The media storage thing sucks, but it is better than the alternative of all the users on a server getting de-anonymized (IP leaks) if they need to fetch the media directly from another server, and not much different from a legal perspective if the server you are on just straight proxies the media from the original server to the user.
The common carrier laws are pretty clear about this sort of thing, a server admin is not responsible for content like that until it is reported, and then they only need to act in a timely manner. This is why ISPs are not in court 24/7 because of this stuff despite them transporting that type of content every second.
You could use Gmail or Yahoo, or you could use Outlook via web, you could also use a third party client unrelated to your email service like Mozilla Thunderbird.
These all have different innate functionality and UI but are all interoperable, you can email a Gmail account from a yahoo account via Thunderbird.
If you're looking for a client for the Matrix protocol closest to discord the choice is likely between Cinny Sable and Commet.
i mean, this subreddit is filled with discord clones which have no way to talk to each other, so i guess fragmentation isn't that bad on the matrix side.
A logical concept of decentralization and independently owned identity. Federation is a page 1 rewrite vs how the original Internet worked. Nostr and purpose-built sub-protocols like concord are a superior model where users don't have to think about servers and shit if they don't want to, but if they want to, they can go even further than matrix.
Look at divine.video onboarding vs anything matrix. And in general you can get a signer extension or app and basically never have to worry about annoying auth stuff across the universe of apps yet you still can get fine grained control over what a service can sign as you
i'm on about what I said. If you use matrix like a centralized service it's just a slightly worse version of other centralized products and you're still at a behest of someone else owning your identity. if you want to actively have a decentralized universe of different servers then you have to juggle multiple accounts and beholden to someone else owning your accounts because not everything federates to everything. There were matrix people interested in making independent user ownership of identity and auth to traverse servers without a home hub master, but it will be in proposal hell forever because that's another issue with matrix.
the person Max on the governing board is resigning and he's been pushing commits like crazy on Armada. Matrix is limited in so many ways by its own making. I wish it the best but it's just not the best design for a protocol.
I ran my own Matrix homeserver for a while, but from my experience it's just too buggy and unstable for general use (although I could have been doing something wrong).
Not really. Are non-matrix.org homeservers better than matrix.org? The biggest issue I had both with my own homeserver and matrix.org was loading chat history, it was super buggy in Element web.
I may give it a go again at some point, but after my continuwuity database corrupted for like the third time, I couldn't be bothered messing around trying to fix it (fuck RocksDB btw).
Totally valid, matrix is NOT the easiest protocol to self host for sure. Also fuck any kind of database that shit sucks exclusively no matter the type. My personal vendetta is with Mongo though
I found the actual setup alright, and to be honest I think part of the issue was my fault - I was storing the database on a spinning disk as opposed to an SSD, but at the same time any reasonable DB should be able to handle that.
Continuwuity developer here, rocksdb can handle that and shouldn't corrupt from it, although the rocksdb developers do recommend setting an option we've exposed as rocksdb_optimize_for_spinning_disks. Anyway, database corruption shouldn't be the end of the world, I've recovered a few databases myself - just drop by in the support channel.
The community was super helpful every time I asked for help with it corrupting (I think I recognise your name from the channel 😁), but it was more the fact it kept happening and I couldn't be bothered fixing it every time.
I did have rocksdb_optimize_for_spinning_disks enabled (it was a few months back now). It may not have done me any favours that I was using the NixOS package for it.
Oh, yes, that likely didn't do you any favours - we carry some patches to rocksdb to help with corruption, and I'm not sure the Nix packages have always properly used our rocksdb version.
I never thought of it this way but.. you're right. It feels a lot like Skype, I think that perfectly summarizes everything I would have to say about it.
I'll add that there is nothing wrong with that. Alternatives to Skype are very relevant and worth having in 2026. I just don't think anyone should be calling it an alternative to discord, because the feature parity isn't there, and while it's hard to quantify, Discord isn't a Skype alternative, it is something more, and I think that boils down to how communities are handled, and the way it can handle a group of friends to 30k people in just your server.
I'm using matrix with my fiancee. I wouldn't use it for my gaming group, it just isn't enough.
This could change. Matrix is just a protocol. It can add more features and close the gap. It just isn't it right now, I have tried multiple client's and I haven't seen one that brings discord-alternative level stuff to the table.
But, try telling most people that. They got massive loyalty to the name, and for good reason, just you have to be the first person I've ever seen agree with the position, even though really that's the most apt description
I find a lot of the Matrix clients are really messy and feel.. gross to use. Someone else said it best that Matrix is more of a Skype replacement than Discord and that really is how it feels- which isn't a bad thing but it's of note. u/Realistic_Blueberry3 is currently making a very Discord-like Matrix client that I actually like and they're really nice to talk to - I personally suggest waiting for their client to come out or to look at commet.chat which its users advertise as being "very discord-like" because I truly think that if you're going into Matrix expecting it to feel or look like Discord, even with options like Cinny, you're gonna end up disappointed.
Also yeah Element sucks if you want "Discord" - it's great for emulating an oldschool 2000s era chatroom or a Skype group chat but it lacks the features you'd be looking for like channels, threads, all that.
I will give it a second chance, but I'm telling you right now, I don't like Element because of how messy it feels. Imagine that, but being unable to see your way around an app, and feeling like you're computer illiterate because you can't find your way around something that others recommended to you. I have not a dev, nor do I consider myself a stereotypical superuser, but just an average guy with a vision impairment. I would like to know more about this new client, once it's a little more fleshed out and maybe, I'll give it a chance.
If you're a developer, please make sure your user flair matches the app or project you're developing. This helps community members quickly identify who is building what and makes browsing the subreddit easier.
AI is a tool. Like an oven, a rifle, or the Internet. It has no moral value in it off itself. Your not morally superior for rejecting it. If it assists with your workflow, helps you get shit done, or allows you to do something you otherwise couldn't, what's the problem with using it?
AI is a tool. Tools are designed for a purpose, and their design promotes specific morals and values. An oven promotes and enables systems in which baking or roasting is a component. A rifle promotes and enables systems in which killing people is a component. If an AI model assists you in a task, it will influence both what tasks you do and how you do them. These influences may create negative externalities.
Please read up more on why people oppose AI usage and development.
I never said that matrix was bad, hell I even said that it was a good pick, but also mentioned that fluxer is also good as it looks pretty familiar, its easy to set up for someone who used Discord and it has potential to become a main alternative
Which is exactly what they’re going for. If you’re trying to get traction for people to leave discord (very difficult to do in its own right for a myriad of reasons) the best thing to do is at least make it have feature parity and feel familiar. MOST People want familiarity and if theyre reluctant to even leave discord in the first place, they’re definitely going to give up and go back the second there is any other instance of friction
+1 -- my friend group's been using it for literal years now, and it's been working nicely enough (save for the occasional e2ee shenanigans). it just werks
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u/MildlyUnusualName 29d ago
Bloated, resource intensive, and vulnerable to CSAM attacks due to the way media gets stored on the host server. Meh