4 ms·

I don't want a different platform that functions similarly to SMS/MMS that I have to convince people to use, I want a replacement platform that transparently fu

I don't want a different platform that functions similarly to SMS/MMS that I have to convince people to use, I want a replacement platform that transparently functions the same way but better. That solution is RCS, even with its flaws and lack of support from Apple.

threeseed 4y ago
Which RCS would that be: standard RCS or Google's enhanced RCS.
- calvinmorrison 4y ago
  sounds like email, yet we manage along fine
  - s3p 4y ago
    ...Google's enhanced email protocol?
    - phinnaeus 4y ago
      Oh man Wave was great for the 5 minutes it lasted. It's Apache now right?
    - tikhonj 4y ago
      Google certainly has a bunch of extensions in IMAP. I'm not sure about the messages themselves, but I wouldn't be surprised if Google has extra metadata and supports features that only work within the world of GMail and gracefully degrade in other clients—but, unlike IMAP, I haven't worked with that directly, so I'm not confident either way. (Concrete example: GMail has additional integration with Google Calendar just like Outlook has integration with Outlook's calendar, but I'm not sure how that manifests at the protocol level.)
    - jamesgeck0 4y ago
      AMP Email lets you build interactive emails for Gmail users. https://amp.dev/about/email/ https://amp.dev/about/email/
wyager 4y ago
Yet another unreliable, overcomplicated piece of machinery managed by incompetent carriers, with terrible security and privacy properties. Our goal should be to turn cell carriers into dumb data pipes. They have demonstrated repeatedly that trusting them with more is a bad idea.
mike_d 4y ago
> I want a replacement platform that transparently functions the same way but better. We have that. It is called iMessage. It replaces SMS, has all the added features, and transparently "just works." You just need to upgrade your phone to one that has it. Google should be asking Apple to release iMessage for Android, not this silly "green bubble" campaign.
- woojoo666 4y ago
  > Google should be asking Apple to release iMessage for Android I believe people have already been asking this for years, to no avail
CharlesW 4y ago
> I don't want a different platform that functions similarly to SMS/MMS that I have to convince people to use, I want a replacement platform that transparently functions the same way but better. That solution is RCS… Sorry to break it to you, but at least some people consider RCS to be DOA in that respect. "Text messaging used to be a cash cow for carriers, but with the advent of unlimited texting and the commoditization of carrier messaging, there's no clear revenue motivation for carriers to release RCS. The result is that the RCS rollout has amounted to nothing but false promises and delays. The carriers nixed a joint venture called the 'Cross-Carrier Messaging Initiative'¹ in April, pretty much killing any hopes that RCS will ever hit SMS-like ubiquity."² ¹ "Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile kill their cross-carrier RCS messaging plans" https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/verizon-att-and-t-mobile-kill-their-cross-carrier-rcs-messaging-plans/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/verizon-att-and-t-mo... ² https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/google-enables-end-to-end-encryption-for-androids-default-sms-rcs-app/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/google-enables-end-t...
Handytinge 4y ago
For the record, the vast majority of Androids lifecycle, Google has also not supported RCS. This is a recent uptake, after they shut down their 8th failed messaging platform. The "RCS" that Google implements does not follow the standards that have been around decades. The interopability and push for RCS is a marketing exercise.

threeseed 4y ago

Which RCS would that be: standard RCS or Google's enhanced RCS.

calvinmorrison 4y ago
sounds like email, yet we manage along fine
- s3p 4y ago
  ...Google's enhanced email protocol?
  - phinnaeus 4y ago
    Oh man Wave was great for the 5 minutes it lasted. It's Apache now right?
  - tikhonj 4y ago
    Google certainly has a bunch of extensions in IMAP. I'm not sure about the messages themselves, but I wouldn't be surprised if Google has extra metadata and supports features that only work within the world of GMail and gracefully degrade in other clients—but, unlike IMAP, I haven't worked with that directly, so I'm not confident either way. (Concrete example: GMail has additional integration with Google Calendar just like Outlook has integration with Outlook's calendar, but I'm not sure how that manifests at the protocol level.)
  - jamesgeck0 4y ago
    AMP Email lets you build interactive emails for Gmail users. https://amp.dev/about/email/ https://amp.dev/about/email/

wyager 4y ago

Yet another unreliable, overcomplicated piece of machinery managed by incompetent carriers, with terrible security and privacy properties. Our goal should be to turn cell carriers into dumb data pipes. They have demonstrated repeatedly that trusting them with more is a bad idea.

mike_d 4y ago

> I want a replacement platform that transparently functions the same way but better. We have that. It is called iMessage. It replaces SMS, has all the added features, and transparently "just works." You just need to upgrade your phone to one that has it. Google should be asking Apple to release iMessage for Android, not this silly "green bubble" campaign.

woojoo666 4y ago
> Google should be asking Apple to release iMessage for Android I believe people have already been asking this for years, to no avail

CharlesW 4y ago

> I don't want a different platform that functions similarly to SMS/MMS that I have to convince people to use, I want a replacement platform that transparently functions the same way but better. That solution is RCS… Sorry to break it to you, but at least some people consider RCS to be DOA in that respect. "Text messaging used to be a cash cow for carriers, but with the advent of unlimited texting and the commoditization of carrier messaging, there's no clear revenue motivation for carriers to release RCS. The result is that the RCS rollout has amounted to nothing but false promises and delays. The carriers nixed a joint venture called the 'Cross-Carrier Messaging Initiative'¹ in April, pretty much killing any hopes that RCS will ever hit SMS-like ubiquity."² ¹ "Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile kill their cross-carrier RCS messaging plans" https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/verizon-att-and-t-mobile-kill-their-cross-carrier-rcs-messaging-plans/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/verizon-att-and-t-mo... ² https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/google-enables-end-to-end-encryption-for-androids-default-sms-rcs-app/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/google-enables-end-t...

Handytinge 4y ago

For the record, the vast majority of Androids lifecycle, Google has also not supported RCS. This is a recent uptake, after they shut down their 8th failed messaging platform. The "RCS" that Google implements does not follow the standards that have been around decades. The interopability and push for RCS is a marketing exercise.