Re: Matrix and XMPP

[quiliro]

Nice analysis, Adonay!

I was asking in the Freenode #xmpp channel the other day.  This is a
copy of the chat we had:

[20:42]<quiliro> which are the differences between xmpp and mumble protocols?
                 advantages and disadvantages of each?
       <MattJ> [11:13:08] quiliro, mumble isn't federated, is the easiest
               difference
       <MattJ> [11:13:54] That means you need to have an account on every
               mumble server you want to participate on. In XMPP you can just
               have one account and access everything on the XMPP network
               (that allows you to).
       <MattJ> [11:15:14] Mumble is focused on audio streams, but XMPP is a
               more general messaging protocol. The protocol is openly
               developed and supports many different features.
       <MattJ> [11:15:54] And there is a lot of XMPP-compatible software to
               choose from, across all platforms. There are just a small
               handful of Mumble-compatible clients I believe.
       <quiliro> is xmpp encrypted'
       <quiliro> ?
       <MattJ> Yes
       <quiliro> how about the quality of communication? how are they
                 comparable in loss?
[09:04]<MattJ> I haven't compared the two with regards to call quality,
               they're both fine in my experience
[09:09]<quiliro> Is there a website to introduce newbies to XMPP....for using
                 clients
       <quiliro> maybe a list of clients or opinions on various clients
[09:10]<MattJ> That's the kind of thing the JoinJabber community are working
               on: https://joinjabber.org/
       <quiliro> How is XMPP comparable with Tox or Matrix?
[09:12]<MattJ> Tox is purely p2p, so there are no servers on that
               network. That means various limitations - e.g. you can only
               chat with someone when both of you are online at the same time.
[09:13]<MattJ> Matrix has a federated server model, like XMPP. That means you
               register on a server, and then you can communicate with people
               on the same server, but also different servers.
       <MattJ> The main differences between XMPP and Matrix are technical, in
               how they actually do the federation bit
[09:14]<MattJ> Matrix is newer, so doesn't have quite so many clients, but it
               also has clients (called Element) which are developed by the
               main company behind Matrix
       <quiliro> MattJ: Is there a FAQ for the questions I have asked on some
                 web page?
[09:15]<MattJ> There's an FAQ here: https://joinjabber.org/faqs/
       <MattJ> If your questions/answers aren't there, I'm sure they would
               love to hear about that :)
       <quiliro> Which is the reason to choose XMPP over Matrix?
[09:16]<MattJ> It's more mature, has more choice, and the server software
               requires less system resources
[09:20]<quiliro> Why is XMPP ubiquous and what can I do to help it become more
                 popular?
       <quiliro> not* ubiquous
[09:26]<MattJ> The project I'm working on to try and help XMPP become more
               ubiquitous is https://snikket.org/
       <MattJ> Currently a server + Android app, with an iOS app hopefully
               ready soon
       <quiliro> Is it libre software?
[10:26]<MattJ> Yes: https://snikket.org/open-source/
[10:31]<quiliro> It would be nicer to see a free software tag instead of the
                 open-source one.  It shows that freedom for the users is
                 important.  Open-source promotes cost and functionality
                 advantages more.
       <quiliro> But it is OK if you do not like the tag.
[10:32]<MattJ> I generally don't use the term "free software" because people
               outside of the community misunderstand it
       <MattJ> To them, WhatsApp is "free software" :)
[10:41]<quiliro> I think that libre software is even better because it is
                 unambiguous.  And when people ask, it gives us a chance to
                 explain how freedom is important. 
[10:42]<quiliro> but I use the term free software also because it also gives a
                 chance to explain what's up is not free...it is costly