github VS element-ios

We use Matrix for our open source project: https://wiki.mathesar.org/en/community/matrix. We self-host a Synapse homeserver, but there's no reason why you can't set up a community on one of the big existing servers (e.g. matrix.org). Their Spaces feature allows you to package groups of channels together.

I set up Maubot for GitHub integration: https://github.com/maubot/github. There are moderation features, but we haven't had to use them.

There are quite a few issues that they've stopped fixing in the Element app in favor of doing it in Element X, the one I've been following is where the iOS app causes a breakage in E2EE when you use the share extension, so they just disabled the share extension entirely and said they'd fix in X - https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios/issues/7618

But X requires Sliding Sync on the server, which is still a separate service to run alongside the homeserver and doesn't have a stable API, much less a spec (?). I am increasingly disappointed with how centralized Matrix is becoming, since AFAIK there isn't really an alternate client close to the same level of quality as Element.

I probably would've made all of the same decisions myself though, so I don't blame them I'm just a bit disappointed in how it's shaking out.

Element X is an entirely new client written in Rust + Swift UI/Jetpack Compose (https://github.com/vector-im/element-x-ios and https://github.com/vector-im/element-x-android) which will eventually replace the legacy Element apps (https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios and https://github.com/vector-im/element-android).

The features already exist serverside; we're just working on getting them out of beta.

You're being downvoted, but I originally had the same question.

It's actually a native app. It's mostly Objective C, but increasingly written in Swift. https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios

There is clearly room for improvement, but apparently they just hired a handful of new iOS developers to work on it. Good things should be coming soon.

afaik, there is no "official" way to do it: https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios/issues/590

Sure. Element for Android, iOS, and web

Every issue I had with Signal, and listed here, is solved.

One issue I have with the Element iOS client is that it doesn't respect system font sizing. So, for older relatives, that app can't be used. I put my mom on something called "Fluffy Chat" though, which does respect font sizes. If Element fixes that, I'll move her back again. It's kinda nice having multiple clients to choose from, though Element is by far the most polished.

https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios/issues/3245

That lets me assume that they either have a restyled fork of Element, or are directly telling us to use Element.

Here’s the iOS pull request for example: https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios/pull/3890

There's a GitHub issue mentioning the same domain, but it doesn't suggest it's used for verification

4. While core functionality is both broken and undocumented, the maintainers announce rabbit hole features that no one asked for and seem very much like distractions, like their recently-announced microblogging view/client[4]

In short the Element maintainers have shown little interest in making the platform accessible to the people who need its differentiating features the most, and have prioritized the "mad science"/technical aspect of their platform at the expense of the human element (end-users and operators).

It'd be cool if Element used their resources to hire some UX folks and community advocates whose sole focus is addressing the horrid accessibility of their platform. I think most users would rather see that than further "mad science".

[1] https://github.com/vector-im/element-ios/issues/3762