Kevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

One thing that really pisses me off personally is the #regression in terms of #Messenger #Apps.

My personal distaste and dislike for #proprietary, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider #services like #Signal ¹ ², #Telegram, #Discord ³ ⁴, #WhatsApp ⁵, #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #discord ⁶⁷ etc. aside:

  • WHY is there no #CrossProvider #Messenger to handle that shite?

  • WHY does everyone of these shitty providers think people want to download their #bloated #WebApp that takes up triple digit Megabytes if not entire Gigabytes and will gobble up all the #RAM and #CPU each of them can??

This problem ain't new and already got solved for corporate social media ages ago! (Not to mention actually good messengers!)

So yeah, consider this a call for a @gajim / #Gajim or @pidgin / #Pidgin for garbage platforms!

  • Cuz back in the day we had way worse messengers yet people actually made #AIM, #ICQ, #MSN, #QQ, #IRC & #XMPP work just fine from one single "phat" client!

  • Can we please get that back? Cuz #WastefulComputing pisses me off!

#api0 #Enshittification

Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

Content warning: Rant re: Signal Shills being dangerous Tech Illiterates

Infosec.Space
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

I mean, these ain't like in the old days where a few Megabytes got you #Pidgin and other Multi-Protocol Clients of the old days where everyone had to implement bespoke, custom and incompatible and often completely undocumented, proprietary protocols like #ICQ, #AIM, #SIPE, etc.

  • Nowadays all these do have some kind of #WebApp or Web Interface one can just login (because none of them do proper #E2EE with #SelfCustody of all the keys!) so this should be way easier these days:
  • All they do is do HTTP(S) GET/POST so the most critical part is to attain credentials like a #Login #cookie and to basically run a console on i.e. #Firefox to reverse-engineer the "#API0"...
Comparison of cross-platform instant messaging clients - Wikipedia

Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

It just makes me wounder: Are modern messengers these days complicated or do the people who have the talent to write such a #MultiProtocolIM chosen that this is stupid and that like myself they'd never touch that shite in their life and make peace with it?

  • And I'm not talking about specific #API limitations like #Discord uses to force people to use their garbage client, but like #WhatsAppWeb and others...
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

I mean, there are commercial #MultiPlatform #clients for #SocialMedia like #HootSuite and #NUVI [not that I'd like either of those but still...

https://www.hootsuite.com
https://reputation.com/products/social-suite/

Online presence management - Wikipedia

Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

And it's not like people and espechally businesses are unwilling to pay for good tools, cuz not only is HootSuite still around, but @tapbots, who made the excellent TweetBot nowadays make @ivory, an excellent #ActivityPub client with focus on #Mastodon that people are willing to pay a #subscription for!

  • And from what I could see from users who pay for it, they are not just happy, but it also looks and feels better than #TweetDeck in it's golden days...

https://tapbots.com/ivory/

Tweetbot. April 2011 - January 2023

An award-winning Twitter Client for iOS.

Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 16, 2025

Like: There's not much of a technical reason something similar to @zulip 's #TUI - based client could exist for the aformentioned platfirms:

If people can build #bots for shite like #discord, #Telegram, etc. then why not make an actually good client ???

GitHub - zulip/zulip-terminal: Official Zulip terminal client.

Official Zulip terminal client. Contribute to zulip/zulip-terminal development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

For those who don't know the size of the problem:

In 2006 I bought a new [entry level] Computer with 256 MB of RAM and a single-core P4 Celeron with 2,8 GHz.

And now imagine that some folks have to use #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #Telegram, #Signal, #WhatApp, #WeChat, #QQ and #LineMessenger at the same time on their machine, and you can imagine that this will make entry-level desktops already scream harder than if someone were to loop the Lost Coast benchmark on them...

Everywhere else we'd not accept such a #bloatware IRL.

Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

One thing that really pisses me off personally is the #regression in terms of #Messenger #Apps. My personal distaste and dislike for #proprietary, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider #services like #Signal [¹](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114234551915193036) [²](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114935952643402592), #Telegram, #Discord [³](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114865723904157014) [⁴](https://social.treehouse.systems/@krutonium/115157611977216372), #WhatsApp [⁵](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114873895410403238), #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #discord [⁶](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/116063760849048926)[⁷](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/115736223551632209) etc. aside: - *WHY* is there no #CrossProvider #Messenger to handle that shite? - *WHY* does everyone of these shitty providers think people want to download their #bloated #WebApp that takes up triple digit Megabytes if not entire Gigabytes and will gobble up all the #RAM and #CPU each of them can?? This problem ain't new and *already got [solved for corporate social media](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862619013462466) ages ago!* (Not to mention actually good messengers!) - And no, [bridges](https://toots.ch/@dalai/114862754556459439) *[don't](https://swecyb.com/@troed/114862774972645542) count*! - I mean `API 0` - [style](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685423773959519) access because obviously [none of the platforms](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685414638522984) will *allow, endorse or support such an endeavour* and [*actively fight the developers and users*](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685441496803574) ! So yeah, consider this a call for a @[email protected] / #Gajim or @[email protected] / #Pidgin *for garbage platforms!* - Cuz back in the day we had *way worse messengers* yet people actually made #AIM, #ICQ, #MSN, #QQ, #IRC & #XMPP work just fine from one single *"phat" client*! - Can we please get that back? Cuz #WastefulComputing pisses me off! #api0 #Enshittification

Infosec.Space
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

We have @EUCommission [rightfully!] crack down on #cars and their #emissions by demanding ever lower #FleetEmissions and #FuelConsumption numbers but still accept #Bloatware like shitty #WebApps and #Windows11 to demand so much #WastefulComputing that it's painful.

  • Margaret Hammond and Grace Hopper must be rotating in their graves, pointing out how they got people on the moon with less storage than the SPD-ROM on a RAM stick and how their programming language still runs #TradFinance like a clockwork respectably, but somehow sending text messages is too much for a machine that costs €499 yet has more computational power than all the machines they worked on combined.

#WastefulComputing like all those phat & enshittified messengers should be illegal.

  • Espechally since they have 0 reason to be that resource intensive, even if we believe some of their security-focussed marketing lies.
Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

For those who don't know the [size of the problem]( https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862595629371002): In 2006 I bought a new [entry level] Computer with 256 MB of RAM and a single-core P4 Celeron with 2,8 GHz. - This thing ran #WindowsXP and #NeedForSpeedMostWanted just fine. - Nowadays it would crash trying to open #Slack even on a minimalist #Linux distro like @[email protected] in @[email protected], a lightweight browser ... And now imagine that some folks have to use #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #Telegram, #Signal, #WhatApp, #WeChat, #QQ and #LineMessenger *at the same time on their machine*, and you can imagine that this will make entry-level desktops already scream harder than if someone were to loop the *Lost Coast benchmark* on them... - The #bloat of modern #WebApps is just the *socially accepted equivalent* to #Cryptojacking desktops and driving some [*phat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humvee) #SuperUselessVehicle just to get less than a kg of groceries at a walking distance supermarket. Everywhere else we'd not accept such a #bloatware IRL. - So why should we accept #obscene|ly #WastefulComputing*?

Infosec.Space
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

Also didn't @EUCommission mandate #Compatibility & #Portability between these #Platforms?

https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862595629371002

#DMA

Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

One thing that really pisses me off personally is the #regression in terms of #Messenger #Apps. My personal distaste and dislike for #proprietary, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider #services like #Signal [¹](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114234551915193036) [²](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114935952643402592), #Telegram, #Discord [³](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114865723904157014) [⁴](https://social.treehouse.systems/@krutonium/115157611977216372), #WhatsApp [⁵](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114873895410403238), #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #discord [⁶](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/116063760849048926)[⁷](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/115736223551632209) etc. aside: - *WHY* is there no #CrossProvider #Messenger to handle that shite? - *WHY* does everyone of these shitty providers think people want to download their #bloated #WebApp that takes up triple digit Megabytes if not entire Gigabytes and will gobble up all the #RAM and #CPU each of them can?? This problem ain't new and *already got [solved for corporate social media](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862619013462466) ages ago!* (Not to mention actually good messengers!) - And no, [bridges](https://toots.ch/@dalai/114862754556459439) *[don't](https://swecyb.com/@troed/114862774972645542) count*! - I mean `API 0` - [style](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685423773959519) access because obviously [none of the platforms](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685414638522984) will *allow, endorse or support such an endeavour* and [*actively fight the developers and users*](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685441496803574) ! So yeah, consider this a call for a @[email protected] / #Gajim or @[email protected] / #Pidgin *for garbage platforms!* - Cuz back in the day we had *way worse messengers* yet people actually made #AIM, #ICQ, #MSN, #QQ, #IRC & #XMPP work just fine from one single *"phat" client*! - Can we please get that back? Cuz #WastefulComputing pisses me off! #api0 #Enshittification

