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Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

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Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#51

Post by gtirloni »

tptacek wrote: post #17
daybreak wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the concept of Signal but Telegram has some great features like usernames and public chat groups. In the end, better encryption by itself (Telegram rolled their own) loses out over function. Also, the owners of Telegram are not on good terms with the Russian government (its been banned before).

My routine reminder that Signal doesn't have these features because they genuinely care about privacy and metadata security, and will withhold basic messaging app features until they know how to provide them without (a) creating a database of every pair of communicating users that they retain serverside and (b) leaking information about conversations to traffic analysis. See: user profiles, GIF sharing, both with rea…

> But this is also why Signal is what I use when the secrecy of what I'm talking about actually matters.

Which is fine but will never work with the average WhatsApp/Telegram user. First, they have to be educated, they have to care, they have to decide if what they are typing affords that extra level of protection, if the inteded destination is on Signal, etc. It's too much.

I've tried to convert friends and family to Signal but not a single one continued to use it after a few days.

But I think it's fine that Signal is making these compromises in favor of security and privacy. Maybe we don't really need mass adoption, as long as the people that really need it know where to look.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#52

Post by code_duck »

michelb wrote: post #50

Interesting to see more and more forum features from way back being integrated into chat apps. Are chat apps the new forums now? Discord sure is already there I guess.

Typically, forums are public and can be read by a great number of people. The replacement for that seems to be Facebook and reddit. Chat apps are basically the new IRC. They’re not too different than apps available decades ago like ICQ and AIM.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#53

Post by jjeaff »

zzzcpan wrote: post #38
Xenograph wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not open source, only partly, just like Telegram. Signal is completely open source. I'm not sure why you think it's only partly open source. Quoting Wikipedia[1]: > All Signal software are free and open-source. The clients are published under the GPLv3 license, while the server code is published under the AGPLv3 license. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)

It's not even on f-droid. You install the binary they control and connect to the servers they run, it's literally a proprietary app, just like Telegram.

You can run your own signal server and compile the app to point to your own server instead of theirs.

It doesn't get much more open source than that.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#54

Post by jjeaff »

technofiend wrote: post #28
nikivi wrote: post #2

Boggles my mind how WhatsApp is still a more popular messenger than Telegram by a long shot. Talk about network effects and people not doing their research. Or not caring about UX.

Taking to my friends who are heavy WhatsApp users it's less about text chatting and more about voice chat over data because it's far cheaper per minute than crossing the PSTN.

Signal has great voice calling. At least, I rarely have any trouble and the calls are usually crystal clear.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#58

Post by dewey »

floatingatoll wrote: post #55

@dang I’d enjoy seeing a trial run of this on HN for one day.

I don't really see the reason for that. Usually people don't reply in bursts here like you'd expect in a chat app. If there are multiple comments by a person in a short amount it's usually because you are replying to questions or addressing points of a discussion, hindering that doesn't really seem like something that helps the discussion.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#59

Post by andai »

scubbo wrote: post #45
tptacek wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I really like Telegram. It being a secure messenger would make it perfect". I'm not really snarking at you; a lot of things would be better if they were also secure messengers; Slack is an obvious example.

I'm not really sure what you're saying. It looks like you're humorously drawing attention to the fact that the user considers the app to be extremely good and just lacking one nice-to-have feature (encryption), whereas you believe that they have misjudged the importance of that feature and it is, in fact, essential?

Yes.

Re: Telegram introduces feature to prevent users from texting too often in a group

#60

Post by eitland »

tptacek wrote: post #15
SimplyUnknown wrote: post #7

I really like Telegram. Only end-to-end encryption by default and in group chats would make it perfect.

"I really like Telegram. It being a secure messenger would make it perfect". I'm not really snarking at you; a lot of things would be better if they were also secure messengers; Slack is an obvious example.

Unlike WhatsApp that IIRC you've advertised until earlier this year Telegram doesn't upload unencrypted chat history to Google.

Telegram has its issues, yes, but it would be nice if we could agree at some point that it is possible to discuss security outside the context of E2E encryption.

> I'm not really snarking at you;

Well I'll have to take your word for that but you have a long history of showing up on Telegram discussions.

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