IM Survey Results
Appearance
The IM Survey results are in. Below is a table for comparison of features:
Requirement | IRC | Matrix | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
FOSS server | Yes | ||||
Can self-host | Yes | ||||
FOSS Clients | Yes | ||||
Open API | Yes | ||||
Open Governance | #ircv3? | ||||
No monetary cost | Yes | ||||
Defined protocol | Yes | ||||
Anonymity | feature loss[1] | ||||
Low bandwidth | Yes | ||||
Widely legal | heard anything? | ||||
Away | Yes | ||||
Mute | /ignore, Konversation | ||||
Channel list with search | freenode /alis | ||||
IRC Bridge | n/a | ||||
File Sharing | DCC or external | ||||
Private channels | Yes | ||||
Access control | freenode | ||||
Channel topics | Yes | ||||
Permanent channels | freenode_GC | ||||
Encrypted communication | HTTPS / IRC with TLS / Tor / encrypted messages [2] | ||||
Plasma Integration | Konversation | ||||
Client accessibility | Konversation | ||||
High volume performance | Yes | ||||
High channel count performance | Yes | ||||
Low client overhead | Yes | ||||
Federation | freenode network | ||||
Persistant public logging | possible[3] | ||||
Firewall friendly | tunnels available | ||||
IRC-like GUI | Yes | ||||
Multiple accounts per app instance | Yes | ||||
No sign-up | possible with caveats [4] | ||||
Migration Path | n/a | ||||
Tor support | freenode [5] | ||||
Dev system messages | provided by a bot | ||||
Web client | Various available, qwebirc, irccloud, kiwiirc, ... | ||||
Message quoting | editable text | ||||
Text mode client | 3rd party (irssi, weechat, ...) | ||||
Low sysadmin requirements | freenode | ||||
Remembers last-read position | needs 3pty support, Konversation does it | ||||
Popular bridges | n/a | ||||
User search | primitive[6] | ||||
File share search | No | ||||
Avatars | client feature | ||||
Mass messaging | considered impolite | ||||
Dev service bots | Yes | ||||
Spacious, low contrast flat ui | see wip/qtquick | ||||
Unicode character picker | Konversation | ||||
Broadcast messages | Can be done via bots and /amessage | ||||
Sharable content markup | Client feature |
- ↑ if you don't have an account, you can't join some channels (opt-in) and use memoserv. You can use Tor though, which comes with no feature loss but requires registration (with a random e-mail address, no personal details)
- ↑ encryption with OTR etc. doesn't work well in groups
- ↑ via bots, other channels do this, has to be communicated, opt-in
- ↑ some channels (opt-in), some features like sending memos and Tor require it
- ↑ requires a registration, SASL external and using an .onion service
- ↑ could be improved client-side