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The hacker spirit uses Signal. Promoting WhatsApp over the more open community-supported alternative is worse than gloating over Beeper.

by krrrh 3y ago

tibbydudeza 3y ago
[flagged]
fauigerzigerk 3y ago
I would very much prefer to use something other than WhatsApp (especially as Facebook has banned me for life from all their other apps), but my attempts keep failing. My wife won't use Signal because it includes a crypto wallet and crypto transactions are taxable. Matrix/Element would be my preferred option, but it causes so many security or encryption related issues that it has scared off everyone I tried using it with. Nobody knows what to do with the incessant popups demanding to "verify" something or other. Nobody (including myself) knows why older messages often can't be decrypted. Telegram is less secure than WhatsApp. Threema is not free, which makes it difficult for me to ask people to install it. It's not open source either. iMessage is Apple only. So what's left besides WhatsApp?
- kelnos 3y ago
  > My wife won't use Signal because it includes a crypto wallet and crypto transactions are taxable. I think the crypto wallet is lame, and am disappointed the Signal folks decided to integrate something like that, but it's entirely opt-in. If she doesn't want to worry about being taxed on crypto transactions, she can simply not use that part of the app. I actually forgot for a second it was there until you brought it up, and I'm a daily Signal user.
  - fauigerzigerk 3y ago
    I told her it's not activated by default but she doesn't want to touch crypto with a 10 ft pole. She says if it's in there then tax authorities might eventually come asking if the feature becomes popular. And then she would have to keep evidence of not actually using it. I think her concerns are overblown, but it shows how incompatible taxable transactions are with a privacy focused app. The two things should be kept well apart. [Edit] Politically, it kind of defeats the purpose as well. You want to be able to argue that you have a right to privacy when it comes to personal communication. You don't want to be in a position of having to defend the privacy of trading securities.
    - DANmode 3y ago
      It does not show this. Separately, you've either misunderstood her position, or it's poorly thought out, and/or ideologically based. What path would tax authorities use to ask Signal users (and only Signal users) if they've used cryptocurrency?
      - fauigerzigerk 3y ago
        >What path would tax authorities use to ask Signal users (and only Signal users) if they've used cryptocurrency? Tax law. In the UK, every single payment in cryptocurrencies, however small, is a taxable disposal that you have to include in your tax return if your total proceeds or gains from all investments are above a certain threshold. I'm not ideologically opposed to cryptocurrencies and neither is my wife. She's just allergic to anything that could potentially raise tax questions.
        Maken 3y ago
        Now I'm seriously wondering how hard is to fill taxes in the UK. I think I have done worse mistakes than a few cents in crypto and all I got was having to resubmit the forms. Edit: On second thought, I don't own a business, so I guess nobody is going to look into my tax fillings with the same suspicion since they do not expect me to be doing anything funny with my accounting.
        fauigerzigerk 3y ago
        >Now I'm seriously wondering how hard is to fill taxes in the UK Doing it correctly is non-trivial. You have to submit a so called computation for each individual disposal, which can easily run into several pages. The algorithm for working out the cost of a disposal is actually a pretty interesting test case for learning a new programming language or paradigm. Try implementing UK share identification rules in SQL for instance :)
    - Podgajski 3y ago
      This is why I also have my signal set for automatically disappearing messages. I want you all to try to delete your messages if you have iCloud turned on. It’s impossible and if you managed to do it they’re stuck on the server for 30 days. Apple is a spy service.
- baq 3y ago
  I wish watching ads on Facebook was treated as personal income that you have report to IRS. Social graph would fix itself in a nanosecond.
- dimask 3y ago
  You do not have to activate the "crypto wallet", even less use it.
  - worthless-trash 3y ago
    TIL it even has one.
  - fauigerzigerk 3y ago
    I responded to this in the other thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38580504 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38580504
- thrwy_counselor 3y ago
  [flagged]
viktorcode 3y ago
I use many messengers, Signal too. It lacks in polish and features compared to all the others. Its security premise is undermined by insistence of using a phone number – which can be spoofed or taken over – to sign up. I see it as the result of hacking spirit running the development, not the product team. Currently it can’t compete.
Podgajski 3y ago
not only does the hacker spirit use Signal, but they tell people that’s the only way they want to communicate. At least that’s what I do. It forced my friends to install Signal because of it six more people are using Signal. People who contact me over SMS get an immediate phone call from me in response.
op00to 3y ago
What strange woman lying in a pond gave you a sword to make you Decider Of The Hacker Spirit?

