I like that a XMPP node can be hidden on the Tor network, however I have some concerns on the safety of connecting to Tor, even through bridges (if a government can setup a bridge and then monitor connections).
I like that XMPP servers can talk to each other.
The gossip protocol is interesting. Have also been interested in swarm, Whisper, devP2P, libp2p.
How easy would it be for a government (USA), to block or attack Matrix/XMPP servers, or place the people/admins using them under surveillance? How resistant is Matrix/XMPP in China, Iran, and other places? Is there something better?
I wonder if they support ALL activists, or take sides, or if they choose which ideologies should be cancelled or supported. The last thing I want is to support technocrats.
The better question is whether there's something better than XMPP?
I like Tox over Tor...really fast. But offline messaging is a problem.
I don't like Briar because it is Android only.
I don't like XMPP/Matrix because its more technical with too many options. I also want something anonymous. I also prefer not having a centralized server to connect or relay messages. You can accomplish these things, but its not simple for the average user.
Signal would make my list if I didn't have the hand over my phone number.
Status, Session, and Tox+Tor are my favorites right now. Mainly because they do everyone I want without me having to do anything. Session seems to be more mature and active. Status has some interesting concepts, but it is too soon to see how they'll workout, or someone from Status needs to do a lot better job of explaining it to me. So Session is my goto.
Is the developer really connected to the "alt-right", or connected with free speech?
I'm guessing that you and your contacts exchange MAC and Onion addresses. Then Briar looks for that MAC address via WiFi/Bluetooth or an Onion address on Tor.
It's my understanding Session doesn't do PFS because in order to do that kind of attack the attacker would need to have access to the device. And if the attacker has access to the device, then PFS isn't going to be a benefit.
I don't understand why apps/messengers have a relationship with blockchain/cryptocurrency either. (so I am guessing). I'm not sure cryptocurrencies are really blockchains, and blockchains are really just protocols, and messengers are using the protocol. Sometimes blockchains sounds like a method/protocol for storing data in a distributed network.
Or perhaps saying it this way: you can do multiple things with a blockchain, and cryptocurrency is just one of those things. So if an app/platform is going to use a blockchain, they can easily leverage the blockchain protocol for other things (currency, storage, transactions, messages, distributed apps, etc).
bad for democracy
Another way of saying that is that democracy is great for the majority, but bad for the minority. Not everyone wants to labor for something they don't want or believe.
I have doubts true P2P will be solved. But Status may have the next best solution.
Are most of the public XMPP onion servers robust (Calyx doesn't even have a V3 address)?