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Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

matrix.org

81–90 of 283 posts

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#81
> Rather than exposing a kitchen sink of features and settings, we’re keeping Element X truly focused: doing one job and absolutely nailing it - all while harnessing the power of Matrix for secure, interoperable, open-standard communication.

does this mean the Element X is more for the mainstream user and regular Element is better suited for power users?

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#82

Regular reminder Matrix/Element work closely with law-enforcement to provide encrypted comms for them. It's a sector Matrix/Element actively markets to and deals with. My personal view is I'm not using a chat platform designed/developed by an organization so eager to partner with governments and law enforcement agencies. There's Element's Chief Product Officer & Managing Director presenting at the European Police Con…

>Regular reminder Matrix/Element work closely with law-enforcement to provide encrypted comms for them. Thank you for the reminder. Based on that, are you claiming that Matrix servers/clients are insecure or have government back doors? If so, what evidence do you have that supports such a claim? If not, why should I care? I'm not a fan of many organizations/individuals. Should I survey them all to create a database o…

I didn't claim/assert anything other than what I linked to already in my original post.

You don't have to care, and like I said, I don't care if you care or not. I'm just making people aware, because some people _do_ care.

It's nice that you personally use matrix on hardware under your physical control. That's rare. The vast vast majority of matrix users have their account on matrix.org and are using Element. I'm glad to hear you are using alternative server and client software.

I addressed the other questions at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37602089

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find no issue that the company is working with law-enforcement to provide secure communications. In fact this makes me feel better about the security of those communications as they are trusted by these governments (not that this is a huge mark of quality, but I would consider it positive). I your distrust of law-enforcement so strong that any company that they purchase from must be untrustworthy? Or is there anoth…

My concern is in the opposite direction of what everyone appears to be interpreting, despite what I thought was clear wording in my initial post. It's not that govt/LE uses Matrix. It's that Matrix/Element actively seeks out partnership with govt/LE (to the extent of presenting on stage at a police conference), suggesting they are particularly interested in a relationship with authorities and personally sympathetic t…

I would guess the reason for that would be that those platforms are willing to pony up real cash and the actual communication protocol itself is no less secure when they use it. See also: Tor, famously developed/funded by the government

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#84
post #80

Matrix is great but when is the tech industry going to deal with the fact that many, if not all, bridges are against the respective services' ToS and subsequently put the developers of those bridges under legal risk? Whatsapp has already sent legal threats to multiple bridge-component level project maintainers without any recourse.

My Facebook bridge constantly locks up my account. [1]

[1] https://github.com/mautrix/facebook/issues/236

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#87
post #81

> Rather than exposing a kitchen sink of features and settings, we’re keeping Element X truly focused: doing one job and absolutely nailing it - all while harnessing the power of Matrix for secure, interoperable, open-standard communication. does this mean the Element X is more for the mainstream user and regular Element is better suited for power users?

Element X also is geared up for powerusers (e.g. as project lead, I consider myself a poweruser) and i've been absolutely loving it as my daily driver for the last few months on mobile. For instance, my account is in around 4,000 chatrooms, and Element iOS was taking ~10s to launch and sync, and could easily take minutes to sync in the morning (heaven forbid the app was offline for more than overnight). Meanwhile, Element X launches in around 100ms, no matter how long it's been offline, and syncs in around a second.

The model that we're going for is similar to iOS or macOS: something which is incredibly simple for normal users, but can also scale up seamlessly for crazy powerusers.

In terms of specific poweruser features: I suspect the strategy will be to see if we can provide the same end result without actually adding the feature - and failing that, add the feature very strategically via progressive disclosure... or perhaps not at all, and rely on other Matrix apps to pick it up.

The intention is to fairly rapidly replace regular Element on mobile with Element X, eitherway.

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's one of the most significant open source messaging systems that exist today. Anyone can audit it at any time. What more do you want?

How do you know the matrix.org server or the element.io web client is running the same code as the source posted publicly? How exactly do you, personally, audit a hosted service? The answer to both questions is: you don't.

So host it yourself. It's literally designed to do that.

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find no issue that the company is working with law-enforcement to provide secure communications. In fact this makes me feel better about the security of those communications as they are trusted by these governments (not that this is a huge mark of quality, but I would consider it positive). I your distrust of law-enforcement so strong that any company that they purchase from must be untrustworthy? Or is there anoth…

My concern is in the opposite direction of what everyone appears to be interpreting, despite what I thought was clear wording in my initial post. It's not that govt/LE uses Matrix. It's that Matrix/Element actively seeks out partnership with govt/LE (to the extent of presenting on stage at a police conference), suggesting they are particularly interested in a relationship with authorities and personally sympathetic t…

>If I was a member of such a high-risk group, I don't think I would be putting my faith in this org to produce something I can actually consider truly secure.

If I were in such a high-risk group, I wouldn't be putting my "faith" in anyone. Rather, I'd personally make damn sure my sensitive communications couldn't be spied upon.

I'd also point out that repressive/authoritarian regimes don't care about the rule of law and/or personal privacy, so they can just come to your house and take you away without any proof that you're working against the state.

What's more, they can also confiscate any systems/devices you (or others) may have in an attempt to discover the identities of your "co-conspirators." And they can torture you to give up those names, even if the names you give up aren't actually involved at all.

You seem to believe that there's some sort of magical software that can keep someone safe if a government or well-funded private actor wants to get you. News flash: there is no such animal.

Re: Matrix 2.0: The Future of Matrix

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Regular reminder Matrix/Element work closely with law-enforcement to provide encrypted comms for them. Thank you for the reminder. Based on that, are you claiming that Matrix servers/clients are insecure or have government back doors? If so, what evidence do you have that supports such a claim? If not, why should I care? I'm not a fan of many organizations/individuals. Should I survey them all to create a database o…

I didn't claim/assert anything other than what I linked to already in my original post. You don't have to care, and like I said, I don't care if you care or not. I'm just making people aware, because some people _do_ care. It's nice that you personally use matrix on hardware under your physical control. That's rare. The vast vast majority of matrix users have their account on matrix.org and are using Element. I'm gla…

When someone asks "why should I care," the implication is that they want to know why you care. Dodging the question here is an interesting way to respond
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