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by lotsofpulp 2060 days ago
I use WhatsApp and Signal to communicate with people on an iPhone in the US all the time. How have I ever been restricted?

I do know that MMS is garbage, and that the mobile networks used to price gouge people for using MMS, and on top of that it doesn’t work many times, or at least it didn’t use to.
1 comments
arvinsim 2060 days ago
That's why he pointed out that it is marketing.

Because people believe you need to have iMessage.

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lotsofpulp 2060 days ago
Source? I've never see an Apple advertisement that would lead me to believe I can't use WhatsApp or Signal or any other messaging application.
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_zllx 2060 days ago
Anecdotal sources: Every group of peers that wouldn't have excluded me from the group chat if it didn't "turn green"
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lotsofpulp 2060 days ago
The green means that it's technically inferior than WhatsApp, iMessage, Signal, etc. and/or you can end up with surprise international texting charges from your mobile network.

I don't have a problem with people discriminating against MMS, but everyone I know doesn't have a problem using any of the other decent alternatives that work on both Android and iOS.

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_zllx 2060 days ago
I agree it's a good indicator, only given it isn't exclusive to a restricted platform (or expensive platform, therefore making it a status symbol). I think Signal does this right, 1. by supporting all major platforms, 2. by showing standard SMS as "dull grey" and allowing you to choose your own color for a contact (otherwise having a random color) when the conversation is Signal enhanced. On that note, I have hopes that Signal can become The One True Messenger after they iron out a few more quirks.
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aspaceman 2060 days ago
There’s a pretty common meme about people having green texts being “meh”. It’s weird.

Does this count as a “source” in this instance?

https://me.me/t/green-texts

Edit: found something more traditional https://www.vogue.com/article/breathless-couples-who-are-not...

pretty frustrating read though. Be warned.

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lotsofpulp 2060 days ago
Sounds like the green messages are doing people a favor by pointing out garbage people who discriminate against someone for not using iOS.

I'm just claiming that there is a valid use case for making it abundantly clear if a conversation is happening via MMS versus iMessage, so I didn't take it as a way for Apple to somehow "lock" people into iMessage...especially since plenty of other chat apps are a few taps away with no degradation in usability.

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