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Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

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Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#61

Post by devit »

nodesocket wrote: post #49
akerl_ wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"While Slack offers many benefits to customers, there are also downsides to using the platform, including high subscription fees and the risk of a massive leak of private data if Slack’s servers are ever breached (again)." Not everybody wants to pay to put their potentially sensitive data onto somebody else's systems, where they can't control the security of that data.

The one thing in terms of security that is even a blip on my radar is that slack does not encrypt data at rest (disks). [1]( https://twitter.com/slackhq/status/467476452364279808 ) Their reason that they couldn't search through data if it were encrypted is not true. They are using AWS, and can simply use EBS encrypted volumes ( http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryp... ). Should be an easy flag…

Not sure what exactly that buys in terms of security.

Both Slack and Amazon can steal all the data without being detected, regardless of whether the servers are encrypting it or not, since if the server can decrypt it, so can Amazon (just scan VM memory for the key from the hypervisor).

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#62

Post by vvpan »

chetanahuja wrote: post #56
vvpan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why does it matter? Bandwidth is super-cheap.

"But why does it matter? Bandwidth is super-cheap" If this comment is serious (and I have my doubts), I'm left speechless... Don't even know where to start. I'll just leave it here http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/28/9625062/facebook-2g-tuesd...

> I'm left speechless...

Oh please. Without even knowing much about the protocol, I am almost positive that it's bandwidth requirements are well below even a relatively light modern webpage and likely well within 2G range.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#63

Post by kefka »

Killswitch wrote: post #57
kefka wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well. Words are cheap. I do appreciate CDRdude speaking up for me. Here you go. http://webchat.freenode.net room #hntesting Files end up on Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ukffgmwntypfg4m/ircchatlog.txt?dl=... Searching wouldn't be too difficult. That's just loading the data up in a Hadoop and then regurgitating it. The only 'doop cluster I have now is a semi-production one. Working on getting a 150 node set…

Let me know how I can do that just by signing up, because my my job is to work on company problems, not emulate Slack in IRC all day long. No matter how much you push and say that everything Slack offers is doable in IRC, doesn't change the fact that you still have to go through the troubles of setting that stuff up. While I agree that setting up a bot isn't hard, I've done it for the IRC channel I created and still…

Oh please. The tools I use rapidly allow me to chain all sorts of stuff together to create things that surpass even Slack and other apps.

Where is a Slack that can do "sensitivity calculation" to alert users of possibly hostile tone? That's right. Not created yet. Give me a half hour and I could have the beginning of that. I also could get translation facilities built in so that English/French/German/Spanish could be seamlessly translatable.

The sky's the limit. And your negativity diminishes your ideas.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#64

Post by notacoward »

nodesocket wrote: post #49
akerl_ wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"While Slack offers many benefits to customers, there are also downsides to using the platform, including high subscription fees and the risk of a massive leak of private data if Slack’s servers are ever breached (again)." Not everybody wants to pay to put their potentially sensitive data onto somebody else's systems, where they can't control the security of that data.

The one thing in terms of security that is even a blip on my radar is that slack does not encrypt data at rest (disks). [1]( https://twitter.com/slackhq/status/467476452364279808 ) Their reason that they couldn't search through data if it were encrypted is not true. They are using AWS, and can simply use EBS encrypted volumes ( http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryp... ). Should be an easy flag…

The only thing that's on your radar. Do you speak for everyone else's needs or interests?

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#65

Post by Killswitch »

kefka wrote: post #63
Killswitch wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me know how I can do that just by signing up, because my my job is to work on company problems, not emulate Slack in IRC all day long. No matter how much you push and say that everything Slack offers is doable in IRC, doesn't change the fact that you still have to go through the troubles of setting that stuff up. While I agree that setting up a bot isn't hard, I've done it for the IRC channel I created and still…

Oh please. The tools I use rapidly allow me to chain all sorts of stuff together to create things that surpass even Slack and other apps. Where is a Slack that can do "sensitivity calculation" to alert users of possibly hostile tone? That's right. Not created yet. Give me a half hour and I could have the beginning of that. I also could get translation facilities built in so that English/French/German/Spanish could be…

Yeah, I had that mentality once. "Why should I use 3rd party stuff when I am a developer and can do it all myself?!?!" Then I realized I was wasting time working on stuff that don't matter, instead of working on stuff that mattered.

