Bitcoin Cash Space on Matrix for more universal reach and for people without Telegram

Communication
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#1

I have noticed that most BCH related discussion is happening on telegram which is somewhat restrictive due to Telegram requiring a phone number to join. Many people, like myself, who do not have or do not wish to give out a phone number so we cannot use Telegram.

Matrix is a better option because it FOSS and more accessible as well as based on open standards. Hopefully in the future we can maybe bridge the telegram rooms over to matrix.

Please check it out, you will enjoy the freedom. https://matrix.to/#/#bitcoincashspace:matrix.org

Why Matrix?

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#2

IMO, it would be great to migrate away from Telegram. I abandoned it a while back. The BCH chats were the only thing I used it for, and I didn’t enjoy having to maintain a telephone-connected account there (and the obvious lack of privacy). Anyway, I’ll also confirm here that I am the owner of the @gotamd:matrix.org account.

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#3

Any closed communities including Matrix is a bad idea. We want our posts findable and archivable via internet searches.

#4

Closed communities are still useful. A place where people can join a chat and quickly ask questions or make statements is valuable. This cannot be done on public platforms. Matrix is the most open communication protocol.

To your point the BCH community should have a bigger presence on federated big tech alternatives such as lemmy which is a decentralized by federation replacement for reddit. Here is a BCH community I set up on https://sopuli.xyz/c/bitcoincash which is public and can be joined from any instance.

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#5

Somebody suggested making a Matrix community before, I don’t know if they actually followed through though. I’ve asked on Telegram and if someone replies then I’ll edit this post to add it.

But yes it’s a fantastic idea for us to have conversational communities going on as many different platforms and with as many different groups of people as we possibly can. Each one takes work from a dedicated moderator and maintainer, but if you’re passionate about a particular platform then highly encouraged to create and maintain a community there!

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#6

This topic is out of scope for the site, but I didn’t catch it in a timely manner. Therefore, I will leave it up. In the future, you can discuss general topics with the BCH community in places like

and if the matrix or other community locations become well established, we can include those as well.

#7

What do you think about bridging Telegram: Contact @bchchannel to the Matrix room?

Would you be willing to ask an admin there to invite the matrix bridge bot (@matrix_t2bot) so we can connect the rooms?

Here is more info on this if interested: t2bot.io - Telegram Bridge

Thanks

#8

I think it’s a good idea to try & cross pollinate discussion. It’s important we have a variety of overlapping discussion channels so we’re resilient to problems or administrator capture or censorship or spam attacks or anything else on any given service. However just be clear about the power of network effect, so while it’s good to have alternatives they aren’t likely to get large initial traction & will take time to develop their own following & discussion & vibe so temper your expectations & play the long game for creating those kinds of communities. But I do think it’s an excellent initiative.

I don’t need to ask the admins, you can do that.

#9

Thanks for the reply. What I am trying to solve is the inability for privacy minded people to have easy access to the BCH community chats, not to become the new admin in town.

I do not have access to telegram because it requires a phone number to sign up thus I cannot ask myself. We should not need a phone number to chat with the future world reserve currency community, IMO :wink:

I figured I would ask someone that already has access instead of having to buy a phone number just to sign up and ask about this.

Sorry to be a nag about this but it is long overdue.

#10

I set up on https://sopuli.xyz/c/bitcoincash which is public and can be joined from any instance.

The BCH community was removed from that lemmy instance by the admin, now it is @ https://realbitcoin.cash/ The power of decentralization. :slightly_smiling_face:

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#11

It’s a good idea to provide alternative venues for conversation, especially if you have specific requirements. I agree not having a phone number shouldn’t be a barrier.

However, with the “not become the new admin” part, I think you’re going to have to rethink. Conversational spaces take a surprisingly high amount of effort - someone has to promote it to new people, moderate it to keep spam/bots out and decide the appropriate rules of conversation, nudge the discussion in the right direction & keep new interesting ideas flowing (especially while the channel is new/small) & so on. If you’re the one passionate about having this kind of space available - that person has to be you! If it doesn’t exist or isn’t popular already (which it seems like it isn’t), that means nobody else has cared enough to put in the work to make it a success - so either you do or don’t but if you don’t the situation is unlikely to change from what it was.

So realistically your options are to be the driving force of this initiative - or go without. It’s up to you which one of course.