Re: Matrix IRC bridge considered harmful

[Michael Catanzaro <mcatanzaro gnome org>]

On Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 4:35 pm, Michael Catanzaro 
<mcatanzaro gnome org> wrote:
> Here is my suggestion: fellow Matrix proponents, let's turn off the 
> IRC bridge ASAP. All we've accomplished by running the IRC bridge is 
> convincing GNOME devs that Matrix is awful. I'm pretty sure that all 
> of this negative feedback is about the IRC bridge.

OK, my main complaint is already resolved: I've tested and verified 
that proper errors are returned when I try to message an IRC user who 
is offline.

My suggestion to shut down the bridge was based on an incorrect 
assumption that it was unmaintained and not a priority to fix. We're 
currently working with Matthew to resolve several additional quality 
issues with the bridge, including an issue where Matrix users are 
disconnected from IRC rooms but don't notice because they continue to 
receive updates in Matrix, and a bridging problem that's specific to 
the #gnome room. Hopefully we can solve these and keep the bridge 
running, so that Matrix and IRC users can continue to participate in 
one unified community without feeling pressured to switch from one to 
the other. (Of course, even nicer if you join the Matrix side of 
things, so you can talk directly to our federated friends at 
Mozilla/KDE/Igalia/Purism as well as to IRC users, but with a bridge 
that's working properly, that would of course remain optional. :)

Michael