3 ms·
As others have said, we created Matrix 2 years before AP, targetting generic pubsub+history - but with the initial applications being Slack/Skype/WhatsApp style
by Arathorn 4y ago
As others have said, we created Matrix 2 years before AP, targetting generic pubsub+history - but with the initial applications being Slack/Skype/WhatsApp style use cases. In fact, Element/Riot’s internal codename as a reference Matrix client was “Skype Done Right”. As a result, there was a perception that “Matrix is for chat”, even though you can do so much more - eg https://matrix.org/blog/2020/12/18/introducing-cerulean https://matrix.org/blog/2020/12/18/introducing-cerulean is a microblogging system on Matrix, and thirdroom.io is a whole virtual world implementation.
As a result, for whatever reason, folks prefer to build domain-specific protocols like ActivityPub or ATProto focusing specifically on public microblogging rather than building on Matrix’s generic primitives. It’s also fair to say that Matrix wasn’t proven when ActivityPub began, and AP builds on many preexisting protocols like ostatus, rss, salmon, etc.