The hacker spirit uses Signal. Promoting WhatsApp over the more open community-supported alternative is worse than gloating over Beeper.

by krrrh 3y ago

The hacker spirit uses Signal. Promoting WhatsApp over the more open community-supported alternative is worse than gloating over Beeper.

tibbydudeza 3y ago

[flagged]

fauigerzigerk 3y ago

I would very much prefer to use something other than WhatsApp (especially as Facebook has banned me for life from all their other apps), but my attempts keep failing. My wife won't use Signal because it includes a crypto wallet and crypto transactions are taxable. Matrix/Element would be my preferred option, but it causes so many security or encryption related issues that it has scared off everyone I tried using it with. Nobody knows what to do with the incessant popups demanding to "verify" something or other. Nobody (including myself) knows why older messages often can't be decrypted. Telegram is less secure than WhatsApp. Threema is not free, which makes it difficult for me to ask people to install it. It's not open source either. iMessage is Apple only. So what's left besides WhatsApp?

kelnos 3y ago
> My wife won't use Signal because it includes a crypto wallet and crypto transactions are taxable. I think the crypto wallet is lame, and am disappointed the Signal folks decided to integrate something like that, but it's entirely opt-in. If she doesn't want to worry about being taxed on crypto transactions, she can simply not use that part of the app. I actually forgot for a second it was there until you brought it up, and I'm a daily Signal user.
- fauigerzigerk 3y ago
  I told her it's not activated by default but she doesn't want to touch crypto with a 10 ft pole. She says if it's in there then tax authorities might eventually come asking if the feature becomes popular. And then she would have to keep evidence of not actually using it. I think her concerns are overblown, but it shows how incompatible taxable transactions are with a privacy focused app. The two things should be kept well apart. [Edit] Politically, it kind of defeats the purpose as well. You want to be able to argue that you have a right to privacy when it comes to personal communication. You don't want to be in a position of having to defend the privacy of trading securities.
  - DANmode 3y ago
    It does not show this. Separately, you've either misunderstood her position, or it's poorly thought out, and/or ideologically based. What path would tax authorities use to ask Signal users (and only Signal users) if they've used cryptocurrency?
    - fauigerzigerk 3y ago
      >What path would tax authorities use to ask Signal users (and only Signal users) if they've used cryptocurrency? Tax law. In the UK, every single payment in cryptocurrencies, however small, is a taxable disposal that you have to include in your tax return if your total proceeds or gains from all investments are above a certain threshold. I'm not ideologically opposed to cryptocurrencies and neither is my wife. She's just allergic to anything that could potentially raise tax questions.
      - Maken 3y ago
        Now I'm seriously wondering how hard is to fill taxes in the UK. I think I have done worse mistakes than a few cents in crypto and all I got was having to resubmit the forms. Edit: On second thought, I don't own a business, so I guess nobody is going to look into my tax fillings with the same suspicion since they do not expect me to be doing anything funny with my accounting.
        fauigerzigerk 3y ago
        >Now I'm seriously wondering how hard is to fill taxes in the UK Doing it correctly is non-trivial. You have to submit a so called computation for each individual disposal, which can easily run into several pages. The algorithm for working out the cost of a disposal is actually a pretty interesting test case for learning a new programming language or paradigm. Try implementing UK share identification rules in SQL for instance :)
  - Podgajski 3y ago
    This is why I also have my signal set for automatically disappearing messages. I want you all to try to delete your messages if you have iCloud turned on. It’s impossible and if you managed to do it they’re stuck on the server for 30 days. Apple is a spy service.
baq 3y ago
I wish watching ads on Facebook was treated as personal income that you have report to IRS. Social graph would fix itself in a nanosecond.
dimask 3y ago
You do not have to activate the "crypto wallet", even less use it.
- worthless-trash 3y ago
  TIL it even has one.
- fauigerzigerk 3y ago
  I responded to this in the other thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38580504 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38580504
thrwy_counselor 3y ago
[flagged]

viktorcode 3y ago

I use many messengers, Signal too. It lacks in polish and features compared to all the others. Its security premise is undermined by insistence of using a phone number – which can be spoofed or taken over – to sign up. I see it as the result of hacking spirit running the development, not the product team. Currently it can’t compete.

Podgajski 3y ago

not only does the hacker spirit use Signal, but they tell people that’s the only way they want to communicate. At least that’s what I do. It forced my friends to install Signal because of it six more people are using Signal. People who contact me over SMS get an immediate phone call from me in response.

op00to 3y ago

What strange woman lying in a pond gave you a sword to make you Decider Of The Hacker Spirit?