Not at all apparent how to join an existing room

[N-Upchurch]

Your use case

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to join or explore matrix rooms. This basic functionality should be made extremely obvious.

Have you considered any alternatives?

No response

Additional context

No response

Are you willing to provide a PR?

No

[robertmx]

Jep same here, that is kinda - read: absolutely - infuriating. And I have been using matrix with different clients for years. At the moment (0.7.2) it seems f**** impossible to search for public rooms and join them. Is there any user testing protocol in place for this app? I mean I stumbled into that ABSOLUTE BLOCKER about 60 seconds after launching the app.

Please stop advertising elementX everywhere - read: anywhere - when it is in that sorry alpha state. It makes the whole matrix project look completely unsuitable for general use. Flabbergasted.....

[ph818]

I also can't figure out how to do this I just sent them feedback in the app

[shaohme]

Not obvious to me either ... 😶‍🌫️

[ph818]

In fact if anybody reading this figures out how to do it, can you please reply here with the answer?

…

On Sat, Dec 7, 2024, 06:00 Martin Kjær Jørgensen ***@***.***> wrote: Not obvious to me either ... 😶‍🌫️ — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3839 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ARDYZJM2EECNM6M23IM4LWD2ELIN5AVCNFSM6AAAAABRNTWHJGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKMRVGA3TCOBXG4> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Ronkn]

I think it's just not present in the app at the moment.

Imo - there should be a bare minimal functionality list to even release an alpha app. For me that's exploring and joint rooms, commenting in said rooms. That's all I ask for. I can make do without other features for now.

It's basically unusable and should be advertised as such, because as you said, new users will open it and literally will not be able to do anything with a new account.

[ara4n]

element-hq/element-meta#2693

Ftr, we do not plan to expose a room directory, as it puts the apps at direct risk of being removed from the app stores if someone publishes abusive content in the room directory. Instead, this will be handled via Spaces in future.

[Ronkn]

element-hq/element-meta#2693

Ftr, we do not plan to expose a room directory, as it puts the apps at direct risk of being removed from the app stores if someone publishes abusive content in the room directory. Instead, this will be handled via Spaces in future.

This is what I had heard elsewhere as well. Personally I hate spaces. How are the spaces defined any different than rooms regarding legal protection for the app? My understanding is that the main difference is that you have to obtain the link to join any space outside of the app, in which case we have the same problem. New users who install the app will not know what to do. Going to a web browser to obtain the link is just convoluted.

Completely changing the user experience to accommodate playstore and Apple store seems counter to the objective of matrix as a whole which is decentralization. Imo this is going to setup the project for failure regarding user adoption. Since this is the flagship app for the matrix protocol, I can see the matrix project as a while stagnating due to less user adoption.

I'll likely explore alternative protocols if this moves forward. It's difficult to get family and friends to onboard to the latest messaging app. This will not help the matter. I initially was drawn to matrix bc I can host my own server and reduce the likelihood of asking people to switch apps every few years. But due to my outlook on the future of this project (due to what I've outlined above) I can see it eventually fading away and getting less attention for maintenance and progression due to lower demand.

Just my thoughts on the matter for whatever it's worth.

[ph818]

I didn't want a room directory I just wanted a way to join a room/server I already know about.

…

On Thu, Jan 23, 2025, 10:51 Ronkn ***@***.***> wrote: element-hq/element-meta#2693 <element-hq/element-meta#2693> Ftr, we do not plan to expose a room directory, as it puts the apps at direct risk of being removed from the app stores if someone publishes abusive content in the room directory. Instead, this will be handled via Spaces in future. This is what I had heard elsewhere as well. Personally I hate spaces. How are the spaces defined any different than rooms regarding legal protection for the app? My understand is that the main difference is that you have to obtain the link to join any space outside of the app, in which case we have the same problem. New users who install the app will not know what to do. Going to a web browser to obtain the link is just convoluted. Completely changing the user experience to accommodate playstore and Apple store seems counter to the objective of matrix as a whole which is decentralization. Imo this is going to setup the project for failure regarding user adoption. I can see this project having stagnant growth since this is the primary matrix app. I'll likely explore alternative protocols if this moves forward. It's difficult to get family and friends to onboard to the latest messaging app. This will not help the matter. I initially was drawn to matrix bc I can host my own server and reduce the likelihood of asking people to switch apps every few years. But due to my outlook on the future of this project I can see it eventually fading away and getting less attention for maintenance and progression due to lower demand. Just my thoughts on the matter for whatever it's worth. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#3839 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ARDYZJOAD6VZQ4Z7GXTY7QT2MEFZJAVCNFSM6AAAAABRNTWHJGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDMMJQGE4DCNBQGE> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>