this post was submitted on 25 Oct 2023
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Do you think that it’s possible to build a web service to chat compatible with email , xmpp and matrix?
(and why not even with activityPub or rocketChat ?? )

[exemple and why in the post...]

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Email is not chat (and there isn't a nice gateway for Deltachat AFAIK), otherwise yes that is possible. I run a modern IRC network that can be fully used with federated XMPP and Matrix accounts.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nice! :)
Do you have to setup a bridge/bot for each room? Or is it at configuration at the server level?

For exemple if I have a matrix account and I use Element to create a new channel and invite some guys with IRC and some with XMPP?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, it's all automatic, but the core is IRCv3 so some knowledge of IRC is good to have for some more advanced features like channel registration and moderation.

But yes, you can create a channel though the Matrix portal and then share the link to it to IRC and XMPP users, just the syntax for these links is somewhat different for each protocol. Ideally, I could modify the XMPP invite portal (similar to matrix.to but easier to modify) to also work for Matrix and the IRC web-client, but so far they are separate.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you :)

That sounds not so complex for me.

But I think of no-technical guys and I think that create a channel and share the link is already to complex! I mean, I can teach them that, but that's not obvious as Signal or similar app.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think Matrix has bridges to all these networks, except ActivityPub (it may, I just don't know).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's right, but it's not activated by default. And it's not easy at all.

I tried for myself but that require that I configure bridge for the server, then for each room, with some strange /command I have to remember.

When I think of a service I mean a service that anyone can use, even the no tech guys.
It's nice that it's technically possible, though! :)

The biggest part of the question is more a UI/UX question then a technical one actually.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Hi :) yes I did. And I tried. 🙂

It's a great multi protocol app. But you cannot chat in the same conversation with two different protocol. :/

And there is no xmpp support.

Even for the matrix federation it was possible only with the desktop app.

So that's not that I looking for.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

@sylphio @lascapi

> Beeper Clients
> Native iOS and Android clients (closed source forks of Element iOS and Android)
> Mac OS, Windows and Linux clients (closed source forks of Element Web/Desktop)

How can they make a closed source fork of an open source (Apache-2.0) project?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am not an expert, but I see that the Apache license has no copyleft.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

@sylphio

Oh damn, I always thought Apache2.0 will protect also the derivative works, but apparently I was wrong:

> You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and may provide additional or different license terms and conditions for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, ...

https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thunderbird works with email xmpp and matrix

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That's right but you cannot create a conversation between you and a guy with xmpp and another one with matrix.

That's my question. :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've wondered before now about an e-mail system which hosts the emails on one's own device, and uses the activity-pub protocol : decentralised email, I guess...

The closest I've seen is Tox.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

E-mail is already decentralised

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They're kept on other people's servers, is what I meant.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can run your own mail server and keep your emails on a device you control instead of e.g., gmail.

It's non-trivial so most people stick with letting someone else handle it. Just like you're probably not running your own Lemmy instance, but Lemmy is still decentralized.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Hehe You answered your own statement! If it were ever to become non-trivial : I'd certainly do it (even though I know people who do, are bombarded with spam).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

:) Thank you. Yes Mail in a box has been around for a while. Still not straightforward, though.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Skill issue

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The problem with peer2peer messaging is:

Though several apps that use the Tox protocol seem similar in function to regular instant messaging apps, the lack of central servers similar to XMPP or Matrix currently has the consequence that both parties of the chat need to be online for the message to be sent and received (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tox_(protocol)#Usability_as_an_instant_messenger )

That's why I think about using only decentralized protocol.

Both (decentralized and p2p) are usefull, but that not the same usage.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yes... I guess if someone were to only use Tox, the device they were using it on would have to be on all the time, with one of the Tox clients running at least in the background.


Addendum At least you know when the other person is online... There's some advantage to that.