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Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

dev.moe

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Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#91
post #56
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never used the telegram app. What do you like about it compared to signal / WhatsApp?

- Messages send quickly and reliably, even under poor and sometimes hostile network conditions. Telegram just seems to work even when other chat apps struggle. - Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. - You can have the client open on essentially unlimited devices simultaneously, including a web app if you need…

- Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement.

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What? When you register, I'm pretty sure it requires putting in a phone number that preferably isn't a VoIP line and not a username. It's been that way any time I've tried to use the service on mobile.

Scheduled messages have been a thing for a long time on Signal, but they seem to be only on mobile, which is wild to me.

I would posit that Signal is more for individual to individual. I'm seeing in these comments that telegram is clearly a lot more community centric, ala Discord lite than I realized.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#93

The more I learn about telegram, the sketchier it seems.

wait ... when was it not sketchy? Did people not know the intentions behind it? Damn, wild. I get that there are some people that may use it as a communication medium for benign purposes, but it's filth all the way down.

We aren’t all perpetually online people interested in gossip.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#94
post #56
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never used the telegram app. What do you like about it compared to signal / WhatsApp?

- Messages send quickly and reliably, even under poor and sometimes hostile network conditions. Telegram just seems to work even when other chat apps struggle. - Telegram uses usernames instead of phone numbers by default, which is good if you're using it as an IRC replacement instead of an SMS replacement. - You can have the client open on essentially unlimited devices simultaneously, including a web app if you need…

WhatsApp will have usernames too in the near future and one will be able to reach out to a WhatsApp user solely by username hiding the phone number. One can create a username already reverse it. Sounds very similar to the Telegram username approach but we will see.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#95
post #50

The more I learn about telegram, the sketchier it seems.

Agreed. I don’t see the appeal compared to Signal. Although, Signal is also sketchy with an operating cost in the tens of millions of dollars per year. Where does the money come from?

Does Signal also have channels, groups etc?

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#96
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I don’t see the appeal compared to Signal. Although, Signal is also sketchy with an operating cost in the tens of millions of dollars per year. Where does the money come from?

Apparently it's funded by your friendly neighbor. I've used and promoted Signal for years and I've recently become suspicious of them and their funding as well after looking into starting my own encrypted communications app. It's not cheap sending dozens or hundreds of megabytes of video files or whatever ... whenever the user feels like it, mind you ... with a monetization strategy that's literally simply hoping tha…

I was always under the impression Moxie who created Signal was well accepted in Information Security circles. But you bring up a good posit that running a service probably isn't cheap behind the scenes. Given that Signal is a unique identifier for anyone who uses it, maybe they have funding behind the scenes from Governments.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#97
post #70
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds a lot like we might as well use Discord?

How is that any better? Still no e2ee, proprietary, arguably worse UX for chat purposes.

I have yet to find a messenger with a better UX than Telegram. And I have tried lots in countless attempts to get away from this badly encrypted russian App.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#98
post #55
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal and WhatsApp are bloated and slow in comparison.

What is slow? I don't understand what there is to accelerate.

In Telegram, I can open a chat, find a sticker, send a sticker, post a circle story, and shitpost in another group chat. All while WhatsApp loads my chat history. That is on any platform and any network condition, except for fully offline.

Their desktop apps are just Qt and not WebView inside a Qt. Mobile apps are native and not React.

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#99
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll add: - Telegram had usernames in 2014 before Signal added them a decade later, allowing people to chat without sharing their phone number - Telegram has unencrypted chats which allow for giant chat rooms of 200,000+ and channels with millions of subscribers. Signal warns about performance issues when you have more than 150 people in a group. Telegram isn't just a messenger - it's often used as a social publishin…

I can't say that I've ever seen genuine uses like this that you mention unless it's a 'community' for adult content or sketchy content. Is this that common?

Uses for what? Here is Russia many companies have (or had) groups (not Slack or something else but Telegram), most communities exists solely in Telegram, most news channes are also there.

Not to mention you create ANY kind of bot without any trouble.

I guess we just live in two different worlds. Like with China where WeChat is the default. (except we now have fucking Max instead).

Re: Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers (2022)

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You people are just racist towards Russians and need help. That doesn’t exclude the statements about Telegram to be correct though. That is, if some hater against whatever group say 1+1=2 or water is wet, what’s the conclusion? >You can do similar attacks on signal and whatsapp. Well yes. Don’t trust devices, they are not humans, they don’t qualify. They can at most have some degree of reliance for some purpose. But…

> You people are just racist towards Russians and need help. >> That doesn’t exclude the statements about Telegram to be correct though. just attack the telegram from the technical standpoint, then no complains about "racist towards russians" will be given. Like, mentioning the lack of user-friendly E2EE is great already. Saying things like "Durov who supposedly lives in exile has visited Russia over 50 times" is meh…

> How can one intepret it in any other way is "Russia is evil and visiting Russia is thus evil"?

Simple: Durov has no problem with constructing a narrative that has little to do with reality.

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