While I agree with the main point of your post ("so many quirks, inconsistencies, poor UI/UX ... not recommend it for my family members"), the availability of documentation doesn't mean it can't be intuitive. Aside from entering a custom home server on login (if applicable, that's something your family will not intuitively get with all the centralized services they're used to), after that one-time login I think most people should be able to find their way around if they try. And we definitely don't need phone numbers and SMS verification for usability: a username will do just fine, we don't have to spend 1.5 million USD from donations just on SMS codes in 2018 alone (source: tax filing).

> the availability of documentation doesn't mean it can't be intuitive

Sure, I'm not saying that either, and Matrix has been improving a lot since I first tried it maybe 2 years ago. But there's still a long way to go. I wasn't as focused on onboarding as I was on criticizing Element's UI/UX in general.

> And we definitely don't need phone numbers and SMS verification for usability: a username will do just fine

Phone number is just the easiest thing to do. No one is confused by the process and you immediately have access to all of your contacts, while with a username you somehow need to get all the usernames of all of your friends. Inviting new users to various channels kind of works, but it's not as personal as your own contact list.

Mind you I'm not saying it's the best option. Personally I'd rather register with a username, not only because I currently have three different phone numbers in use.

> we don't have to spend 1.5 million USD from donations just on SMS codes in 2018 alone (source: tax filing)

Signal was paying that much? That's crazy.

Agreed on all points.

> Signal was paying that much? That's crazy.

Yeah unfortunately they were. Income for that year (only year they filed so far) is 600k versus about 5M expenses, the largest single expense being sms verifications. Zero income from donations, perhaps they still ran that through the freedom of press foundation or what was it again that accepted donations on their behalf until they had the Foundation status? Either way, I wouldn't want to see the january 2021 bill.

> Either way, I wouldn't want to see the january 2021 bill.

Haha definitely not.

I would assume/hope that if Signal now starts going mainstream the donations will increase. I had donated sporadically in the past (have been using Signal since 2015) and now (since a couple of days ago) I'm doing monthly recurring donations. I'll recommend my friends to do the same, as I have been with Wikipedia and Archive.org.