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0 pointstgsovlerkhgsel1y ago0 comments

XMPP had its run and is dead, replaced by Matrix. Every single contact I've had on XMPP has migrated away from it.

Anyone telling me "actually nvm, I'm switching from Matrix to XMPP again" won't get me to replace the chat app that I keep just for this one person plus 2-3 others with another experimental, broken, soon to be replaced chat app, they'll get a link to Signal and an invite to send me a letter if they don't want to use that.

Matrix seems reasonably usable for 1:1 channels at least, and I've also successfully used it for groups, including ones bridged to discord and IRC.

0 comments

amatecha1y ago

XMPP isn't dead, but think what you like. More and more people have been adopting it. "experimental, broken", that's not really how I describe software that's been in use since 2004 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gajim / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_(software) ), 2014 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conversations_(software) ) etc. If you want to describe something as experimental or broken just take a look at Element, which has never once been what I would describe as "polished".

tgsovlerkhgselOP1y ago

As I said - every single of my chat-app-militant contacts has migrated from XMPP (which they pushed early and aggressively) to Matrix, which includes groups like hacker spaces etc. (at least the ones that didn't just give up and migrate to closed solutions).

I literally have no single person to talk to on XMPP. The software names you mention all trigger flashbacks of horrible experiences, with my last experience even worse than my recent experience with Element, and unless they have been rewritten from scratch, I wouldn't be willing to install them again. At least I can run Element in a browser tab where it can't pwn my system...

There seem to be three incompatible standards for e2ee on XMPP, the latest being https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0384.html which is marked "experimental". I've never seen OpenPGP used, OTR was a compatibility nightmare, and I think by the time OMEMO started to be a thing XMPP started to stop being a thing.

amatecha1y ago

OMEMO is the only E2EE standard to use now (I mean, barring occasional outliers, but OMEMO is the norm). That's cool, I'm talking to people on XMPP every day with people who have zero intention of moving unless something better (by their definition) comes along. XMPP seems to be gaining popularity as one of the last possible options for a genuinely decentralized encrypted chat protocol that isn't beholden to a singular closed org/corp. I just personally onboarded like five people and they're all like "this is awesome" and.... wait, did you just say "at least I can run this in a browser tab where it can't pwn my system"? Please search "browser exploit rce" on your favorite search engine. Here's one from two weeks ago: https://windowsforum.com/threads/cve-2025-21279-remote-code-...

I used to have a couple 1:1 Matrix chats with friends where I was trying to bridge the whole "different OS" issue for E2EE chat. Neither of them use Matrix anymore, and we were all having issues with Signal (my account is still b0rked). It was just too much hassle. So I mean, the anecdotes go both ways here.

2 more replies

genewitch1y ago

Hey man, GNU Social still exists toooooo

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointstgsovlerkhgsel1y ago0 comments

XMPP had its run and is dead, replaced by Matrix. Every single contact I've had on XMPP has migrated away from it.

Matrix seems reasonably usable for 1:1 channels at least, and I've also successfully used it for groups, including ones bridged to discord and IRC.

0 comments

amatecha1y ago

tgsovlerkhgselOP1y ago

amatecha1y ago

2 more replies

genewitch1y ago

Hey man, GNU Social still exists toooooo

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse