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Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

matrix.org

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Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#81

Post by Sincere6066 »

hwbehrens wrote: post #12

> Without advocacy, conferences, documentation and tutorials, Matrix would become a niche protocol used by a few enthusiasts for side projects, whilst big proprietary and siloed networks continue to hold the world’s communications. Advocacy and conferences aren't going to move the needle on mainstream adoption; those methods almost by definition are targeting the enthusiast crowd. In my view, the only factor that mat…

I mean, I've tried to use Matrix many times overy many years. I do care about more than JUST the UX but it has been SO consistently bad that I just can't. Something has gotta change, preferably before Discord completely implodes.

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#83

Post by saint_yossarian »

Arathorn wrote: post #40
Jnr wrote: post #30

I have had only bad experience with its federation and chat clients over many years, I don't think it can improve, if it could, they probably would have fixed it a long time ago. Maybe not a popular opinion, but they should let the Matrix die altogether so something better can replace it.

The irony is that I suspect we have fixed it - eg Element X and Matrix 2.0 is a massive step change forwards; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHyHO3xPfQU etc. But I can see why bad experiences in the past would stick.

So what exactly is the status of Element X? I was under the impression it's still in development, lacking some features of the old app, and will fully replace it when it's ready.

If I search for Element on app stores I still get the old app first (with millions of installs, vs. tens of thousands with Element X), and https://matrix.org/try-matrix also still points people to the old app. So I'm confused what "past" you're talking about :)

Similar situation with Dendrite BTW, it's been in beta forever, and the only private Matrix community I ever was a part of ditched it because Synapse was too much of a resource hog, and there's no clear migration path.

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#84

Post by bluesomewhere »

davidandgoliath wrote: post #69

They should consider asking Automattic & some of the other companies building on Matrix to contribute 8% of their revenue first.

You can trust that if there's anything obvious we should be doing, we are already doing it :) And I'm pleased to report that Automattic is one of our biggest sponsors.

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#85

Post by like_any_other »

IlikeKitties wrote: post #78
like_any_other wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The act as police and spy on their users "problem"? I don't know - have apartment buildings solved the domestic violence problem, that happens within them, shielded by their opaque walls?

See my other reply, watch the linked video it's not as black and white as you make it sound like and public non-encrypted rooms hosting tons of CSAM being replicated to any matrix server where any user joined them is a problem.

> public non-encrypted rooms hosting tons of CSAM

That's the opposite of a problem, isn't it? Have cops request the IPs and arrest those sharing the material - you've just caught a lot of criminals for almost zero effort.

Unless the "problem" isn't catching criminals, and you don't really care about CSAM, just maintaining matrix's reputation from mercenary journalists willing to conflate a protocol with its users for some clickbait title, or to give a government ammo to ban encryption.

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#87

Post by [deleted] »

like_any_other wrote: post #74
IlikeKitties wrote: post #65

So, has Matrix solved the CSAM Problem, yet?[0] [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8KEuAEYjQ4

The act as police and spy on their users "problem"? I don't know - have apartment buildings solved the domestic violence problem, that happens within them, shielded by their opaque walls?

[deleted]

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#88

Post by bluesomewhere »

dvdkon wrote: post #54
neiljohnson wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The intention is very much to offer greater financial transparency, in fact doing so is a prerequisite for multiple funding sources. The Matrix Foundation Governing Board now has a dedicated finance committee, I don't have concrete timelines for publishing, though I would expect this to happen within a small number of months. https://matrix.org/blog/2024/12/governing-board-first-report...

I've never run a non-profit, but what's stopping the Foundation from releasing a raw dump of expenses? Where I live, all government contracts/invoices need to be published before they come into effect. This obviously required some setup, but presumably you already have similar data as a source for the planned report, why not release it?

Because a raw dump of expenses obscures many important details, and sets people up for misunderstanding things and reporting them out of context.

I'd love to get to a point of radical and automatic transparency as you describe, but that takes a great deal of effort to do well – and the Matrix.org Foundation is still in its infancy. Gotta learn to walk before we can run!

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#89

Post by jcranmer »

bjoli wrote: post #28
astro1 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We've had this with XMPP already.

Oh, but people don't like XML. XML means xmpp is awful apparently. I feel pretty alone in having a bad experience with matrix, but a good one with xmpp+omemo.

AIUI (from talking to people who had to implement XMPP), the problem isn't that "XMPP is XML", the problem is that XMPP is XML done badly. An XMPP connection is essentially a giant XML document that's never closed, which most XML libraries tend to handle very poorly, so you often end up writing your own XML library to handle XMPP. With all of the pain that entails.

Re: Matrix Foundation to shut down bridges if it doesn't raise $100K

#90

Post by RadiozRadioz »

I do hope they get what they need. If nothing else, I think they've chosen a solid and well-founded strategy to manage the situation - the focus areas they mentioned are more important than bridging. Maintaining bridges has always struck me as something hugely resource intensive. I applaud their stewardship.

My story with moving to Matrix is similar to many others. I was enthusiastic about it, managed to persuade my groups to try it out, but then everyone was "unable to decrypt message", lost confidence in Matrix and left. The frequency with which the Matrix folks have to repeat "this is fixed in Element X and Matrix 2.0" is worrying. They keep repeating it everywhere, constantly. This indicates to me that an extremely large percentage of people have dismissed Matrix and not looked at it since their initial bad impression. This is a tough challenge to overcome, so I see why they are prioritizing evangalizing the protocol over bridges. Reputation is valuable and they need to get it back, they're definitely trying. I hope they succeed.

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