That said, the Element/Element X migration is a mess. But if he'd just gone to the Element website and clicked "get started", it would have just worked.
No it wouldn't.
element.io -> get started gives this:
> Get started.
> Setup a self-hosted or cloud deployment, with powerful enterprise capabilities.
edit - expanding.
The element site is entirely about getting something for your business. It has a pricing page that tells me it'll be free for up to 200 users but I have to self host. Nothing on the front page of it tells me it's a free app I can use elsewhere. I have to go to "product" (!) and choose the app.
To get started with element the app and create an account to chat you are saying I should not install one of their applications, instead I should
1. Go to the element site
2. Ignore all the talk about it being a product for teams
3. Still want to get started with not what the page is about, click on get started
4. Totally ignore what it tells me the page is for, because it's about setting up a server
5. Still want to download the application regardless
6. Scroll past all the CTAs and the form
7. Download the app
> my recommendation is to avoid Matrix for at least two years
which seems arbitrary. Why wait 2 years and not one or just a couple months? The french administration is already using it now https://www.tchap.gouv.fr/
In federated protocols it's always harder for the user to choose an instance for them. Not sure if the responsibility for that should be on the protocol managing party.
If they did manage to find Element at all, I would guess that would be through the "try matrix" button on matrix.org, which has an "install Element" button, which then leads to a "download for macOS" button.
More realistically, people would be typing "Matrix" into GPlay or the app store on their phones. The confusing Element/Element X situation would still apply, of course.
I think this is a key issue here. Element X is unfinished, but isn't labeled as such. The rest seems to be the result of a buggy, unfinished process, that I don't think exists on the stable client.
It probably also doesn't help that the Element app on iOS has received relatively little attention over the years compared to the Android app, which has had several rewrites. This is probably also why Element X is getting so much focus, as it's the first fresh start for Matrix on Apple's platforms in ages.
Matrix is cool tech, but it's not easy to get into. I'd argue the same for XMPP and other federated services, as their competition has the advantage of having one app managed by one company. Even things like email are confusing to people beyond the very basics; setting up an email client is still something technical support needs to hand-hold people through, no matter how many wizards and step-by-step guides apps may add.
Separate but they work closely from what I gather. New Vector develops Element/ElementX and has seats on the Matrix.org board. Element is the Matrix.org flagship client.
I do appreciate that Matrix.org has its own foundation and I don't mean to disparage New Vector in any way, but they are undeniably closely linked. I'm not sure if Matrix would survive without New Vector.
I onboarded a family member onto my Matrix server with FluffyChat as the client. This person is a power user, fairly technical, yet still refers to the chat as "FluffyChat" and although I've explained several times that choosing FluffyChat was maybe a mistake and they should use Element, it never seems to really click that multiple clients are possible.
And really, they aren't possible. They have different subsets of features.
If you want to see a trash can fire, just try to follow the discussion for adding custom emoji to Matrix: https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec-proposals/pull/195...
it's been going on for years. It's a feature the competitors have had for half a decade, as long as this discussion has been ongoing. I've been watching this issue for half a decade thinking "surely they'll decide on something" but mostly all I've been convinced of is this: Matrix is design by committee in all of the worst aspects and at every level of design. If anything gets done at all, it's a convoluted mess, and it's a miracle that it even happens.
I wish community software developers would focus their attention.. somewhere else.
We don’t even have captions for images yet!
Going to element.io and clicking "get started" takes you to a form to submit some kind of enterprise inquiry, asking what the name and size of your company is...