[Lopiolis]

I haven't really seriously looked into Matrix before. I've briefly skimmed what I could find about it, but didn't see any simple way to get something running where I could easily onboard friends/family. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems like the single biggest issue with Matrix.

[fartcannon]

I see you've managed to make an account on HN.

It is exactly the same. Download one of the clients, for example, Element. Then register. You don't even need an email address. Just make up a name, and a password.

There's even a web client that is functionally identical to the desktop and mobile clients.

It could not be simpler.

Ta da.

[Dumbdo]

> simple way to get something running where I could easily onboard friends/family

He's not talking about himself, he's talking about (non-IT) friends and family. Most of them probably would be barely able to find the register dialog on HN, that's at least what I would say about my non tech-savy friends. A good chunk of them doesn't even have a PC.

For those people, Signal is optimal. Its onboarding and usage is a lot easier than Matrix.

[fartcannon]

Baloney. If they're that inept, GP is going to have to do it for them anyways. He should save himself some trouble and start with something he won't have to replace in 5 years when precisely the same thing that happened at WhatsApp happens to signal.