4 ms·

The matrix standard is the closest competitor. Synapse/Dendrite and Element are all probably the most popular and are under various open source licenses. Ther

The matrix standard is the closest competitor. Synapse/Dendrite and Element are all probably the most popular and are under various open source licenses. There was always an alternative with IRC

jeroenhd 3y ago
I don't think any Matrix client comes close to Discord in terms of usability and features, though. We have native calling, but nothing quite like the audio and video channels Discord has. I also don't think Matrix has the kind of rich presence that Discord has. I also don't think any Matrix client implements the game streaming feature quite so well. Then there are specialised Discord features like forums, image boards, and other fancy pants channel configurations. I've rarely seen them used, but when they are used, I can't think of a way to replicate them without writing a separate Matrix client at the moment. Widgets are good for embedding web pages, but they can't do the specialised content layout that Discord supports these days. All of these are frontend limitations: Matrix as a protocol supports all of this just fine. If all you care about is text chat, Cinny seems like an excellent Discord clone. I don't think there's anything like that on mobile, though.
- kevincox 3y ago
  Element has a beta running for video/audio channels. I don't think other clients have picked it up yet but it should be a relatively small feature past the existing audio and video support.
  - jeroenhd 3y ago
    The beta has been running for a while, half a year at least. I don't think it should be advertised as a feature just yet, not until we have a solid release date. I'm also not sure if the audio and video channels work like Discord's, I believe these channels are rooms that you would need to be present in; I'm not sure if you can browse other channels and servers while in a call. That said, it's been a while since I last checked.

The matrix standard is the closest competitor. Synapse/Dendrite and Element are all probably the most popular and are under various open source licenses. There was always an alternative with IRC

jeroenhd 3y ago

I don't think any Matrix client comes close to Discord in terms of usability and features, though. We have native calling, but nothing quite like the audio and video channels Discord has. I also don't think Matrix has the kind of rich presence that Discord has. I also don't think any Matrix client implements the game streaming feature quite so well. Then there are specialised Discord features like forums, image boards, and other fancy pants channel configurations. I've rarely seen them used, but when they are used, I can't think of a way to replicate them without writing a separate Matrix client at the moment. Widgets are good for embedding web pages, but they can't do the specialised content layout that Discord supports these days. All of these are frontend limitations: Matrix as a protocol supports all of this just fine. If all you care about is text chat, Cinny seems like an excellent Discord clone. I don't think there's anything like that on mobile, though.

kevincox 3y ago
Element has a beta running for video/audio channels. I don't think other clients have picked it up yet but it should be a relatively small feature past the existing audio and video support.
- jeroenhd 3y ago
  The beta has been running for a while, half a year at least. I don't think it should be advertised as a feature just yet, not until we have a solid release date. I'm also not sure if the audio and video channels work like Discord's, I believe these channels are rooms that you would need to be present in; I'm not sure if you can browse other channels and servers while in a call. That said, it's been a while since I last checked.