I’m writing this post on behalf of my friend, a non-technical user who had the chance to use Matrix for about a week. I’d like to share his experience with you and ask what you think about it.

Matrix clients are incredibly challenging for the average user and seem unfriendly towards non-technical users. Unlike Discord, a non-technical person won’t grasp most things without thoroughly reading the Matrix specifications. Many can’t afford to do so for various reasons: lack of technical knowledge, limited time, or simply not wanting to, preferring a functional communicator like Discord or Facebook Messenger.

Discord’s registration is straightforward, with a refined user interface that just works. You register, invite friends, and you can chat and voice call seamlessly.

Now, Matrix registration. You choose a client like Element, widely promoted as the flagship Matrix client. After registration, you face the user interface, with unclear options tucked away where you wouldn’t expect. They are cryptically named, making it hard to figure things out.

After googling how to invite a friend, your friend joins, and a decryption error appears. Another 10 minutes spent reading how to fix it. Okay, problem solved.

Your friend calls, you want to answer, and… darn! You can’t click anything because “the voice call is in an unknown state,” and the dreadful ringing sound reminiscent of a '90s phone puts you in a gloomy mood.

This isn’t something a new user should encounter right after registration. Element may be open source, but it’s developed by a for-profit company with a team of programmers. The issue isn’t exclusive to Element but extends to almost every Matrix client.

This way, the Matrix network won’t attract new users. If users face such issues, they’ll quickly flee to a stable, popular platform like Discord.