this post was submitted on 02 May 2024
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tl;dr :

  • Hexchat IRC client app development stopped
  • Linux Mint team was building IRC client to replace Hexchat
  • The team tried Matrix and liked it
  • Linux Mint’s communication channels are moving from IRC to Matrix
  • The desktop app will be named Matrix to avoid confusion
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[–] [email protected] 70 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

I‘m not sure if I like this. I use Matrix for a couple of years now and to be honest the more I use it the more I hate it.

Everything just feels slow, clunky and some basic things are quite complicated to archive and some functionality just does not work.
All that was okay for me in the beginning but it never got better.

IRC and XMPP also had their problems but I often wish them back nowadays.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Everything just feels slow, clunky and some basic things are quite complecated to archive

It's been that way for much longer than a few years unfortunately. I don't understand how people can tolerate it. Some projects switched to it because it seemed more beginner friendly than IRC, but to me it's not focussed on making things easy.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My problem with matrix is that you need email address to use it. Compared to the irc, where you could just use whatever name and ask questions straight away. Most distros I used came with an irc client preinstalled and preconfigured to connect to the support channel when launched. In my opinion that is more beginner friendly.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I think Matrix is the future, it just needs better designers and implementation.

They really, really shouldn't do things differently than discord just to be different.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Looks like you’re saying federation is the future, but Matrix is a bad federation implementation. And that sounds good.

I still think forums are the best way to handle support. Even phpBB is better than any chat. Have a bot alert a chat channel that the project team hangs out for every new topic or something, if that’s a concern.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I still think forums are the best way to handle support. Even phpBB is better than any chat. Have a bot alert a chat channel that the project team hangs out for every new topic or something, if that’s a concern.

Giving the users the choice to have IRC and a forum sounds nice to me. Forums for the longer conversations and be able to look up things with a search engine, and IRC for quick questions and informal chat.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

the issue isn’t so much with IRC, XMPP, Matrix, or Discord per se (aside from Discord having its own issues) – it’s that every dev/org/group is trying to use a chatroom as a replacement for support channels, wikis, knowledgebases, FAQs, forums, announcements, mailing lists, etc.

[as the meme states: “I don’t want to join your fucking Discord server just to get basic information that should be on a proper website instead of hidden away in the archives of a fucking chatroom”]

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Discord is the Gold Standard for you ? Why ?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

While this is true IMO, it's needed to say that the redesigned Discord mobile app is complete shitshow.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

It didn't take over most of its competition's userbase magically, they have a well designed system despite its flaws.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 7 months ago (2 children)

** Unable to decrypt this comment **

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

You son of a ... 😫

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

this message was not encrypted for this device if we're going to wish XMPP back

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

We dont really use/experience matrix. Same as we dont really use/experience debian, fedora, etc.

We are experiencing the clients (same as we experience the DE in the second example).

It does not make sense to hate on the protocol for clunky clients, same as it does not make sense to change distros because gnome isnt your thing, except if your OS doesnt handle anything else.

I had this discussion a billion times already. Element is not matrix and every other client is produced by actual people with very little money.

Be the change you want to see and make a client or donate to someone who makes the most promising ones instead of moaning about the good ol days please. Have a good one.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

The pathway I see is unfortunately IRC/XMPP→Matrix→Discord

[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago (1 children)

web-based Element Matrix client

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (3 children)

And I was hoping there was an alternative to fractal as a nativ app..

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (3 children)

KDE's NeoChat is written in Qt if I'm not mistaken

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

🫡nice, gotta look Hope it supports E2E encryption

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"some aspects of End-to-End Encryption are supported"

https://apps.kde.org/en-gb/neochat/

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

And I was hoping they fork fractal such that they can both profit from each other

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

"Forks of the project are welcomed. Nobody can stop the code from living on."

That's a tear jerking quote right there. o7

[–] can 24 points 7 months ago

I was trying to think of what the impactful differences between IRC and Matrix are (it's been a while).

“While being as open as IRC, Matrix provides a user experience which is similar to Slack or Discord to some extent. It’s modern, it’s persistent, and […] it’s actually less confusing to newcomers than an extremely simple application like Jargonaut.”

Persistancy! It's funny how that completely slipped my mind. The expectation from a chat room app has changed a lot since I last regularly used IRC and I guess I forgot what it used to be like.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Green Ubuntu is Best Ubuntu

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

it really is and i been liking green Debian as well.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

Cool that they are using now matrix

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Why have preinstalled apps though? Hear me out... i am very new to Linux and enjoying it quite much.

But most of the preinstalled programs that came with mint, i have not touched and never will.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 7 months ago (6 children)

Why have preinstalled apps though?

To make it easier for people.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 7 months ago

Some will use the built in note editor, some the built in music player, some the built in video player, and now some will use matrix

Mint isn't overly bloated, or even "bloated", these apps are useful for a decent part of the demographic, and having them preinstalled lowers the friction a new user feels when installing a new OS

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Because when interacting with other people to do something together it is more convenient not having to encourage them to install something. Like preinstalled Magic Wormhole for file sharing or something for remote desktop. FTP client is a must. Chat is nice to have.

I use Arch btw.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I can't remember exactly when I stopped installing mIRC when I built a new PC, but it's been a while. Is DALnet still around?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

DALnet appears to be alive and kicking. Since you're maybe out of the loop, big drama happened with Freenode. Right now Libera Chat and OFTC appear to be the big names for IRC for open source software users.

DALnet is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network made up of 39 servers, with a stable population of approximately 10,000 users in about 4,000 channels. DALnet is accessible by connecting with an IRC client to an active DALnet server on ports 6660 through 6669, and 7000. SSL users can connect on port 6697 as well. The generic round-robin address is irc.dal.net.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Ah, far out. Thank you for the info. Maybe I'll load up an IRC client and check them out!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Hmm I hope it will be at least somewhat stable. I never had good experience with Matrix for more than like an hour

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Maybe it will attract more development ? 🫣

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Do we know when Mint 22 is coming yet other than just "summer '24"?

[–] pastermil 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Would you rather they announce "when it's ready" instead?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It wasn't a criticism - I was just curious if anyone had any more info.

[–] pastermil 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Nobody got solid info (probably not the devs themselves), but some facts:

  • they're based on Ubuntu LTS
  • they put heavy modifications on top of it
  • from their track record, the major releases have been on June & July
[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I recently switched my main Linux laptop to Fedora and I have to say, it's probably the most stable and clean distro I've ever used.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Fedora is not stable but very well tested it seems.

And GNOME (the default, I guess?) Is also just really well tested

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