cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/17617609

They supposedly can be disabled in settings- but we all know that won’t last. They’re going full Microsoft Skype mode and it’s only a matter of time.

      • jarfil@beehaw.org
        0·
        9 months ago

        Just tried it… it says “Running in Chrome”. Seems to be a repackaged webapp.

        • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
          0·
          9 months ago

          well that’s no different than Discord already, so net zero change

          running webapps in chrome or Electron containers simplifies a lot of development, i don’t like their resource requirements or dependency on Chromium, but I do understand needing to streamline development so devs can work on more important backend stuff.

          • jarfil@beehaw.org
            0·
            9 months ago

            The difference is:

            • Discord: Electron app, 156 MB, works offline
            • Revolt: webapp, 635 kB, doesn’t work offline

            The “works offline” is not much of a bonus for a chat app, but you can access cached chats on Discord, while Revolt… just doesn’t run.

            There seem to be other clients for it, though. Haven’t checked those out.

            • SteveTech@programming.devEnglish
              0·
              9 months ago

              In theory PWAs can be configured to run offline, whether they’re doing that I don’t know.

              The desktop app looks like it’s electron though.

              • jarfil@beehaw.org
                0·
                9 months ago

                I know, one of the best PWAs I’ve seen is Draw.io, fully usable offline, with both device and browser storage.

                The Revolt’s one however, even though delivered as a PWA, seems to be only the login page. If already logged in, it throws a “Network error.” dialog. Haven’t checked the desktop one.

    • Political Custard@beehaw.org
      0·
      9 months ago

      Oh, this looks great. Honestly, I am very happy when closed-source apps become worse, these are all just opportunities for open source to move in and take over.

    • jarfil@beehaw.org
      0·
      9 months ago

      Compared to Matrix, or any E2EE chat, this doesn’t sound good:

      we take your privacy very seriously. And with end-to-end encryption coming to DMs and group chats soon

      Compared to Discord, or other established voice chat systems like Mumble, this doesn’t sound great either:

      We are currently rebuilding the client and the voice server from scratch. The old voice should work in most cases, but it may inexplicably not connect in some scenarios and / or exhibit weird behaviour.

      The “app” on Android seems to be just the webapp running in a standalone window.

      I’ll concede them the OpenSource and self-hosted factors, and it does look like Discord, but it doesn’t seem like a suitable replacement for average users… yet. Then again, the ads might push them over.

      Guess it’s worth to keep an eye on it.

    • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
      0·
      9 months ago

      so this Revolt project is open source, which is nice, but still seems to rely on centralized servers. Does it use P2P for voice+video+fileshare so that the original devs aren’t on the hook for insane bandwidth requirements? I can’t see anything about their networking systems in the FAQ or info pages.

      I may consider getting my friends to switch sooner or later if it’s more P2P based. But I don’t really want something that runs ALL traffic through central servers, because the bandwidth costs will inevitably just lead to the same situation that Discord is now in.