*dominant, wretched, very proprietary, centralized, and user hostile
Why do I like it?
From the website:
Features
Not made from a web browser Tabs Multiple windows Multiple accounts Voice chat Graphical emoji (including custom emoji) Tab completion for user names and emoji Powerful batch editing Custom bookmark lists for easily accessing only the channels you actually use Customizable fonts, colors, and sizes Variable DPI and multi-monitor support Low CPU and memory usage Zero GPU usage No tracking or analytics
From my own notes:
Why is ripcord cool to me?
qt gui
very responsive, performance is great
✅👎🏽❓ See More
can minimize data usage
not a web app
resize panes
customize display font and size
supports most slack and discord features
bookmark channels
bookmark folders!
right click context menu is simple, consistent
(slack) list ALL threads youre subscribed to compactly
(discord) supports voice
list open group DMs that may have gotten lost
list all active channels
list all channels youre in
loading isnt insane w/ frames and channel lists
all workspaces and channels in one list
workspace and channel and DM lists are collapsible
can open convos in tabs
Tabs show unreads as well as the sidebar, so its very clear how many messages are unread and where theyre from
normal pseudo native app look, not “flat” design, kind of utilitarian but w/e form shd follow function
can hide “leaving channel” messages abt other ppl
keyboard controls dont try to get cute eg switching behavior in code blocks
multiple distinct gui themes
log window shows all the API calls and more nerdy info
uses api and so client versions cant be deprecated on slacks whim like they can with browser version support (
could be an attack vector if the client became worth targeting?)
reinstalling is just as much a pain? can u export settings? (you redownload the binary to upgrade and it still preserves settings so maybe u can)
how’s accessibility? or ease of use for someone new / less familiar with chat?
cant link to messages (yet, just requested this)
cant do anything about server-side limitations, can proxy tho ^^
not OSS
server-side search still sux which isnt this apps fault but it does open search results in a new browser and not in ripcord
doesnt support reminders, which are implemented annoyingly in the official clients anyways
for once i’m quite okay with being on slack. for the first time ever, i feel a modicum of control and overview that i have only felt on software/protocols that people stopped using years ago. i can go to the rust discord and compactly see all the unread messages since the last time i was online. i can tell that the #beginners channel is poppin and that the #wg-rustfmt channel might be a decent place to go if i want to get involved with something core but that isn’t too noisy.
here’s the supported feature list. it’s also worth observing that perhaps a part of the current situation around proprietary gardens in chat is a reaction to a general online climate of community hostility. sometimes people need hand-holding and slack and discord provide this for so many willing chat & voice users. no amount of technical function can replace actually teaching people to be nice to each other online. 
anyways i love this client. too bad it’s not OSS, and i still have both official clients on my phone, but it’s returned a very nice and comfortable level of functionality to my realtime chat life when i’m at my bigger screens.
