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Cake day: April 2nd, 2025

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  • Is [XMPP’s lack of popularity] really just a marketing/UX/UI problem?

    No, there is more to it than that. Off the top of my head, these issues stand out as major hurdles:

    • XMPP is a relatively basic protocol. By itself, it cannot compete because it lacks modern features like end-to-end encryption, persistent message history, group chat, etc. It does have extension specs (XEPs) to provide many such features, but it still lacks a single cohesive spec identifying and unifying the important ones. You could call it fragmentation. This makes it overly complex for implementors, and leads to the next problem:
    • Someone wanting a messaging service with a competitive feature set must first identify at least one server that implements all the relevant XEPs, and a client for each of their devices that implements the same. That’s not viable for most people, many of whom have only a vague notion of what a communications protocol is.
    • Ever since public XMPP support was dropped by big services like Google and Facebook, the availability of reliable, free, public servers has all but vanished. Most people wouldn’t know with confidence how to find one, let alone one with all the needed extensions. And even if they do find one, most will be unable to assess whether it will still be running in ten years or more. This makes it quite a gamble to tie your online identity and network of contacts to whatever server you find.

    So, while XMPP (with appropriate extensions) is still a capable protocol, the expertise and support required to make it competitive is not readily available to most people. I might suggest it to small groups who have local expertise to get it all set up and keep things running well, but not to the general public.

    Meanwhile, Matrix has a unified spec with a rich feature set, a variety of homeservers and client apps that support it, sufficient momentum for continued development, and the critical mass to make it viable for global public use.





    1. Likely, yes. The mounting holes and rear connectors on any ATX motherboard should line up with the standoffs and slots on any ATX case. Just make sure the new board isn’t too large for the case. Plan ahead for the size of your new CPU cooler, too.
    2. For the most part, yes. Pay attention to the new motherboard’s power connector and that of your old power supply. If they don’t match, you might want to get a more modern power supply (even if it’s a used one).
    3. It depends on the prices you find. Bear in mind that if you go for a new motherboard, it doesn’t have to be the latest generation. A socket AM4 motherboard might make sense, since new CPUs are still being made for them, and they’re likely to be cheaper than latest-generation stuff.












  • who@feddit.orgtoPrivacy@lemmy.mlWhat is the catch with Epic Games' free games?
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    4 days ago

    Trying to discredit people because of the forum on which they discussed a topic, or because you view them as beneath your skill level, is a more than a little misguided, and frankly, disingenuous.

    Epic themselves have admitted to copying Steam data and scanning running processes, as has been documented in various news articles. (example, example)

    In any case, the point is not one particular incident or report, but rather that they have the capability, grant themselves permission to use it via their policy documents, and have earned distrust among a lot of gamers. Posting condescending emoji here doesn’t change that.

    Edit: P.S. In future comments defending Epic, you might do readers the courtesy of stating up front that you are moderator of an Epic Games forum.