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Comment by hellcow | Hacker News Reader

I've told the important people in my life that if they want to message me, they will need do it through Signal. It takes 2 minutes to set up, I show them how, and tell them that I won't reply to any SMS.

Many switched, including the least technical people I know. A few did not. It's really not hard; you just have to draw a line in the sand.

As a result of everyone I know using Signal, it fundamentally doesn't matter to me if the "mainstream" switches. We're already all on board.

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And then you end up in that situation when they didn't actually switch, but rather made you a favor and caved in to your self-centric demands and stubborness. Like with a tantrum-prone child. They still use WhatsApp between themselves, because that's what their dentist, car mechanic and a favourite sushi takeout use. They will also more eagerly reply to IMs if they are not sent through your preferred chat system. So in the end you technically made them do your thing, but the victory is hollow.

Ask me how I know.

Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I couldn't care less what they use to message their dentist. I care that they use Signal to message me.

The problem is when one friend demands Signal, another WhatsApp, another Matrix, another Telegram, another Threema. These are all closed platforms and having loads of different apps installed which perform similar functions，to satisfy various people's dogmatic views is annoying.

Matrix is not a closed platform, and in fact the only one of the projects you mentioned that even makes an attempt to work together with other chat protocols and networks. It is explicitly open, not locked in to any single service provider, and making an explicit effort to not limit you to chat with only other Matrix users (despite how much Signal or WhatsApp works towards the opposite).

You just made them install one more app. And you lost friends because they didn't install an app. What a dumb way to spite Facebook.

If a "friend" won't install an app (a 2 minute commitment?) to remain in contact, then I'm honestly fine without them contacting me. To each his own.

> (a 2 minute commitment?)

Installing an app is more than a 2 minute commitment. You also have to be OK with that app running on your device.

It's not even that.

An average person will have pages of apps installed, but that would actually use only what's on the first page. So they have a choice of bumping something off their precious FP to fit my special app or just keep it where it lands after installation, on the back pages. And if it ends up there, out of rotation, it won't see much voluntary use.

Email. Matrix. XMPP.

All of these have a very important aspect in common: you can choose your application you want to access the network with. I'm tired of needing to use The Official®©™ App, and Signal is no exception. It's also a single entity thus being a single point of failure.

If you really want to make a difference please try to make people to migrate to something open. Quicksy[^1], DeltaChat[^2], something. But not another, essentially closed platform.

[^1]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=im.quicksy.cli...

[^2]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=chat.delta

I agree. However email metadata isn't secure, so that's a nonstarter. I'm rooting for Matrix but thusfar Riot's UX to get an encrypted conversation going leaves a lot to be desired. No way are the non-technical people I know going to be able to do that. Signal "just works" with secure defaults, so that's the best we've got for now.

Use Pyre.chat or signal-weechat. There are other options beyond Signal to chat with contacts on Signal.

> I've told the important people in my life that if they want to message me, they will need do it through Signal. It takes 2 minutes to set up, I show them how, and tell them that I won't reply to any SMS.

I've done the opposite: there's no way I'm going to install a messaging app, and everyone I care to interact with knows they need to either use SMS or email to reach me. Everyone's been perfectly fine with that.

> […] and tell them that I won't reply to any SMS.

How do you handle dumb/feature phone users?

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