this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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If people need to make an account, I'd bet your engagement drops at least 90%. That's the friction they mean.
That was my thinking when reading the above - Discord's big advantage is numbers, a lot of people will be on Discord already so getting them to sign up is a really low bar. Sign-up is also simple (compared to federated options).
We're moving instance and I set up a Matrix space as a fallback in case the current one goes down and as a way to have secure private messaging. We did discuss setting up a Discord channel and a Matrix bridge (as lemmy.world have done) but it may not currently be worth it as public discussion can shift to the new instance. However, if that wasn't the case then it's something we'd definitely do.
As Lemmy integrates nicely with Matrix, I'd like to think that future solutions would involve a Lemmy instance as as public web-friendly forum (especially if we can get wikis built in) with Matrix for secure and private discussion and possibly a bridge to Discord (and other messaging platforms) to make it easy for people to join in there.
But you can make a single account and then it's never a barrier again.
I believe all they require is your email, but I understand.
Discord is creepy if you examine the information they like to collect. On Android, for example, there are 11 unique data points. That's not just an email.
Yes, that's the tricky bit - the low bar relies on a lot of people having accounts. I caved and signed up because of games and now I'm in a book club and a 3D printing channel too, as well as lemmy.world's. For some of that, I do wonder if Discord is really the right tool for the job but it does allow you to create a kind of forum without having to get your hands dirty.
How do you see Matrix integrating with Lemmy? They don't seem compatible in any way.
It is already integrated - if you add your Matrix ID to the relevant bit of your settings in Lemmy you get a secure messaging button that takes you to Matrix. That's why it makes sense to also start a space for a Lemmy instance there because there's an existing incentive for Lemmy users to have a Matrix account.
Isn't that just how matrix works? If I post my Matrix ID on a website, clicking it will take you to Matrix. If you don't have a Matrix account, you will be prompted to pick a server and a client and create an account. The Lemmy default UI just hides the link behind a button labeled "Send Secure Message"
It's still built into Lemmy unlike other messaging platforms. You can, of course, provide a link to Matrix in your profile but the secure DMs button is part of the interface.
I wouldn't call that an integration with Matrix anymore than I would call a button that said "Send 'user' an Email" that had a mailto link attribute an integration with email.
I mean with IRC you can just click a link and automatically connect to a server and start talking to people. You just have to pick a nickname.
Somehow people still don't use it so there's clearly more to that.
The "somehow" is because IRC is extremely bare bones. It doesn't stand up to modern expectations of what chat software does. Plus accounts aren't all a bad thing. Anti-spam is vital for the internet today, as is rigid ways of preventing impersonation. IRC is a relic of a simpler era.
@conciselyverbose You could still have content available publicly, but only interaction to be doable by using an account. You could still search for your problem this way for example
@jherazob