I agree that DC shouldn’t replace a classic email client, but it makes sense to allow reasonable communication with non-DC contacts within a chat interface. At least as long as there is technical compatibility with email.
In my opinion, only two changes are necessary to achieve this goal:
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Avatars for non-DC contacts. Encrypted chats could be distinguished from unencrypted chats with non-DC contacts using a simple icon, similar to how it’s handled in many browsers.
Two small tweaks to prevent accidentally sending unencrypted messages -
The ability to change the subject WITHIN a 1:1 chat. As it is now, it quickly becomes very confusing. A while ago, I made a suggestion on how this could be achieved without having to change the UI, because I consider it important that chats with non-DC contacts differ as little as possible from chats with DC-contacts. Otherwise, you might as well just use a traditional email client.
Subject of emails - #110 by Raiden
Furthermore, I think that groups with non-DC contacts are superfluous. They often don’t work well in reality, as non-DC users quickly become confused. Even with normal email apps, I rarely send one email to multiple recipients and rarely receive such emails.