Write article about communication channels (#254)

diff --git a/misc/internet-communication-channels.md b/misc/internet-communication-channels.md
new file mode 100644 (file)
index 0000000..7596fcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/misc/internet-communication-channels.md
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+# Internet communication channels
+
+If you want to provide a communication channel for a community over the Internet and you are considering options such as:
+
+* Slack
+* Discord
+* Reddit
+* Telegram
+* WhatsApp
+* Facebook
+* Or any other communication channel controlled by a single big company
+
+, then please read this article and consider an alternative.
+
+Because such channels are often convenient, cheap, and easy, they are natural choices.
+
+However, companies are about maximizing their benefits first.
+Certainly, providing convenient, cheap, and easy services often help companies make money.
+But I believe we have seen enough examples of companies putting their benefits first in detriment of their users.
+
+Using these alternatives will always require more effort.
+This text is long, and just reading and processing it might take more time than setting up a channel on the services mentioned above.
+The alternatives I describe certainly have drawbacks compared to the services I am asking you to avoid.
+However, in the long run I think making an extra effort to make an informed choice pays off.
+
+## Alternatives
+
+### Instant messaging
+
+#### IRC
+
+IRC is a real-time chat protocol created in 1988 that is still in use.
+Many perceive flaws in IRC that seem to make it a bad choice.
+However, many IRC flaws have been addressed in recent times and I believe it is a good choice in many (but not all) scenarios.
+
+The biggest traditional issue with IRC is channels without history, where you cannot see messages posted while you were offline.
+(If you suspend or turn off your laptop, you will be offline in IRC.
+Even if you run your IRC client continuously on your client, if your phone goes out of coverage or your phone suspends your IRC client, you will be offline.)
+However, nowadays you can create channels with history.
+
+(Note that many IRC channels still do not have history.
+Channels without history are frequently confusing for new users, because most chat systems have history.
+Heavy IRC users are either used to having no history [this might seem surprising, but for some this is even a benefit] or have means to be permanently connected to IRC.
+However, users new to IRC might join a channel, post a question and go offline without anyone having a chance to see their message and reply.
+Then, unless people remember to answer when they are back, or other means are used, answers will not be visible to the person who asked.)
+
+Some advantages of IRC are:
+
+* You can use IRC without creating an account.
+  This can be especially useful for providing a general contact mechanism.
+  You can create links that will ask for a nickname, and place you into a channel without any additional steps.
+
+* IRC is a very simple protocol with more than 30 years of history.
+  This means that many developers have invested significant efforts in creating powerful IRC clients and tools (such as bots).
+  And lately, many easy IRC clients are available.
+  This means that IRC can scale from simple setups that require little effort to use, to powerful setups that can provide interesting features.
+  (If you are used to plain communication clients, you might be surprised at how valuable some features can be.)
+
+Some drawbacks of IRC are:
+
+* IRC does not have end-to-end encryption, and thus IRC administrators can read every conversation.
+  This is not a huge problem for public or semi-public channels, but it limits IRC for many scenarios.
+
+* IRC requires more effort from administrators to provide a good experience to entry-level users, control spam, and others.
+  (An important point is that although integration with audio/video conferencing is possible, it requires more effort and provides a lesser experience.)
+
+* IRC is mostly text-based.
+  Although many IRC clients can display images and GIFs, communicating with images and GIFs is harder on IRC.
+  (And IRC also does not have integrated audio/video conferencing.)
+
+* IRC does not have reactions yet.
+
+* Push notifications are not common yet.
+  Although it is possible to receive instant notifications when you are mentioned or receive a private message, this is frequently difficult.
+  In general, IRC on mobile phones is not as evolved as on desktop computers.
+
+#### Matrix
+
+Matrix is a more modern chat protocol that addresses some of the drawbacks of IRC:
+
+* Matrix has end-to-end encryption, so conversations between users are private to Matrix administrators.
+
+* Matrix requires less effort from *channel* administrators.
+  (But running a Matrix server requires significant resources.
+  However, there are public Matrix servers and managed services.
+  Thanks to end-to-end encryption, using a public Matrix server is an interesting option.)
+
+* Matrix has good support for audio/video conferencing, images and GIFs, reactions, push notifications, and phone usage.
+
+But also some disadvantages compared to IRC:
+
+* Users need to create accounts.
+
+* Using end-to-end encryption makes some usage harder.
+  (Although end-to-end encryption is optional.)
+
+* There are fewer clients and tools, and generally they are more complex, more resource intensive, and less featureful.
+  (And not all clients support all features.)
+
+#### XMPP
+
+XMPP is younger than IRC, but older than Matrix.
+Compared to Matrix:
+
+* End-to-end encryption and audio/video conferencing is possible with XMPP, but in practice it can be difficult to access these features.
+
+* There's more XMPP clients than Matrix clients, but it is also hard to find clients that support all the features you need on different platforms.
+
+For some scenarios, if you find the right combination of XMPP server and clients, XMPP can be a great option.
+
+Historically, XMPP was not well-suited to mobile usage.
+Nowadays, mobile usage is better, but finding the right clients to use is still a challenge.
+
+#### Other instant messaging alternatives to consider
+
+* Zulip: Zulip offers instant messaging, but has some characteristics from forums.
+  (For example, Zulip uses threads with subjects.)
+
+* Mattermost, Rocketchat are designed for communication within organizations.
+
+And lastly, because all the technologies mentioned in this text allow integrations, there are bridges to join different technologies.
+
+For example, IRC channels can be bridged to Matrix rooms.
+
+Although bridges are not ideal, in some cases you can use them to make one channel available over different technologies, which might address the limitations of specific technologies.
+
+### Asynchronous messaging
+
+Although my perception is that most communities nowadays communicate over instant messaging, many communities use successfully more asynchronous communication channels.
+In some cases, providing both instant messaging and an asynchronous channel can also work well.
+
+#### Mailing lists
+
+Mailing lists (and their sibling, newsgroups) are older than IRC.
+Although mailing lists are far less popular than in the past, many communities still use mailing lists.
+
+Mailing lists have several advantages:
+
+* Having an email address is nearly a necessity for all Internet users.
+  Mailing lists often require no user account other than an existing email address.
+
+* In a way, email and mailing lists share many similarities with IRC.
+  Although most people are users of just a few mail services and clients, there is a wide variety of services and clients.
+  Email power features are somewhat forgotten, but they still exist and mail clients can have very convenient features.
+
+* Most mailing list have good ways to browse and search past messages.
+  Email discussions are more naturally searchable, thanks to their slower pace and thread organization.
+
+However, they also have many advantages:
+
+* As people no longer use email to communicate, going back to email can cause significant friction.
+
+* Finding a good mailing list service is difficult.
+  (And hosting your own is also more difficult than hosting other services.)
+
+In my opinion, mailing lists are good, but they have become foreign to most people.
+
+#### Web forums
+
+Forums used to be very popular.
+
+Compared to mailing lists:
+
+* Forums require creating an account.
+
+* Forums do not have multiple clients, although forum software has also evolved for a long time, and many forums have great features.
+
+* Forums are also a bit out of style, but they are more popular and familiar to most than mailing lists.
+
+* Finding a forum service or hosting one is simpler than email.
+
+### Other possibilities
+
+Social networks tend to be slightly different communication channels than instant messaging or asynchronous messaging.
+Alternatives to social networks also exist.
+However, in my opinion, social network-style communication is not optimal for "communities" in most cases.
+Still, you might want to explore alternatives.
+The Fediverse (or ActivityPub) has many different varieties of communication channels that might suit your needs.