this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025
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117
Matrix is cooked (blog.cyrneko.eu)
submitted 3 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
28 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Truth is, to get right to the point, the fact that Matrix was accompanied by a for-profit entity, funded by venture capital was the biggest mistake that Matrix as a project has ever made.

top 28 comments
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 days ago (2 children)

This seems a bit of an odd take. Matrix.org making their server freemium is up to them - charging some users to use the service (not the software) is a way of keeping the lights on. Better that than ads or selling user data. Lots of privacy focused orgs do the same - Proton, Tuta, Mailbox, Mullvad, IVPN. If people also have an issue with Element - don't use Element, use one of the other apps.

If people are this upset, its not impossible (or even that hard) to migrate to a different server - or host your own.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I think the problem is that the Matrix Foundation (non-profit org) is being slowly cannibalized by Element (for-profit, VC-funded) which ends up making their costs and profit expectations a lot higher.

Right now this is only impacting the matrix.org homeserver. However, this could eventually end up impacting protocol-level design choices that harm other instances as well. Sure, you could fork the protocol and clients, but now we're talking about taking up the work that an entire organization had previously been doing. Not impossible if an existing organization like the FSF or Linux Foundation started backing something, but not a great place to be in either.

Edit: grammar

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

"slowly being cannibalised" at the start the foundation was just new vector/element putting on a funny hat. It's got less bad as time has gone on tbh

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Yeah they have the rights to do it, doesn't mean it's a good thing to do, doesn't mean it won't negatively impact the future of the project.

Redis had the rights to change the license of redis, look at where that led them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

If the best argument in favor of something is "you have the right to do it," the thing usually isn't very good

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago

Hard to see how them choosing to charge money to access their server will affect the future of the project, even them choosing to not run a free for anyone server any more wouldn't necessarily affect the future of the project because the project is not to provide a free for all server but to develop software. Either way, them trying to find a way to keep the server operating certainly doesn't mean 'Matrix is cooked'.

As far as Redis goes, as I understand it, they moved their software away from an open source license. There's zero indication Matrix are going to do the same thing.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean I can still self host, what's that got to do with anything? Their server is gonna be freemium so what?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It's clear matrix.org is being run by scumbags trying to take advantage of useful idiots.

The protocol itself seems good, though.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Eh, as long as they don't fuck with the protocol I don't really care. NGL. The community can always maintain a list of instances to defederate from. That can also include matrix.org

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

fucking with the protocol is what they do the most

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Can you elaborate how? I'm curious

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago

Have you actually met any of them at say, Fosdem?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Today I learned that VC funded companies are not allowed to invest in open source projects. Matrix would be nowhere near its current state if it wasn’t thanks to Element. It’s not the best, but it’s far from “cooked”.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

Replace "VC funded companies" with "enshittifiers" for a better view at how many people may read your comment

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Second biggest mistake next to them working for law enforcement.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

So if FBI has an internal Lemmy instance we should start boycotting Lemmy?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

As far as I know Lemmy didn’t profit off of making their instance, nor do they have contracts with law enforcement to implement it for them. The same cannot be said for Matrix Foundation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

The Matrix Foundation and Element/New Vector are different orgs, and it's Element with the government contracts

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

This is informative and unfortunate

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

XMPP chads, we won!