom"
- JumpCrisscross 5y ago> Prioritizing your market share over private gains of your users Network effects make these virtually indistinguishable. If a network is unusable it doesn’t help anyone. There may be an argument, however, for charging for the opt out.
- gefhfffh 5y agoUnusable is a big stretch
- lucian1900 5y agoIf a network is not usable by anyone with a smartphone, it's strictly less usable than WhatsApp. That means in practice, it's unusable.
- kitkat_new 5y agoWhy would messengers without phone number collection not be usable by anyone with a smartphone? Even if that was the case, " it's strictly less usable than WhatsApp" is not true, because other messengers can provide other quality of life features. " That means in practice, it's unusable." is not true either. Remove "Status" support from WhatsApp and you get strictly less usable than WhatsApp. Still, it is not unusable. Signal is pretty close to being strictly less usable than WhatsApp btw.
- imwillofficial 5y agoAnd insane spam follows.
- Freak_NL 5y agoWhy would you add a spammer to your contacts in Signal?
- imwillofficial 5y agoPeople can request to write you without being in your contacts. I have received several spam messages this week in this way. Imagine how much more with a lower barrier to entry
- lucian1900 5y agoIf it's optional, then there is more than one way to identify users. For a non-technical user, that means they have to make a choice and understand that choice, as opposed to just always using a phone number. And everyone with a phone has a phone number.