3 ms·

Have you managed to get group chats working on Pidgin? That's the part I've been unable to get working since the Hangouts migration.

Chevalier 12y ago
Not a techie, but as I understand it, group Hangouts aren't compatible with XMPP. Pidgin works solely for one-on-one chats. I actually like Hangouts in theory (GVoice/Skype/GChat in one!), but it's a bloated monster of an extension that absolutely should not run in-browser. Even on my relatively powerful computer, I disabled Hangouts in Gmail just to function. I don't understand why Google can't build something as lightweight and beautiful as Pidgin.
- soylentcola 12y ago
  All other critiques aside, it's telling that any users are coming to this conclusion because for me, a huge part of moving to GTalk/Hangouts back in 2006 or so was that I didn't need to install another IM app. I typically kept/keep Gmail open in a tab whenever I'm at my computer and it was great to not worry about Trillian or ICQ or AIM or any of those. When I was working at low-level jobs right out of college it wasn't always permitted or feasible to install applications like that on shared computers anyway. In-browser chat was a godsend and I liked how I could add my AIM account back when that seemed to be one of the more popular IM options among my non-techie friends. Honestly I think Gmail/GTalk owe a lot to AOL for allowing that interoperability. Sites like Facebook would never allow you to connect with Google+ and use a competitor's site to access their platform. It takes away their biggest advantages (critical mass and inertia). But it's right after lunch and I'm getting off topic. Personally I still use Hangouts as my primary IM/chat platform because it doesn't seem to give my systems much of a performance hit and it lets me carry conversations between machines and my phone without having to install apps all over. I use Pidgin at work but for everything else, Hangouts is still my default. Doesn't mean I'd mind performance improvements though.
Sean-Der 12y ago
Text only MUC works with Pidgin+ejabber for me, I really wish you had video MUC. I started a new project and jabber would work great if I had multi-user video http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0272.html http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0272.html but ended up going with Slack instead.

Chevalier 12y ago

Not a techie, but as I understand it, group Hangouts aren't compatible with XMPP. Pidgin works solely for one-on-one chats. I actually like Hangouts in theory (GVoice/Skype/GChat in one!), but it's a bloated monster of an extension that absolutely should not run in-browser. Even on my relatively powerful computer, I disabled Hangouts in Gmail just to function. I don't understand why Google can't build something as lightweight and beautiful as Pidgin.

soylentcola 12y ago
All other critiques aside, it's telling that any users are coming to this conclusion because for me, a huge part of moving to GTalk/Hangouts back in 2006 or so was that I didn't need to install another IM app. I typically kept/keep Gmail open in a tab whenever I'm at my computer and it was great to not worry about Trillian or ICQ or AIM or any of those. When I was working at low-level jobs right out of college it wasn't always permitted or feasible to install applications like that on shared computers anyway. In-browser chat was a godsend and I liked how I could add my AIM account back when that seemed to be one of the more popular IM options among my non-techie friends. Honestly I think Gmail/GTalk owe a lot to AOL for allowing that interoperability. Sites like Facebook would never allow you to connect with Google+ and use a competitor's site to access their platform. It takes away their biggest advantages (critical mass and inertia). But it's right after lunch and I'm getting off topic. Personally I still use Hangouts as my primary IM/chat platform because it doesn't seem to give my systems much of a performance hit and it lets me carry conversations between machines and my phone without having to install apps all over. I use Pidgin at work but for everything else, Hangouts is still my default. Doesn't mean I'd mind performance improvements though.

Sean-Der 12y ago

Text only MUC works with Pidgin+ejabber for me, I really wish you had video MUC. I started a new project and jabber would work great if I had multi-user video http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0272.html http://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0272.html but ended up going with Slack instead.