I don't trust Signal (2018) • Hacker News Board

Re: I don't trust Signal (2018)

#111

Post by Youden » Wed, Aug 12, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

codethief wrote: post #109

Youden wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I use Matrix [0], specifically the Element client [1] which was previously known as Riot. Among other features, it has end-to-end encryption, federation, comprehensive support for multiple devices and doesn't require a phone number. Basically, as far as I'm concerned, it has all of Signal's security but none of its flaws. For the Android folks, it's available on F-Droid as well as the Play Store. Surprisin…

> it has all of Signal's security but none of its flaws. What about metadata protection? Whenever I hear people talk about how unsupportive Signal / Moxie is of federation and how federation would be better for everyone's privacy, my question is this: In case of Signal you only need to trust one provider (Signal) with your metadata (who's talking to whom) whereas with a federated network you have to trust your provid…

> whereas with a federated network you have to trust your provider and all providers your friends use.

Currently, yes, you're right. However Matrix is actively working on eliminating this problem in various ways. The most recent reference I know of is [0].

However I don't think the state of things today leaves a clear winner. Right now it's a tradeoff. You can either trust Signal and put all of your communications in the hands of a single third-party (so single point of failure) or you can use Matrix and deal with the levels of trust you're happy to place in your friends' homeservers (but gain multiple points of failure).

[0]: https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/dip_p2p_matrix/

Re: I don't trust Signal (2018)

#112

Post by Shared404 » Thu, Aug 13, 2020, 5:34 PM UTC

rlwinm wrote: post #110

Shared404 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been seeing him get downvoted frequently, often for well written and thought out comments. I suspect there is a non-negligible number of people who just vote based on username.

Do you have any examples of well-written and thoughtful comments by ddevault that were downvoted? Many of the comments I see from him violate the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Many of his blog posts (4 out of the last 5 submissions from drewdevault.com) are ill-informed and angry rants about a technology or company. These discussions generate a lot of heat but little light; it’s not s…

>Many of the comments I see from him violate the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Having gone back and re-read many, I have to agree about most of the downvoted items though not all. I do agree with most of them though, so that's why I felt this way.

That being said, most of the comments I saw that could be considered to be breaking the guidelines do have substantial content, but are ended with/include non-negligible snark.

> Many of his blog posts (4 out of the last 5 submissions from drewdevault.com) are ill-informed and angry rants about a technology or company. These discussions generate a lot of heat but little light; it’s not surprising that they are downvoted.

None of these were posted here by ddevault. His statement about writing them is above, so presumably you've seen it already.

I would like to add, I use much of ddevaults software on a daily basis, and have found it to be some of the absolute best I've ever used. As such, I tend to give what he says at least a moment of thought.

Re: I don't trust Signal (2018)

#113

Post by Shared404 » Thu, Aug 13, 2020, 9:36 PM UTC

Shared404 wrote: post #112

rlwinm wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any examples of well-written and thoughtful comments by ddevault that were downvoted? Many of the comments I see from him violate the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Many of his blog posts (4 out of the last 5 submissions from drewdevault.com) are ill-informed and angry rants about a technology or company. These discussions generate a lot of heat but little light; it’s not s…

>Many of the comments I see from him violate the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Having gone back and re-read many, I have to agree about most of the downvoted items though not all. I do agree with most of them though, so that's why I felt this way. That being said, most of the comments I saw that could be considered to be breaking the guidelines do have substantial content, but are end…

Also, I still stand by my earlier statement, as [0] was at at least -2 before I originally found it.

I honestly can't understand why it would be downvoted otherwise.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122834

Re: I don't trust Signal (2018)

#114

Post by rlwinm » Fri, Aug 14, 2020, 6:15 PM UTC

Shared404 wrote: post #113

Shared404 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Many of the comments I see from him violate the guidelines at https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Having gone back and re-read many, I have to agree about most of the downvoted items though not all. I do agree with most of them though, so that's why I felt this way. That being said, most of the comments I saw that could be considered to be breaking the guidelines do have substantial content, but are end…

Also, I still stand by my earlier statement, as [0] was at at least -2 before I originally found it. I honestly can't understand why it would be downvoted otherwise. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122834

I agree that the post you linked to was downvoted unfairly.

Many of his subsequent posts have been fairly downvoted.

I think some of his downvotes are from people who have interacted with him elsewhere. His reply to one of my comments is why I’m using this alternate account.

His recent post about pkg.go.dev misrepresented the facts.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24023998

He frequently takes an absolutist stance, often assumes negative intent, and is at best abrasive.

Here are some examples:

https://github.com/freeCodeCamp/mail-for-good/issues/357

https://github.com/kisslinux/repo/issues/100

> I would like to add, I use much of ddevaults software on a daily basis, and have found it to be some of the absolute best I've ever used. As such, I tend to give what he says at least a moment of thought.

It’s your call but I would be hesitant to use anything by him. How would he respond if I report a bug or open a feature request?

Re: I don't trust Signal (2018)

#115

Post by Shared404 » Sat, Aug 15, 2020, 3:01 AM UTC

rlwinm wrote: post #114

Shared404 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, I still stand by my earlier statement, as [0] was at at least -2 before I originally found it. I honestly can't understand why it would be downvoted otherwise. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24122834

I agree that the post you linked to was downvoted unfairly. Many of his subsequent posts have been fairly downvoted. I think some of his downvotes are from people who have interacted with him elsewhere. His reply to one of my comments is why I’m using this alternate account. His recent post about pkg.go.dev misrepresented the facts. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24023998 He frequently takes an absolutist stanc…

> Many of his subsequent posts have been fairly downvoted.

> He frequently takes an absolutist stance, often assumes negative intent, and is at best abrasive.

I don't disagree about this. Having gone back and reread many of his comments, they do come across as aggressive, even if I agree with much of the contents.

> It’s your call but I would be hesitant to use anything by him. How would he respond if I report a bug or open a feature request?

I don't know to be honest. That being said, his absolutism/idealism make me a little more comfortable with using his software, as I can be reasonably sure it's being held to a high standard.