IRC is only "outdated" if you make it so by using outdated networks like libera.chat that refuse to implement the newer standards that have been available for years.
Matrix is getting better on fast peace, we need to give it another yew years to fix biggest holes I guess.
ActivityPub based chat is going to suck much. Like basing chat on RSS or FTP, it can be done but why.
Unless we're talking just about replicating Instagram-like DMs then maybeee? But I still would like to just add link to Matrix in bio instead of having chat in yet another place.
Nobody is telling you to use it. This originally spun out of development of a messaging app just for Pixelfed, but evolved when the dev realized it could be made to work with any Fediverse account, not just his own server project.
An optimistic view is that it could end up opening the door for end-to-end encryption to come to private messages in Fediverse servers, over time.
With the open nature of the fediverse I actually see some potential here. Right now there isn’t a single messenger that I truly like. They’re all just different shades of okay or worse.
I think it's intended to be more like WhatsApp, in the sense that you use it for one-on-one chats or messaging small friend groups. I don't think it's a current goal to try to take on Matrix / Element.
Do we if it will have scope to do group chats at all or well?
Seems to me that private group chats are significant piece missing from the fedi, especially as they seem to me to be a reasonable alternative platform structure compared to all the doom scrolling engagement stuff that the Fedi has so far more or less sought to simply clone.
I'm much more excited about Veilid than another server-based thing, even if it's federated servers. Fully peer-to-peer seems like the way to go for direct conversations.
I'm pretty curious about Veilid, and eager to check it out. But, I believe that peer-to-peer and federated could theoretically complement each other very well, especially when it comes to building infrastructure for this big weird network we're a part of.
For me, federated networks make a lot of sense when you want moderation and admins. Having a lot of little places with centralized control that can all talk to each other is much preferable to having 5 giant shitty walled gardens.
If I'm going to talk to a friend or a small group of friends directly, then I don't feel a need to have a centralized authority in the works, which is why I'd prefer peer-to-peer for that kind of communication.
Those are just my preferences though; good luck with the project, and hack on!
This. Maybe something that doesnt want my phone number or require me to sign on from a known device. That shit creeps me out, because I know none of it is necessary.
He's working on multiple things at once. Where he finds the energy, I don't know, but PubKit, Sup, and a few other things are all happening right now.
This one article is part of a series where I'm hoping to put up one feature per day of what he's been working on. Pixelfed is notoriously hard to cover, because the lead dev is so active.
It seems to be based on the existing Pixelfed php code that uses ActivityPub. In theory the Libervia AP gateway would probably make it work with XMPP, but I suspect the use of libsignal will ultimately still prevent it. Maybe once both sides speak MLS it will be possible.
Yeah, admittedly I rushed that part, and should've taken more time for details. My biggest guess is that the chat app will just be a client for Fediverse server users to sign into, with all the conversations happening off-server in a client. That's the only way I could think of this working, with the way that the network currently operates.
In the future, it might be possible for a lot of different Fediverse servers to natively support encrypted chat. But, these are all just guesstimates, and I'm not even sure that the lead dev is ready to publicly comment on a set-in-stone policy. Likely, there's probably a lot of experimentation happening.
On one hand I just want one standard NOW and am sick of hunderds of apps. On the other hand it is just a Pixelfed client with other view, like DeltaChat is to email.