Easily remembered usernames for chatmail

[adbenitez]

@Minim

and I only wish they were more decentralized (say, by making the domain that of the Chatmail server) and standardized, so that all servers and mailclients could use them.

the problem is the way Android works, Google thinks and push people to a “big corporation with centralized server/app” model and don’t expect several apps from different parties to handle URLs of domains they don’t own etc. so there is no way to properly open with delta chat the link of any random chatmail server which existence is not even known to the app, they have to be statically declared in the APK file, what can be opened is custom schemes, like openpgp4fpr:(…) which is supported by the app and doesn’t depend on any server at all, so if it is for a web browser you can use that, most apps don’t support that scheme (don’t make it clickable) which is a pity

[9er]

@adbenitez

several apps from different parties to handle URLs of domains they don’t own etc.

It’s a definition of web browser, or of malware

[Minim]

I’m not sure I understand you.

Are you saying that most browsers don’t make Openpgp4pr links clickable? This 2014 post says that some browsers whitelist protocols, not including Openpgp4pr.

The links in QR contact codes are https-protocol, but I think DC ignores that and strips out the fingerprint locally without accessing the DC server. But presumably this could be done regardless of the domain name. Confused .

My DC client app, when it gets the fingerprint from the QR code, presumably still needs to get the matching public key from the Chatmail server. I think it does this using Autocrypt.

[Minim]

EDIT: I moved this offtopic keyring topic to its own thread. I should never have posted it here!

offtopic

I’m on mobile Linux, so I have a keyring already populated with keys. I also have all the standards-based tools for key import and export to and from the keyring. All my other mail clients talk to my keyring; having Deltachat also talk to my keyring would actually be really convenient. It would also make key tools more reusable.

[link2xt]

@Minim

The links in QR contact codes are https-protocol, but I think DC ignores that and strips out the fingerprint locally without accessing the DC server. But presumably this could be done regardless of the domain name. Confused .

Android will not even give the URL to Delta Chat unless it pretends to be a browser and “opens” all URLs. The app developer needs to demonstrate control of the domain to be able to handle it on Android.

Offtopic

@Minim

I’m on mobile Linux, so I have a keyring already populated with keys. I also have all the standards-based tools for key import and export to and from the keyring. All my other mail clients talk to my keyring; having Deltachat also talk to my keyring would actually be really convenient. It would also make key tools more reusable.

There is no standard keyring for OpenPGP keys on Linux except for de facto standard GnuPG. GnuPG itself however becomes less and less standards-based. Major Linux distributions now use FreePG patches to disable non-standard extensions (so-caled LibrePGP, a fork of OpenPGP standard made by GnuPG developers). These non-standard extensions have already resulted in real compatibility problems:

Can't decrypt some messages sent from other app

[This message cannot be decrypted. • It might already help to simply reply to this message and ask the sender to send the message again. • If you just re-installed Delta Chat then it is best if you re-setup Delta Chat now and choose Add as second device or import a backup.] I got that on the new version that was just pushed out to Android on a normal PGP (not Autocrypt) email. The older messages in the name thread have gotten through just fine and my other MUA can decrypt the new one becaus…

It is unlikely that GnuPG itself will continue to develop support for modern OpenPGP as they try to push “LibrePGP”: GnuPG - ArchWiki
Delta Chat on the other hand does not produce non-standard keys and messages, supports RFC 9580 (so Delta Chat can talk to clients using RFC 9580 keys and generating messages using new RFC 9580 features). And as such major Linux distributions (Debian and Arch) move away from GnuPG to avoid LibrePGP vendor lock-in, it is going to become even less relevant in the future.

[Minim]

@link2xt

Android will not even give the URL to Delta Chat unless it pretends to be a browser and “opens” all URLs. The app developer needs to demonstrate control of the domain to be able to handle it on Android.

Wow. That really does not make sense. Except as a policy to make the use of federating/decentralized protocols on Android more difficult.

It was not two weeks ago that Android announced they were not going to allow you to install any software that wasn’t pre-approved by Google, which yeah is also typical behaviour for a company defending their established monopoly power.

EDIT: offtopic.

[adbenitez]

@Minim

Are you saying that most browsers don’t make Openpgp4pr links clickable? This 2014 post says that some browsers whitelist protocols, not including Openpgp4pr.

linkifying Openpgp4pr in the browser is not a problem that is what https://i.delta.chat does with the “open chat” button, the problem is when sharing such links in posts/messages in other platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram or any other messenger, or in social media posts, they will not linkify the Openpgp4pr link so user can’t click it, that is the whole point we introduced the https:// links as a way for people to share something that is clickable everywhere, the original Openpgp4pr link is still possible to get and use as in the past, in fact the https://i.delta.chat link is just a Openpgp4pr link modified to look like a webpage link

[pichsi]

@link2xt

We generally try to discourage publishing invite links or QR codes - they were meant for establishing contact in private (ideally in person, but also over existing messenger, in direct messages etc.).

From my personal perspective this is wrong approach.
If users have existing secure messenger there are no significant benefits with switching to DC.
Nowadays our lives are mostly in digital environment. There is no chance to add people mainly in person, maybe sporadically.

[Minim]

@pichsi

If users have existing secure messenger there are no significant benefits with switching to DC.

I take your point about needing to contact distant people and strangers, but compared to other messengers I’ve used DC is way more reliable (does not break when only one end client updates), is not centrally-controlled or subject to political whims, is more cross-platform, and is easier to use. When I started using it it was also much simpler (though it has since added a lot of functionality, most of which I probably wouldn’t have installed if it were in extensions, but others like them). In practice more people I know are willing to switch to DC, and using it is less effort and drama than alternatives.