Derin

Matrix doesn’t have multiple standards, it only has the one? Certain servers expose older API endpoints for backwards compatibility with old clients, but that’s all. The spec is standard and relatively stable.

Likewise, it is very much a federated protocol - dunno where you got the idea that it isn’t.

But, yeah, spec changes do take a while to get accepted/implemented.

QR code login is technically out, you just need to be running your own homeserver (and MAS) to use it.

But, yeah, exciting to finally have that.

Matrix does have all of that, though? Except for voice.

I use matrix/element for socializing and Mumble for voice chat while gaming.

To respond to each comment:

• Element is a unified UI, available on PC/Web/Mobile.
• Starting and managing a community involves hitting the + button, creating a community, creating rooms in that community, then setting permissions and ACLs - pretty similar to discord, though with more control as you own the server.
• Embedded content is possible through the embed button.
• Video and voice work, but aren’t great for gaming (see below).

Element Call (aka the new MatrixRTC spec) is great for video calls, but leaves a lot to be desired for chatting while gaming.

From a chat standpoint, the two are near identical - yes - but Matrix lacks the “voice/video calls as persistent rooms” feature that Discord has. This was planned a while back, but has recently been pushed on the backburner^[1] as they work on Element Call.

Early on Matrix was sort of being built up as an IRC/Discord alternative, but recently they’ve pivoted more towards a WA/Telegram/Slack alternative as most of their financial support comes from European governments and companies looking for strong and secure internal communication solutions they can manage themselves.

So, TL;DR you probably won’t see the exact Discord like features you want land in the spec any time soon as they’re not being funded.

So that means, right now:

• No persistent voice/video rooms (but they are on the roadmap!)
• No push-to-talk or “game friendly” settings like voice auto-detection (also not really on the roadmap)

Having said all that, Matrix is brilliant and I highly encourage people to check it out. I use a Matrix <-> Signal bridge for most of my comms with my friends, and we voice chat on Mumble. Not ideal, but you get to avoid Discord and you get a very similar experience! Bonus points for Mumble as it’s super lightweight.

~[1] It’s not really on the backburner so much as it’s something that will have to be worked on after the new VOIP stack - Element Call - is integrated in the wider Matrix ecosystem. There is an experimental “video rooms” feature, but that really isn’t the same as a native, persistent voice-only room.~