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Kind of off-topic, but it's such a pity that we arrived at email as the local minimum for the best communication protocol for transactional messages. Having to
by mtrovo 1y ago
Kind of off-topic, but it's such a pity that we arrived at email as the local minimum for the best communication protocol for transactional messages. Having to set up an email service just to be able to enable authentication flows on a new website is such a hindrance that I keep wondering if it would be different if sending push notifications to a cell phone was made an open protocol..
- ectospheno 1y agoSpam push messages don’t need to be a thing. Ever.
- pphysch 1y agoChina was able to pull that one off, pretty much no one uses email there.
- mtrovo 1y agoWhat exactly are they using? Wechat messages?
- parliament32 1y agoFor registering/authenticating to service, SMS mostly. Same deal in Russia in my experience, basically every website/service signup asks for your mobile number and just texts verification codes.
- eikenberry 1y agoSo smart-phone is required for everything there? No computer flows for website access? "We" definitely don't want that... but many others do as it takes control away from people.
- gabelschlager 1y agoSmartphone is required for everything there, yes. Signing up for services, authenticating yourself (e.g. when entering a train station), payment, social media, etc. Computers used to be expensive and people had less money back then, so most of the country essentially just directly upgraded to smartphones. Many don't and never used to own a PC outside of work.
- tavavex 1y agoFor just SMS authentication, you just need a phone. Any kind of phone. But it also just so happens that in both of those countries, you must have your identity attached to any SIM you purchase. So, anything that makes you register with your phone number will indirectly link your real identity to that registration. It must be very convenient for their governments!
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- parliament32 1y agoNo, any kind of phone that can receive codes over SMS will work (like the ultra-cheap feature phones you can probably get at your local corner store). From a computer browser, you still enter your mobile number to login, then enter the verification code it sends you over SMS. I've also seen sites that offer phone call as an alternative to SMS, so you can presumably also login from a landline.
- jesterson 1y agoThats nowhere near reality. Its used a lot in corporate world.
- citizenpaul 1y agoI hear your pain. However I think if you really look at it email is a good thing. Its brokenness is a highly desired feature. It is the last generally accepted tech bastion that keeps us from becoming some sort of always on the job star trek borg style creatures that cannot have plausible deniability that the computer failed. Oh i didn't get that email. Oh spam filter. Oh so backlogged on email.
- charcircuit 1y agoThis is the fate of most open protocols. It becomes too hard to migrate to a new spec due to the increasing difficulty of coordination and then the protocol gets stuck in time.
- parliament32 1y agoIt's because every communication protocol since has been a walled-garden with a rent-seeker attached. This is why open, federated protocols are so critically important.