Infosec.Space
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

It's really fucking sad that #CryptoBros did "solve" that problem with #middleware like #MetaMask.

  • Yes I know it's a bad example but when there are thousands of #shitcoins on dozens of #blockchains noone there expects to download yet another wallet...

And when #Ethereum - Fans run circles around those big platforms you know how #cursed that #TechStack is...

Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs

YouTube
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025
OFC the aforementioned platforms don't have a problem with #NFTmalware and have proper #moderation #tools to get rid of disturbing users...
Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs

YouTube
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

...something we can thank #twomad for when it came to improving that...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJzMm-Cmfqk

Invading Random Online College Classes....

YouTube
Show threadKevin Karhan Jul 18, 2025

#TLDR of this #rant:

WHY U NO MULTIPROTOCOL IM FOR BIG TECH MESSENGERS?!!???

Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

One thing that really pisses me off personally is the #regression in terms of #Messenger #Apps. My personal distaste and dislike for #proprietary, #SingleVendor & #SingleProvider #services like #Signal [¹](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114234551915193036) [²](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114935952643402592), #Telegram, #Discord [³](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114865723904157014) [⁴](https://social.treehouse.systems/@krutonium/115157611977216372), #WhatsApp [⁵](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114873895410403238), #Slack, #MicrosoftTeams, #discord [⁶](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/116063760849048926)[⁷](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/115736223551632209) etc. aside: - *WHY* is there no #CrossProvider #Messenger to handle that shite? - *WHY* does everyone of these shitty providers think people want to download their #bloated #WebApp that takes up triple digit Megabytes if not entire Gigabytes and will gobble up all the #RAM and #CPU each of them can?? This problem ain't new and *already got [solved for corporate social media](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862619013462466) ages ago!* (Not to mention actually good messengers!) - And no, [bridges](https://toots.ch/@dalai/114862754556459439) *[don't](https://swecyb.com/@troed/114862774972645542) count*! - I mean `API 0` - [style](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685423773959519) access because obviously [none of the platforms](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685414638522984) will *allow, endorse or support such an endeavour* and [*actively fight the developers and users*](https://digipres.club/@foone/112685441496803574) ! So yeah, consider this a call for a @[email protected] / #Gajim or @[email protected] / #Pidgin *for garbage platforms!* - Cuz back in the day we had *way worse messengers* yet people actually made #AIM, #ICQ, #MSN, #QQ, #IRC & #XMPP work just fine from one single *"phat" client*! - Can we please get that back? Cuz #WastefulComputing pisses me off! #api0 #Enshittification

Infosec.Space
Show threadKevin Karhan Sep 18, 2025

In the meantime: Use #XMPP+#OMEMO & #PGP/MIME FFS!

Show threadKevin Karhan Mar 27
Remember: #NotYourKeysNotYourCrypto applies nit just to #Shitcoins ( #NotYourKeysNotYourCoins ) but also #InfoSec, #OpSec, #ComSec & #ITsec in general, to the point that if your don't exercise #SelfCustody, you don't have real #E2EE but mere #TrustMeBro - #Encryption!
Show threadKevin Karhan 

Re: "#E2EE" I don't trust #Signal or #WhatsApp - period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBCQTqgwJxw

NEW Lawsuit Could Destroy WhatsApp

Click this link https://boot.dev/?promo=SEYTONIC and use my code SEYTONIC to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev0:00 Intro0:18 WhatsApp Can Read Yo...

YouTube
Mar 27 at 5:41amWeb