I have never used element, but i just went to the apple app store and downloaded it before they strike it also. it was on my "when i get around to it" list. Well seems like now is the time to get around to it. Seem that i do that more and more often these days.
Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
611–620 of 988 posts
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#612Earlier quoted context omitted.
The main hurdle is that (without rooting) there doesn't seem to be a way for alternative app stores to silently update software. That's bearable though unpleasant when you have one or two pieces of software that rarely get updated, that's absolutely impossible when you have 10+ pieces of software - you'll sit there for 5 minutes just approving install prompts every week, which isn't something a normal human is going…
> there doesn't seem to be a way for alternative app stores to silently update software Yes — because that's something reserved for privileged system apps. You have to root your device to take advantage of that, or make a custom ROM with the alternative store in it. Having that ability as a permission you could grant to any app is an immense security risk. But then there are "device administrator" apps that can liter…
> Having that ability as a permission you could grant to any app is an immense security risk
A risk to whom? There is no permission that is a "security risk" so long as it's the device owner granting that permission.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#613Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there doesn't seem to be a way for alternative app stores to silently update software Yes — because that's something reserved for privileged system apps. You have to root your device to take advantage of that, or make a custom ROM with the alternative store in it. Having that ability as a permission you could grant to any app is an immense security risk. But then there are "device administrator" apps that can liter…
If you root your device, doesn't that mean you will no longer be able receive Android OS software updates from the phone manufacturer? > Unpopular opinion: well-made software that serves its user doesn't need to be updated very often. Remember how you bought a program on a CD and used the exact same build for years? Sure, I'm even old enough to remember this but on cassettes and floppy disks! But - software now is mu…
> software now is much more complex than it used to be
I'd say software now is much more complex than it needs to be. It's made to ease the life of the developer, usually an inexperienced one, at the expense of the user.
> IMO, for security reasons alone, it's no longer realistic to expect software without at least occasional updates.
If people would stop rewriting things that already work fine, we'll run out of vulnerabilities at some point. Or, if you must rewrite them and have a good reason to do so, at least use a memory-safe language. Even C++ is much better than C and raw pointers. Anything is better than C and raw pointers. Yet all major OS kernels and most userspace components are written in C and use raw pointers and vulnerabilities in those are being found all too often.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#614Earlier quoted context omitted.
Element and Parler are nothing alike. Element is a chat client. It's an empty piece of software for use with your own choice of server. Element is to a chat server, as Thunderbird is to an email server. It's basically a glorified IRC client. It contains no content of its own. Parler was basically a curated, centrally run, Facebook-message-board-replacement for neonazis, antisemites, qanon conspiracy theorists, and th…
Technical distinctions are irrelevant to someone at headquarters worried about having a regulatory probe inserted in their backside.
But this one is important, no? This is like banning Firefox because it can connect to illegal content.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#615It's incredible that they still host web browsers and email clients with these kinds of policies in place.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#616Earlier quoted context omitted.
There aren't that many hurdles. 1. You download the apk 2. When you try to install it, it tells you it's from an unknown source and the installation was blocked to protect you 3. You tap "settings" and flip a switch to allow installing apps from your browser 4. You go back and tap "install". That's it. It's done. And you won't need to go to the settings the next time, it'll just work.
Sadly, you lost the 90% of users who are not tech experts by point 2.
So be it. It's okay for technology to require education. Stop infantilizing users.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#617Hi there, if you're a small business impacted by this please comment how below, i can raise the issue with congressional representatives via the national small business association. I've seen a couple posts about this already.
From my perspective, decentralized, free and open source software enables and supports a range of small businesses. The replacements for tools like Element are big-tech tools ranging from Whatsapp (Facebook) to Slack (Salesforce).
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#618Earlier quoted context omitted.
People will surely point out the obvious differences between the takedown of Parler and Element and I'd agree that it's not exactly the same thing, since Parler is its own platform and Element is just a client. However, when looking on a bigger picture of the recent takedowns and trying to make sense of it, it does indeed seem to be connected. The only conclusion that seems rational to me is as follows: Everyone trie…
>Everyone tries to push their burden of moderation on people below them, because no one can actually keep up with it. And if the moderation is not enforced, they risk being taken down by someone above them. That would explain why everyone is so trigger happy when it comes to censorship. When the WallStreetBets people were taken down by Facebook and Discord, they didn't ban the individuals who were actually violating…
But as of right now Telegram and Signal is still up, isn't it? Though they're already being slandered in the media, so you might have a point here.
To support my explanation, see for example this:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/25/21532883/paypal-cuts-tie...
PayPal terminated Epik's account, because they refused to kick out Gab. I believe there were a couple more cases where the money people pressured companies to do things like that. My memory is getting blurry with this though, so I can't point you to the articles.
And that leads me to something even more important. Gab was not only kicked out off their domain registrar, but the owner's family was blacklisted by Visa. So the social media is actually the least of my concerns right now, the most urgent thing at the moment is regulating the banks, so they can't terminate your account for no reason. Because they will come after your money at some point. And good luck paying in cash in a middle of pandemic.
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#619Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can't you just use a web app or any other matrix client if this happens? If Google were to "ban" slack from their store, their browsers, etc. then you would be quite in trouble. But with matrix, just pick a different client and move on.
Yes, I'm doing a custom react client integration. AA has to prepare for black swan events from every angle and this is a perfect example of one. When you have 100,000+ employees, it's not trivial to just switch up communication platforms.
I take your meaning, but pedantically I think the idea of black swan is that you couldn't ever see it coming, so the only way to prepare for it is some sort of general robustness (which to be fair Matrix does have).
Re: Element (Matrix chat app) suspended from the Google Play Store
#620So we got notified by the developer console at 21:45 UTC that the app had been suspended, but still haven’t had an email to explain why - it’s 02:24 now. Our assumption that this is due to someone reporting abusive content in Matrix to Google, and Element catching the blame — although this is currently speculation. To be clear: Element is a Matrix client just as Chrome is a Web browser, and just as it’s possible to v…
> Google will explain what’s going on shortly It's definitely not Google style. But I hope Matrix will get more promotion in result.
Can we get Elon to tweet?