New service: instant messaging with video conferencing
Be in your Element!
La Contre-Voie is launching a new instant messaging service, which also includes a videoconferencing platform!
Based on the Element software developed by the Matrix Foundation, this service is an alternative to Microsoft Teams or Slack.
It looks a bit like Discord, doesn’t it?
This service is available to all members of the association, as well as members of member organizations.
Click here to see the service overview page.
🔗One-click video conferencing
Video conferencing was one of the features we wanted to include with this messaging service: we want this service to be useful primarily for organizations (associations, collectives, and companies), which hold meetings fairly frequently.
Videoconferencing is integrated into the messaging service! Image source
To start a video conference from a text chat channel, all it takes is one click of a button. The text channel can be used to take notes… or to allow those without a microphone to express themselves :)
🔗We don’t skimp on features
We chose Element because it is (very subjectively) one of the most advanced free instant messaging clients available, with support for many features worthy of modern messaging software:
- Threads: as in Slack (or Discord, but it’s not as well done), it is possible to start a discussion following a message, separate from the main channel. This allows you to create “sub-discussions” on several topics without having to create a separate channel, and avoids losing track when several discussions overlap.
- Emoji reactions and stickers: yes, for some people, being able to take a quick vote with emoji reactions is important! And yet, few messaging software programs support this. We’ve also added support for stickers because they’re fun and don’t require much work on our part.
- Voice messages, polls, attachments: if emoji reactions aren’t your thing when it comes to voting, use Element’s built-in voting feature! It’s the ideal option for formal votes during electronic deliberations, for example. Element also supports sending voice messages and attachments, just like any traditional messaging app.
- Multi-platform: Element can be installed on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. And since the software and protocol are open-source, it’s even possible to use alternative clients to chat.
- Conversation encryption: Element end-to-end encrypts (E2EE) all your private conversations by default, and you can enable encryption on any channel in which you have admin rights.
- Federation: Just like XMPP, Element uses a federated messaging protocol to contribute to the decentralization of the Internet: accounts registered on other Element/Matrix installations (such as
matrix.org) can join our channels, and vice versa! - 100% free and open-source: as always, the entire software stack used to run this service is fully auditable and open-source.
🔗Under the hood…
This service is undoubtedly the most complex of our entire technical stack to date, as it depends on many small components.
It is also connected to our internal and external monitoring service so that we receive notifications directly in the event of a failure of one of our services.
It is equipped with an anti-spam system and a moderation tool (Draupnir), a bot that synchronizes messages with our Discord channels (mautrix/discord), and a notification server (ntfy) to relay notifications to Android smartphones that have been de-Googled using the UnifiedPush protocol.
End of technical digression.
🔗How do I use it?
You can find a user guide directly on the service page, in the FAQ section.
This service is only available to members of La Contre-Voie, as well as members of organizations affiliated with La Contre-Voie.
Unfortunately, we have had to restrict access to this service to our members in order to protect ourselves from spam and misuse of this messaging service, as other alternative hosts with similar services have experienced.
Membership costs 10 euros per year for individuals and gives you access to all member services, including email address creation, cloud storage, and a Git forge.
Membership does not commit you to anything, but it gives you a voice at our General Meetings if you ever wish to participate, and it allows us to continue to exist!
If you find this service useful, feel free to try it out for yourself or your organization and let us know what you think!