In addition to recommending Mastodon (Social Networking Software) I wish to move Element from the Real-Time Communications page to a new Social Networks page.
I would consider public Discord servers to be far more akin to social networks than instant messaging, and I think we largely recommend Element to replace Discord for this specific use-case.
After making this change, we would also:
- Fully require PFS for instant messengers. Previously we downranked instant messengers without PFS, to account for these social-networking-like group functionalities we wanted to recommend. If we categorize these as social networks we can describe the risks/benefits of each more clearly.
- Remove Session.
Regarding Session, we currently recommend it for a similar use-case as Element. However, I do not think it is as appropriate to move to the new Social Networks category alongside Element for 2 reasons:
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Its direct message focused UI - Element makes DMs seem a bit like an afterthought and group chats are its bread and butter, while Session has this dynamic reversed.
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Session will not fit in with some requirements of the new Social Networks page that I want to add, while Element would. Namely, I want our Social Networks criteria to include:
- Must be usable within a standard web browser.
- Must make public content accessible to visitors without an account.
Session would not fit either, while Element has world-readable content accessible with static HTTP viewers like https://view.matrix.org/, no account required.