Re: Matrix communication protocol.

[Denver Gingerich]

On Thu, Jul 30, 2020 at 06:04:34PM +0200, Msavoritias wrote:
> I wanted a client for Android so i searched on Google play and Fdroid but
> couldn't find one with acceptable design. Proprietary or otherwise.

What is wrong with Conversations?

https://f-droid.org/app/eu.siacs.conversations
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.siacs.conversations

> Plus I have seen that there is a huge shift to Matrix for non-tech people.
> IRC and XMPP seem to stay into obscurity. XMPP would have been popular by
> now.
> And what good is a system if its not popular? I don't want to message my
> self.
> Matrix is the only protocol that is actively developed, is Free Software
> (although not AGPL-3), and seems to have a consensus by the wider community.

XMPP is also actively developed and has many free software implementations 
(including some that are AGPLv3, like https://jmp.chat/ ).

If you want/need a gratis account that supports all the important features, see 
https://dismail.de/register.html .

> Also the clients seem to decently designed.

See above - is there something Conversations is missing versus the Matrix 
client(s) for Android?

> I'm saying all this because if we want to attract more Free Software users,
> like it or not we need a good presentation with good interface. otherwise we
> risk to fall into obscurity.
> No, Im not saying to use proprietary messaging to attract users.

I definitely agree.  However, I think we need to look at which protocols are 
likely to stand the test of time.  Matrix is very new, and the server 
implementation(s?) is extremely resource-heavy.  XMPP has been around for over 
20 years and has multiple lightweight server implementations.

Denver
https://jmp.chat/