Post AHGSE2gJAEWdwt7kps by mattj@mastodon.technology
(DIR) More posts by mattj@mastodon.technology
(DIR) Post #AHGSE0PvaAEavVRe1g by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T07:05:18Z
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One hour since I last checked my messages in #FluffyChat I go to check it again. This time I timed how long it took for it to load a timeline that has seen _no activity_ since then: 3 minutes 28 fucking seconds.And this is still better than #Element :blobcatmeltcry:Just burn everything to the ground and start again. There's no salvaging this.
(DIR) Post #AHGSE0szq5UENf2rKq by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T07:18:25Z
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I'm honestly starting to think it's a mistake to even have a smartphone. It's just a source of frustration and distraction. It gives the illusion of having the computer with you, but in reality what you have vs a computer is something that is the equivalent of one of those festival gambling machines where you put a coin and some shitty mechanical arm "tries" to grab you a plushie vs an industrial robotic assembly arm.
(DIR) Post #AHGSE1Mm3NJ1s0ydkW by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T07:21:53Z
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I love #matrix the way I love my vacuum cleaner. It's better than not having it but I can't say I enjoy using it.
(DIR) Post #AHGSE1o4Pt8lEfkRIO by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T07:33:44Z
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There are parallels to be drawn between Matrix and my robot vacuum cleaner. It's nice and comfortable... sometimes. But really, it's quite inefficient, gets stuck or confused and lacks features compared to the alternatives that rely on centralised services that collect and sell your data and you have no real control over.My robot vacuum is also stashed away because I don't have the energy to fix it...
(DIR) Post #AHGSE2Eep2PKZ8Bfjk by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T07:39:48Z
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And no, I do not see myself using #IRC or #XMPP (in the near future). They may not share the same problems but they're way too basic. They're equivalent to a robot vacuum you have to manually activate and it's corded to the wall.
(DIR) Post #AHGSE2gJAEWdwt7kps by mattj@mastodon.technology
2022-03-10T07:47:50Z
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@sudorebootAmusingly, if you have a robot vacuum cleaner there is a chance it's running #XMPP: https://bumper.readthedocs.io/en/latest/How_It_Works/ 🙂
(DIR) Post #AHGSQ7bagOnKh9g3yC by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-10T08:42:18Z
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@sudoreboot What are the features in Matrix that you would like to see in XMPP clients before you'd consider using it?
(DIR) Post #AHGTz8muNUr6S6EXCa by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T08:59:49Z
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@jcbrand I don't have an exact list - sorry if some of these already exist:1. edits2. offline chat history3. a way to organise communities and discussions4. encryption by default5. decentralised hosting (i.e. chats should exist on more than one central server)6. actions/reactions/replies or just any non-text events that only make sense in relation to another eventThese are not deal-breakers for me, but they're absolutely necessary for more widespread adoption:i. basic text formatting (bold, italic, strike-through, underline, monospace/code blocks etc)ii. sending/embedding media filesiii. voice and video calling - the former on par with Discord's and the latter on par with Jitsiiiii. stickers
(DIR) Post #AHGUYhm6HzNj67oWZc by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-10T09:06:15Z
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@sudoreboot Thanks for replying.1, 2 are already in all modern XMPP clients.AFAIK people are working on 3.4 is also available, at least as configuration option.5 is not going to happen any time soon, and IMO is probably one of the reasons why Matrix is so slow.6 has some XEPs and initial implementations, but not well supported.i (text formatting) is widely supported via markdown-like.ii and iii are both widely supported.iii is being worked on AFAIK.
(DIR) Post #AHGUg7KLgUVUNGMrBI by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-10T09:07:36Z
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@sudoreboot BTW, not trying to convince you to run out and use XMPP, I was genuinely curious what features you meant and just wanted to provide my feedback as to how far they're supported with XMPP to my knowledge.
(DIR) Post #AHGWI4X2cpoCfAxzpA by sudoreboot@sunbeam.city
2022-03-10T09:25:40Z
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@jcbrand Thanks for the rundown. It's nice to see the protocol making progress.(5) is kind of a big deal and I think the reason Matrix is so slow is more to do with crap implementation and/or underlying approach. It doesn't have to be that servers fully replicate timelines from the beginning of time - it could be for example distributed p2p; hybrid federated/distributed hosting; partial/lazy/optional replication.I also think standardisation and simplicity is very important. The more general and elegant the underlying principles and concepts are, the easier it would be to implement and extend them.
(DIR) Post #AHIC45OmQnHM9e8mXY by 101101000@qoto.org
2022-03-11T04:48:26Z
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@jcbrandThere's probably an element of rationalising there.People hardly ever "buy" something after cold, objective analysis of the product's pros and cons. Decisions tend to be more emotional, and then people look for a way to justify why they like/don't like something or why they choose A over B.It's not about features. #XMPP has amazing features (ad hoc commands, forms, #pubsub, …and most important of all: extensibility) but that doesn't "sell". Instead, along comes someone packaging a bunch of GIFs with their application and all of a sudden what do people clamour for? Bloody “stickers”. You can click on attach file and pick your GIF from your pictures directory and that's your “stickers” feature¹ but, you know, “it's not the same thing”.¹ I know this because I have correspondents that are quite fond of them, and they use #Blabber. Until then I though people were referring to the adhesive stuff.@sudoreboot
(DIR) Post #AHIY2JBYOqAHKFVmdM by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-11T08:54:38Z
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@101101000 I think the things about Matrix that people often criticise most are actually its strengths.For example, the VC money from a dodgy company tied to Mossad pays for stickers and other flashy features.The fact that it's largely centralized around matrix.org makes it easier to roll out features.People often don't want real decentralization, they want convenience together with the vague notion that they're doing the "right thing" (e.g. supporting FOSS and standards)@sudoreboot
(DIR) Post #AHIYLfPty4f1mFSBbE by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-11T08:58:09Z
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@101101000 @sudoreboot That said, I'm biased and also a bit jealous of Matrix. I wish we had a fraction of the mindshare and money that they have in the XMPP community.I also to some extent admire what Matthew et al have done to establish and grow it into what it's now.
(DIR) Post #AHIYUY18qdFXR16h0K by jcbrand@mastodon.xyz
2022-03-11T08:59:45Z
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@101101000 @sudoreboot Matrix seems to show that your servers can be crappy and slow as molasses as long as your clients are relatively slick and flashy.XMPP is the exact opposite, the servers handle millions or even hundreds of millions of sessions, and are used in incredibly diverse settings and environments, but the clients often look and feel dated.There's no real money in XMPP client development, I can attest to that. It's a labour of love.
(DIR) Post #AHJH1kxAAa8l5stK7s by 101101000@qoto.org
2022-03-11T17:18:45Z
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@jcbrand@sudorebootIf you don't already, you need to look at the corporate side of XMPP development. You won't be the next Facebook but you can make a pretty penny out of that.Refocusing the #XMPP foundation towards a more professional lobbying role, or setting up a new entity for that, should probably be in the cards. Sadly I don't think anyone in the “community” has the right skill set + motivation right now. But yeah, more and better marketing needs to be a priority.