If that's your thing, that's your thing and go do it. But it's not a lot of peoples, and that's why Slack is so popular.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#66

Post by zanny »

Arathorn wrote: post #23
JoshMnem wrote: post #16

I wish that someone would build an easy-to-use layer on top of an open protocol like IRC or XMPP. The tool could manage setup, configuration, archiving, and notifications. Instead of building a walled garden that is merely accessible via an open protocol, it would be more interesting to build a thin layer on top of an XMPP server that could even be removed or replaced later, if desired.

They have - e.g. http://vector.im/beta on top of the Matrix.org protocol. [disclaimer, I work on Matrix]

Any reason not to have openid or persona signup? Its just annoying nowadays to encounter a site where it still wants only plain old username / password.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#67

Post by kefka »

Killswitch wrote: post #65
kefka wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh please. The tools I use rapidly allow me to chain all sorts of stuff together to create things that surpass even Slack and other apps. Where is a Slack that can do "sensitivity calculation" to alert users of possibly hostile tone? That's right. Not created yet. Give me a half hour and I could have the beginning of that. I also could get translation facilities built in so that English/French/German/Spanish could be…

Yeah, I had that mentality once. "Why should I use 3rd party stuff when I am a developer and can do it all myself?!?!" Then I realized I was wasting time working on stuff that don't matter, instead of working on stuff that mattered. If that's your thing, that's your thing and go do it. But it's not a lot of peoples, and that's why Slack is so popular.

> "Why should I use 3rd party stuff when I am a developer and can do it all myself?!?!"

But that's not what I'm doing.

Company A does really good semantic analysis. Company B does chat, say Slack. Company C file storage. Company D does search.

Now, I'm spinning up or using a current server. In this case, lets do IRC to Company Chat, B (bidi bridge). I connect to Company B with my user, and a user on IRC. Logging is turned on and saved, to Company C.

Whenever messages are sent, they are run through API from company A, checking semantics and feel. Score applied personally to help devs be more humane.

While all this is happening, search D is going through files presented and making a searchable DB of date/time, channel, user, and text.

And, I just created a new product.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#68

Post by rdtsc »

askafriend wrote: post #5
pnathan wrote: post #3

Can someone explain the attraction that nerds have for Slack/Hipchat over a well-tended IRC server?

As patio11 puts it: UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX See more: https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931499680657409 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931665275916288 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931949645533184 https://twitter.com/patio11/statu…

Well not sure if there are enough repeated UX-es in there. If there would be, maybe 5 more, I'd be convinced, but so far not really.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#69

Post by brenschluss »

Albright wrote: post #60
askafriend wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As patio11 puts it: UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX See more: https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931499680657409 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931665275916288 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931949645533184 https://twitter.com/patio11/statu…

Which is kind of a frustrating answer, because Slack's UX sucks. Its desktop app is just a wrapped web page; the fonts and colors match nobody's operating system; the fffffffffffffffffriendly scroll bar; all the cutesy messages and iconography; "Reconnecting…"; etc, etc. Yes, I understand that it's still friendlier to use than IRC, but there's a middle ground between "easy to use" and "still looks and works like a pr…

None of your comments about Slack's UX are actually about UX; they're about the UI.

Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives

#70

Post by dvanduzer »

Albright wrote: post #60
askafriend wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As patio11 puts it: UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX UX See more: https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931499680657409 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931665275916288 https://twitter.com/patio11/status/660931949645533184 https://twitter.com/patio11/statu…

Which is kind of a frustrating answer, because Slack's UX sucks. Its desktop app is just a wrapped web page; the fonts and colors match nobody's operating system; the fffffffffffffffffriendly scroll bar; all the cutesy messages and iconography; "Reconnecting…"; etc, etc. Yes, I understand that it's still friendlier to use than IRC, but there's a middle ground between "easy to use" and "still looks and works like a pr…

Slack's UX is amazing.

What many people seem to miss about Slack, is that it isn't a replacement for IM/IRC. It is a replacement for email. (Email is pretty embedded infrastructure though, so it still exists as a lower layer system protocol.)

The reason the UI design of these tools looks like Slack is because they are trying to get some of Slack's thunder. But the wannabes are making the mistake of copying the UI without trying to copy the UX.

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