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WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

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Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#91

Post by tuwtuwtuwtuw »

rvz wrote: post #64

And no. The same people won't flock to Signal after all of this, even though it is much more friendlier than Element. On the other hand, at least Element is decentralised thanks to Matrix, but unfortunately suffers from a naming dilemma and is unfriendlier than the rest of the chat alternatives. We need an alternative that is a mixture of both: Open source, Decentralised (Likely uses Matrix underneath) and is extreme…

No, you need an alternative which is used by some substantial portion of people.

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#92

Post by rvz »

capableweb wrote: post #14
luxpir wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Quick, SMS everyone a Signal link!

Yeah, lets replace this centralized service that goes down sometimes with another centralized service that hasn't started going down sometimes yet! OR, get people on Matrix or similar so we can actually stop jumping ship when our centralized dear service stops acting in our best interest.

> OR, get people on Matrix or similar so we can actually stop jumping ship when our centralized dear service stops acting in our best interest.

Decentralisation is the right answer. Unfortunately we always cannot convert or move others every-time we say the word 'Matrix' or 'Element/Matrix', which leaves the user confused with the client and the protocol. It is close to the GNU/Linux naming all over again and that did not catch on.

If you want others to make the switch to (Chat client that uses Matrix) without confusing them, then at least avoid telling them to: 'Use Matrix' which is like saying 'Use MTProto' or 'Use libsignal'. The client's name is always mentioned but this is why compared to Signal or Telegram the name 'Element' sounds totally off, even without mentioning the protocol.

For example: Almost everyone has heard of 'Bitcoin' and it's decentralised. That works. No need to mention 'Blockchain' or any of that jargon. So let's have a user-friendlier decentralised client that does not need to mention the protocol's name.

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#93

Post by anoa_ »

kitkat_new wrote: post #82
sneak wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't the panacea you think it is. For example, on iOS all server notifications for an app must be proxied via Apple and have to come from the app developer's push certificate. This means that even with Element (the matrix client) all of your notifications when your phone is locked are going from your server to the centralized dev push system run by the Element devs, then to another centralized system run by App…

Additionally to the other user, I would like to add that 1) Notifications being down is a smaller problem than the service not working at all. 2) there are indeed alternative push systems that allow plugging different push systems (see Unified Push - though not yet supported by Element)

UnifiedPush is supported by FluffyChat [1], another Matrix client, on Android.

[1] https://fluffychat.im/

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#94

Post by DyslexicAtheist »

cratermoon wrote: post #53

Oh wow, I don't think I've seen a real IDNA/Punycode domain in the wild before.

quite rare on HN yes. there are loads depending on the region. if you have no use for them it's a good idea to block them with dnscrypt-proxy[1] or nfq[2] to avoid getting bitten by homograph attacks.

[1] https://github.com/DNSCrypt/dnscrypt-proxy

[2] https://gitlab.com/jbauernberger/nfq/

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#96

Post by cranekam »

tcarn wrote: post #2

Phew, it's not just me. Beyond me why more of these big tech companies can't build more redundancies for their services.

These companies build for redundancy. Not in the sense of "we need 10 servers, let's have 10 more for redundancy" (that gets expensive when you have millions of hosts) but by scaling out across multiple regions/DCs/clusters/etc such that there is enough slack in the system to absorb failure of 1 or 2 resource units (DCs, fiber, whatever).

Also, widespread outages like this are seldom the result of insufficient capacity. They are almost always a perfect storm of several failures within systems that are individually build to handle adverse conditions. An example might be a bug within a task scheduling system that inadvertently scales down some critical service which in turn leads to something else failing to reach consensus or read configuration or who knows what. The point is that each of these components is designed and built to handle failure but something the holes in the cheese line up and the whole thing fails.

In this case since IG, WA and FB were affected it's reasonable to guess the failure was in some shared component like load balancing or task placement, though (as hinted at above) the origin of the fault is not necessarily in that component directly.

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#97

Post by capableweb »

rvz wrote: post #92
capableweb wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, lets replace this centralized service that goes down sometimes with another centralized service that hasn't started going down sometimes yet! OR, get people on Matrix or similar so we can actually stop jumping ship when our centralized dear service stops acting in our best interest.

> OR, get people on Matrix or similar so we can actually stop jumping ship when our centralized dear service stops acting in our best interest. Decentralisation is the right answer. Unfortunately we always cannot convert or move others every-time we say the word 'Matrix' or 'Element/Matrix', which leaves the user confused with the client and the protocol. It is close to the GNU/Linux naming all over again and that di…

Yes, I adjust my language depending the audience and since this is "Hacker News" after all and I mostly don't care about what client people use, as long as it's using Matrix, I find it's best to recommend the protocol itself.

Then it's up to us nerds to find the best client for our non-hacker friends and family.

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#98

Post by zarq »

The site presents me with a pop-up:

> When you proceed to access our site, the companies listed in the Cookie Consent Tool will use cookies and other technologies. This is further explained in our Cookie Notice.

None of those are links, and the only button is "Agree and access site". How do I find the Cookie Consent Tool and the Cookie Notice, without having to click "Agree"?

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#99

Post by MauranKilom »

zarq wrote: post #98

The site presents me with a pop-up: > When you proceed to access our site, the companies listed in the Cookie Consent Tool will use cookies and other technologies. This is further explained in our Cookie Notice. None of those are links, and the only button is "Agree and access site". How do I find the Cookie Consent Tool and the Cookie Notice, without having to click "Agree"?

I get the same here in Germany (if I turn off uBlock Origin). It's not GDPR complaint, plain and simple.

Re: WhatsApp Down in Some Regions

#100

Post by qwertox »

zarq wrote: post #98

The site presents me with a pop-up: > When you proceed to access our site, the companies listed in the Cookie Consent Tool will use cookies and other technologies. This is further explained in our Cookie Notice. None of those are links, and the only button is "Agree and access site". How do I find the Cookie Consent Tool and the Cookie Notice, without having to click "Agree"?

> and other technologies

Do they need to specify these other technologies, which they are and how they are being used?

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