How Do You Tell Family and Friends to Open Source Messaging Protocols?

There is a big problem for open source software enthusiasts: central platforms like SMS and WhatsApp are dominant in family and friendly groups. Although federe messaging protocols such as XMPP and Matrix are technologically superior, the user base is not common because it is limited.

The question from agenda in Hacker News reveals how users who build personal servers on open protocols approach this challenging conversion process:

• Praticity and Integration: Users highlight that open protocols must be compatible with technical superiority, existing workflows
• Content Pass: Instead of carrying all groups at once, the approach starting with volunteer participants is preferred
• Security and Privacy Statements: Hosting data against central servers and messages end-to-end encryption advantages
• User Experience: Critical success factor for non-technical people to be intuitive and hassle-free
• The effect of the community: Although it is small in the beginning, it is a source of motivation to create an active group

The choice of centralized services in real world communication shows that technological success is based on social dynamics. Technical excellence can sometimes be as important as user adopt.

Despite the strong sides of open internet protocols, this discussion brings the question to which obstacles should be exceeded for the main current adoption.