intrigeri:
> sycamoreone wrote (22 Jan 2016 16:04:33 GMT) :
>> there has been some desire to replace Pidgin with some other IM client
>> (#8573). [...]
>> In order to be able to decide when/if a client is a suitable replacement
>> for Pidgin, it would be good to have a concrete list of requirements. I
>> once started to collect some in a blueprint [...]
>
> Thanks a lot for raising this, and collecting requirements.
>
> I'd like to take a step back, since I wonder if we've defined the
> problem in a way that we can realistically solve it. Something on the
> blueprint suggests the same: "Would a pair of two separate client
> (XMPP and IRC) also be okay, or are we only looking for a single
> client that can do both?"
>
> My goal here is to *simplify* the problem to solve, and possibly to
> split it into smaller, more reastically solvable problems, as needed.
> My goal is definitely *not* to make the problem harder and discourage
> those who are working on it already, or would like to join the fun.
>
> I see five main instant messaging use cases that I would want Tails to
> support to some extent:
>
> A. Contributing to Free Software projects that use IRC chatrooms
> (and won't switch to anything else any time soon)
>
> B. Contributing to Free Software projects that use non-IRC chatrooms
> (e.g. we are switching to XMPP, not sure what else is around)
>
> C. One-to-one chat that is compatible with currently widespread practice
>
> I think that means XMPP + OTR, nowadays.
>
> D. One-to-one chat that protects metadata end-to-end
> (that is: "who is chatting with whom")
>
> This suggests Ricochet or similar.
>
> E. Public chatroom for Tails user support
>
> Currently, Pidgin addresses B + C, and not D. In theory it also
> addresses A + E, except that connecting to e.g. OFTC directly is not
> reliable, so a more geeky setup is needed in practice.
Good point!
Still, I'm afraid of mixing up here stuff that Pidgin is doing already
or is intended to do (A, B, C, and E) and stuff that Pidgin was never
meant to do (D) if we're talking here about "simplify the problem of
replacing Pidgin".
I could think of other instant messaging use cases or properties that
are still not in your list (private group chat, search and archive past
public communications, offline-friendlyness, etc.)
For more a nice list of properties people are playing with, check
https://dymaxion.org/essays/pleasestop.html. Whether or not you like the
message and the style, the list of properties is interesting.
> I don't know of any tool that provides D _and_ another one among A,
> B and C. So for the moment, I think that D should be solved separately.
Exactly.
