IMHO XMPP / Jabber is the best Instant Messenger (IM) protocol
@privsecfoss I would absolutely love to get back to #XMPP as my main (ideally only) IM, but in time some things made it hard to do so:
- it's extensible and not all clients support all modernly needed extensions - the #Jabber XEP solves this (on paper/standard level)
- loads of spam - again, tackled by Jabber XEP bundle and clients that fully implement it
- and ultimately, 90% of my contacts there never pop up anymore - network effect problem
@hook
Extensibility is not a reason not to use XMPP.
It's true, not all XMPP software supports every feature. However we didn't all stop browsing the web because Internet Explorer 6 doesn't support HTML5
There is plenty of modern XMPP software to choose from, and if you don't want to choose, Snikket is a great place to start (in my humble opinion - I work on that project).
@privsecfoss
@mattj, you are totally right re extensibility & I probably worded that a bit awkwardly (I blame jetlag).
I guess my gist would be:
• XMPP is amazing, but also complex
• complexity ⇒ many clients
• small(ish) user base ⇒ not all clients support full Jabber XEP
• ⇒ choice paralysis or bad experience with first choice
• ⇒ user base stays small(ish)
IMHO to break out of it, we need critical mass (again).
( using #XMPP / #Jabber since 2010: https://matija.suklje.name/migrating-to-xmppjabber-and-aim-woes )
@hook
I understand. Your points somewhat echo what's written at https://snikket.org/about/goals/ and https://snikket.org/blog/products-vs-protocols/ . I think we agree on many things.
I just get triggered when these problems turn into reasons not to take action. I migrated my family to XMPP and it's great. Others have done the same.
I didn't ask them to choose clients, I just sent them an invitation link to our self-hosted server. They didn't even need tech support signing up.
My message: don't give up
@privsecfoss
@mattj, I guess you’re right.
I’m probably paralysed a bit due to my main XMPP server being (someone else’s) small instance that’s not very maintained (can’t blame them) and every time I log in I’m literally greeted with hundreds (thousands?) of spam invites and messages.
I should probably migrate to a more active server. Happy to pay/donate for it too.
(I moved my family to #Matrix, but would prefer #Jabber, esp. if self-hosting was easy enough for my weak-ass admin skills.)
@hook
https://snikket.org/hosting/ is a paid (well, currently free while in beta
There are other hosting options too: https://wiki.xmpp.org/web/XMPP_Hosting_Providers
@privsecfoss