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Authors: Nova[有線魔女] <novaburst@envs.net>
Date: 2021-06-15
I always wonder why the Matrix protocol[1] even exists , it just reminds of systemd[2] in a way or another because it wants to replace XMPP[3] with something more complex (and centralizing) , just like Discord[4] , but "open source". I'll explain why Matrix is the best example of Suck on the IM field.
1. Protocol is garbage : the thing itself is so massively bloated by design , and no one but the Matrix.org owners can change it however they see fit. Thus forcing every server administrator to upgrade , else they get kicked out of the federation.
2. Server implementation is garbage : Synapse is the only "working" server implementation , and by being written in Python has both high RAM comsuption and waste of storage space , without an option to even purge the ever growing message log.
There are other server implementations , yes , but they're all incomplete compared to Synapse. Unlike any XMPP server implementation this one requires literally a supercomputer (of sorts) to get running because of the memory/storage requirements.
3. Clients are garbage: Element Desktop isn't even a native program but an "Electron app" which in turn is based on a JS-infested web interface called Element Web , and while there are forks of them , they don't seem to fix the issue.
Also given the fact just like the remaining of the "modern web" it just works on Chrome.
There are desktop clients that doesn't really suck but again , they're incomplete when compared to Element. On mobile devices it's kind of the same situation , except for the "web apps" thing.
4. Feature creep: Matrix.org keeps adding new features to the protocol and thus Synapse and Element , getting closer to Discord in every turn in terms of bloat. Like it tries to do everything and thus failing at its own purpose.
5. Decentralization is a joke , all users use Element + Matrix.org , despite the existence of other public servers.
In a nutshell , is Matrix even needed , when we already have XMPP and other solutions?
[4]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discord_(software)
[1]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(protocol)
[2]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemd
[5]:
https://hackea.org/notas/matrix.html
[6]:
https://www.retroimages.net/doc/tom/matrix.txt
[3]: