Agreed. I went through the effort of setting it up back when Synapse was the only option. It was cool and my technical friends had some fun tinkering with it but after a couple of weeks we found we weren't using it as our primary communication system and stepped away from it. I know that the new server system is better and Element has improved a lot but, speaking from experience, a weekend is not enough time to say that it was worth the effort.
I've been using Synapse as my only messaging service, and Element as my only messaging frontend/app, for months by now.
If you self-host it, then the next logical step is to install bridges for all the protocols you currently use (WhatsApp, Messanger, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn...). Or, at least, that's been the main reason for me to install it, as I was getting tired of the lack of developments on the bitlbee/libpurple side. And, since the API is open and we'll documented, it's also become my central hub for automated notifications, RSS feeds, social feeds etc.
So Matrix is now my "one app to rule them all". I've got a channel on my server dedicated to the FLOSS project I maintain, and a couple of people are there, but that's not the point - at least not for me. I use Matrix because of its flexibility and ability to bridge anything to anything else. Who cares if there aren't enough people on my server :)
please help me understand "whatsapp bridge", does it work like a the telegram bot where you DONT need a telegram account to bridge to a room/person, they can just message you directly or like a front-end for your existing whatsapp account? like a proxy of sorts? instead of having multiple apps, you still have multiple accounts but a single app?
i can't wait enough for EU's DMA to be enforced so that i can finally talk to "whatsapp" without having a whatsapp account ( i currently don't so losing out on that)
I think the What's App bridges use the web version in a headless browser. Which means you'll also need to have what's App running on a phone or in a VM.
ps I think this fall's under the DSA, not the DMA.
so... how does that work, i mean the whatspp. i understand if you have to talk to instagram users, you would do something like oath and that would work but how will whatsapp work?
you are giving me some ideas, maybe i can set it up for the family and they can use it to accumulate their contacts on self hosted matrix?
Have you found the bridges reliable? I tried this about 6 months ago and the messenger/instagram bridges would almost never stay connected, which led to many messages not coming though.
this suggests etke which have a $25/onetime to install on your server. this is VERY VERY cheap instead of spending 3 days or whatever. I mean, if the author spent 3 days on this and finished it, that means he/she could do it in much less time next time around.
paying someone literally fixes this issue in a second and $25 is nothing compared to the benefits of selfhosting.
heck, even their monthly $5/month maintenance is extremly cheap if you can't even do that and you are paying for someone's salary also so everyone wins
I think the people on r/selfhosted generally enjoy the process of setting things up, besides running them. To them the time it takes to do it is not a cost, but part of the hobby.
I'm a Matrix fan but this post does not really make a ton of sense.