As a Riot user, I am so glad they are making progress on the redesign - the old one is an absolute disaster. It's been the biggest problem I've had with it, even though Matrix hasn't even reached...
As a Riot user, I am so glad they are making progress on the redesign - the old one is an absolute disaster. It's been the biggest problem I've had with it, even though Matrix hasn't even reached 1.0! Hopefully their work will chip away at Discord/Slack's market share so more people can have more secure/private communication.
They still have a looong way to go if they want some of that market. Right now, only privacy seeking and FOSS enthusiast users are willing to use it, despite all of its problems. Early this year I...
They still have a looong way to go if they want some of that market. Right now, only privacy seeking and FOSS enthusiast users are willing to use it, despite all of its problems.
Early this year I suggested using riot in my company instead of skype and slack. After one day of use everyone was complaining about how untuitive and full of bugs it was. The company then decided to continue using Skype as the oficial tool.
Oh yeah, definitely. But they are definitely making progress, and the redesign is a huge step in the right direction. (or the wrong direction, considering my username...)
looong way to go
Oh yeah, definitely. But they are definitely making progress, and the redesign is a huge step in the right direction. (or the wrong direction, considering my username...)
Could you elaborate on the problems? I haven't used it much in the last year or so.
They still have a looong way to go if they want some of that market. Right now, only privacy seeking and FOSS enthusiast users are willing to use it, despite all of its problems.
Could you elaborate on the problems? I haven't used it much in the last year or so.
Support to and from the French governmental instance is a mixed blessing imo. Yes it gives a very solid vote of confidence from a large organization but governments are notoriously slow and...
Support to and from the French governmental instance is a mixed blessing imo. Yes it gives a very solid vote of confidence from a large organization but governments are notoriously slow and difficult to work with/for, I hope the core Matrix team isn't going to end up bogged down in bureaucratic back-and-forths which will slow down development.
I do hope Matrix succeeds in becoming a solid underpinning for future Discord/Slack competitors. I don't think either of those two really are in any place to be replaced in the public's eye anytime soon but it'd be better to have at least a solid software underpinning for when replacements are needed.
How does this compare to Signal? I have it installed, but have no contacts on it, so can't really use it. But apparently it's similar to WhatsApp. Is this Matrix/Riot thing similar too? Bad names....
How does this compare to Signal? I have it installed, but have no contacts on it, so can't really use it. But apparently it's similar to WhatsApp. Is this Matrix/Riot thing similar too?
Bad names. Like, the worst names possible. Matrix, Riot. I mean, it might be bikeshedding, but names are important. It's the first thing someone gets to know about anything, and then it appears every time that thing appears / is used / is mentioned / etc. And Matrix and Riot have disastrous connotations for a product. Matrix is related to hi-tech computer black magic and sci-fi, or maths and physics; Riot is related to political dissidence and violence. No wonder why this has problems appealing to the "casual user" market.
Signal is better for communicating with small groups of people you know. You have to know their mobile numbers and it's mostly a mobile app (there is a desktop app but it's really basic). It is...
Signal is better for communicating with small groups of people you know. You have to know their mobile numbers and it's mostly a mobile app (there is a desktop app but it's really basic). It is best as a replacement for sms and is capable of sending sms to your contacts that refuse to adopt it.
Matrix is a protocol like irc. The riot client is similar to slack/discord and is more useful for larger groups and communities. The chat rooms can be private or listed publicly. You can easily invite people to a chat room with a url.
The main reason to use either of them is that they are both privacy respecting applications that make use of end to end encryption, are open source and are controlled by non-profits that do not have surveillance-capitalism business models.
Signal is more of a replacement for Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger than it is for Slack or Discord. Speaking of Discord: you'd think that'd be a pretty bad name for a social hangout app as well,...
Signal is more of a replacement for Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger than it is for Slack or Discord.
Speaking of Discord: you'd think that'd be a pretty bad name for a social hangout app as well, or at least a somewhat confusing one, but in general names are more malleable in the public mind than you'd think. Riot could just as easily become associated with a notion of resistance, defiance of authority, etc.
As a Riot user, I am so glad they are making progress on the redesign - the old one is an absolute disaster. It's been the biggest problem I've had with it, even though Matrix hasn't even reached 1.0! Hopefully their work will chip away at Discord/Slack's market share so more people can have more secure/private communication.
They still have a looong way to go if they want some of that market. Right now, only privacy seeking and FOSS enthusiast users are willing to use it, despite all of its problems.
Early this year I suggested using riot in my company instead of skype and slack. After one day of use everyone was complaining about how untuitive and full of bugs it was. The company then decided to continue using Skype as the oficial tool.
Oh yeah, definitely. But they are definitely making progress, and the redesign is a huge step in the right direction. (or the wrong direction, considering my username...)
Could you elaborate on the problems? I haven't used it much in the last year or so.
Support to and from the French governmental instance is a mixed blessing imo. Yes it gives a very solid vote of confidence from a large organization but governments are notoriously slow and difficult to work with/for, I hope the core Matrix team isn't going to end up bogged down in bureaucratic back-and-forths which will slow down development.
I do hope Matrix succeeds in becoming a solid underpinning for future Discord/Slack competitors. I don't think either of those two really are in any place to be replaced in the public's eye anytime soon but it'd be better to have at least a solid software underpinning for when replacements are needed.
How does this compare to Signal? I have it installed, but have no contacts on it, so can't really use it. But apparently it's similar to WhatsApp. Is this Matrix/Riot thing similar too?
Bad names. Like, the worst names possible. Matrix, Riot. I mean, it might be bikeshedding, but names are important. It's the first thing someone gets to know about anything, and then it appears every time that thing appears / is used / is mentioned / etc. And Matrix and Riot have disastrous connotations for a product. Matrix is related to hi-tech computer black magic and sci-fi, or maths and physics; Riot is related to political dissidence and violence. No wonder why this has problems appealing to the "casual user" market.
Signal is better for communicating with small groups of people you know. You have to know their mobile numbers and it's mostly a mobile app (there is a desktop app but it's really basic). It is best as a replacement for sms and is capable of sending sms to your contacts that refuse to adopt it.
Matrix is a protocol like irc. The riot client is similar to slack/discord and is more useful for larger groups and communities. The chat rooms can be private or listed publicly. You can easily invite people to a chat room with a url.
The main reason to use either of them is that they are both privacy respecting applications that make use of end to end encryption, are open source and are controlled by non-profits that do not have surveillance-capitalism business models.
Thanks a lot for the comparison!
Signal is more of a replacement for Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger than it is for Slack or Discord.
Speaking of Discord: you'd think that'd be a pretty bad name for a social hangout app as well, or at least a somewhat confusing one, but in general names are more malleable in the public mind than you'd think. Riot could just as easily become associated with a notion of resistance, defiance of authority, etc.
Is there something equivalent to a directory so that I can find rooms to hang out in?
Yeah, there is one. Its slightly hard to find though :/
Could you perhaps share a link?
https://riot.im/app/#/directory