For self-hosting though, the project I work on - Snikket - uses XMPP but has all the nice modern things you’d expect ready to go right out of the box, more like a Matrix (Synapse/Element) setup. Probably the biggest thing missing for Snikket right now is an official web app (we currently have Android and iOS apps).
My personal feeling is that if you’re looking for something a bit more extensive, “team chat” style (such as Discord, Slack, that kind of thing), you’re better served by Element right now. However if you’re looking for something lightweight and simple for personal messaging in a group of family/friends (e.g. to replace WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal) then XMPP via Snikket is a great choice.
- The above is copied from someone else. Anyone have any experience running this for family / friends?
I installed it with a caddy proxy, works like a charm. I’ve used the Converse.js web client, Modal on iOS and Conversations for Android. The installation was quick and easy, file and photo sharing works, audio and video calls.
Really the hardest part is getting friends to use it.
Tested Snikket self-hosting in the past. If I recall correctly one advantage was that it has the option for admins to create invite links for on-boarding new users which seems useful to me for “normies”.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the Web VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting) XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (‘Jabber’) for open instant messaging
3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 12 acronyms.
[Thread #717 for this sub, first seen 27th Apr 2024, 18:05] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
While I like it conceptually, the two times I tried to install it I felt it was far too opinionated for me to get it to work correctly, like other software “bundles” of its kind that want to take control of the entire process of setting up ports, networking, storage, certificates etc…, instead of just hanging down from stuff that I have already prepared for it (like my own domain with my own cert).
Like, as a piece of software it’s something I’d absolutely use… if someone else sets everything up for me.
I thought you could install as a docker container?