I find it curious that having a pure JavaScript implementation including the backend is listed as an advantage.
Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
111–120 of 176 posts
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's amazing to me that people still don't understand the importance of user experience (and low friction setup processes). Do you remember having to hand write your Xorg.conf files to setup a Linux desktop back in the day? Wasn't that a colossal waste of time? Aren't you glad that's not a thing anymore? Sure, I could try to set up an IRC server and the relevant bots and scripts to attempt to emulate what Slack provi…
Exactly it. I don't have time to manage an IRC server. I don't have time to help people figure out IRC when they first join the team. I also don't want to waste time on something that adds zero value to the products we're building. I use Slack for the same reason I own a dishwasher. I could hand wash dishes and it might even be slightly better, but then I'm spending time washing dishes rather than using the time for…
Slack itself probably doesn't care. What about the company that aquires them? What about the companies that will buy that data from them?
And obviously one doesn't actually "read" the conversations, we're not in the 80s anymore, we have software to identify the juicy bits.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#113Can 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…
...except irssi and WeeChat offer substantially better UX*
* personal opinion, yes, but it seems quite obviously true.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#114I'm seeing "No e2e encrypted DMs" as one of the cons for most of these.. anyone have a solution?
Does Slack even have e2e encryption?
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
> eh... slack has consistently said that large communities shouldn't use its services. That has nothing to do with Slack-like apps, and everything to do with Slack. > Go talk to the hundreds of FOSS communities that use IRC. they have all fixed the persistence / search problem I am part of many FOSS communities on IRC. None of them have "fixed" that problem. There might be one or two that archive the channel somewher…
http://eavesdrop.openstack.org - all channels, all meetings, in a nice index and searchable format (i.e. google search with site: http://eavesdrop.openstack.org ) There is a reason slack has a problem with that - scaling is hard. There is also the advantage of not having silos - if I have a problem with a dependant library I can "/j #libname" and ask a question, instead of searching for what slack, or slack like tool…
Frankly, itistoday2 is right - the fact that I have to open an external website and open the multiple pages for the days I've been away, instead of simply scrolling up and continuing the discussion, makes for a terrible experience.
Detachable screen sessions make up somewhat for it, but they're still pretty limited (you might have /joined the channel only later), and it requires a personal service running, that must be attended to & etc.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#116I find it curious that having a pure JavaScript implementation including the backend is listed as an advantage.
That's not listed as an advantage - just highlighting the technology.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you want the premium features, their pricing is very affordable. "very affordable" is up to each person to define. One of those premium features is a history with more than 10,000 messages. I frequently interact with at least 25 people just to do my job. The cheapest paid plan is $6.67 per user per month. That works out to $2000 a year. And that's only for the people I work with on a regular basis. Sure, I could…
$6.67/month is less than $0.33/day (~20 workdays/month)! That's an trivial amount to pay for effective communications in my book.
$0.00/forever is also trivial, with so many OSS alternatives out there.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly it. I don't have time to manage an IRC server. I don't have time to help people figure out IRC when they first join the team. I also don't want to waste time on something that adds zero value to the products we're building. I use Slack for the same reason I own a dishwasher. I could hand wash dishes and it might even be slightly better, but then I'm spending time washing dishes rather than using the time for…
Slack itself probably doesn't care. What about the company that aquires them? What about the companies that will buy that data from them? And obviously one doesn't actually "read" the conversations, we're not in the 80s anymore, we have software to identify the juicy bits.
Do you encrypt your email? Do all of your recipients?
Slack is sold as a replacement for email, in many cases - so I fail to see how it's any worse than sending unencrypted emails all over the interwebs.
And this tin-foil hat conspiracy insanity about how you shouldn't use external services like Gmail, or Slack because "Oh noes, they have our data" is just that - insanity.
Sure, if you're paranoid, you're free not to use those services.
But let's be honest, most of aren't working at Lockheed Martin, or the NSA. Our personal lives are inane and boring, and the majority of our work discussions are probably, outside of the context of our work groups, inanely boring as well. Nobody cares (which is fine).
On the list of things to worry about, from meteorite strikes to global warming, I'd put, my chat provider trawling through my personal chats fairly low on the list.
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#119rocket.chat seems pretty cool. Just signed up however so I will have to dig deeper. Nice.
Rocket.Chat allows you to deploy your own instance https://[my_instance].rocket.chat if you go to https://rocket.chat/deploy. [disclaimer; I contribute to Rocket.Chat]
Re: Five Open-Source Slack Alternatives
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
UX is not design. The fonts, colors, and silly features like emoji are gravy. UX includes the cold experience. If you sign up with just one user, Slack creates a couple rooms and has a bot talk to you. UX includes history management. Slack makes everything searchable and is good enough that most people can find what they want. UX includes ways to level up your proficiency with the tool. Slack doesn't force integratio…
To maybe make the distinction clearer: UX and "interaction design" generally are more like what people think of as "game design" than what people think of as "graphic design." They're about choice-paths, affordances, reflexes, flows, etc.