2026-02-12
A couple things to keep in mind if you’re getting started with Matrix after having been on Discord:
End-to-end encryption is available, but you might want to leave it disabled when you create a room. This will help keep things simple for your users as they get familiar with Matrix. Connections between client and server will still be encrypted using HTTPS, which is the same level of encryption that Discord has. (And if it’s a public room, e2ee wouldn’t have any value anyway.) You can always add end-to-end encryption to your rooms later.
A few terms used on Discord are different in the Matrix ecosystem…
| Discord term | Matrix term |
|---|---|
| server | space |
| channel | room |
| discord.com | homeserver (there are many) |
If you don’t like the first Matrix client you try, consider trying others. Much like email clients, the features and user interface styles vary. The blog post mentions Cinny and Commet. Element X is probably the simplest mobile client with Matrix’s recent fast-startup feature (though it’s still catching up on other features). More clients are listed here.
Voice and video chat in Matrix are currently available only on some clients, and it’s done by integrating Jitsi. Not ideal, but still useful for at least some use cases. A better system is in development. Here’s a preview of it: call.element.io
Matrix.org is by far the largest public homeserver. It’s convenient in that anyone can get an account without having to run their own homeserver, but it can also suffer slowdowns when an influx of users are arriving all at once, such as right now. You can choose to be patient, or look for a different public homeserver, or pay for a homeserver host, or (if you have the means) self-host.
Matrix.org and some other public homeservers ask for an email address when you sign up, so that they have a way to recover your account if you forget your password. It’s not required by The Matrix protocol, though, and some servers might allow new accounts with no contact info at all. I don’t know which ones; you’ll have to hunt for one (or run your own) if that’s what you want.
The blog post mentions account portability, which is not yet available in Matrix. This means that your user ID (@user:example.com) is currently tied to the homeserver where you create it (example.com). If you decide to switch to an account on another homeserver, you’ll have to get re-invited into any private chats you had joined with the old account. However, the rooms you create on your original homeserver are not tied to that server. So long as at least one room member is on another homeserver, the room will carry on (with its original ID) even if its original homeserver vanishes. This means, for example, that you could create a room on matrix.org today, and migrate its admin duties to an account on your own private homeserver that you set up a year from now. (Or even invite all your members to migrate to your private homeserver.)
tyrant@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Unless the servers can have separate channels and interface like slack or discord then it’s not going to work for most people. Correct me if they have implemented this. I tried using it for quite a while and it was just clumsy. Most people want/need a server with channels that can have categories
nfreak@lemmy.ml 1 hour ago
This is my experience with it so far. The bones are there but the current clients are all far from a replacement.
bear@lemmy.blahaj.zone 48 minutes ago
I’m holding out for a clear winner that will surpass discord. It can’t miss core features, be difficult to install, or use.
I may have to pick one before that happens, but I’m fine waiting to see how Discord responds to the backlash.
Blisterexe@lemmy.zip 56 minutes ago
Afaik element has it as a semi-hidden option and cinny has it by default
tyrant@lemmy.world 41 minutes ago
Just tried and failed to install cinny flatpak. Something about an error dispatching to Wayland display. The screenshot looks nice though
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 50 minutes ago
They do have this, unless I’m not understanding. I run a space (same as discords servers) and in there I have channels that are just like discord’s.
tyrant@lemmy.world 39 minutes ago
What client are you using? I set up a space a while back but have no way of putting my channels into categories so it’s all alphabetic and clumsy. It was less than ideal