I recently tried setting up an XMPP instance and was instantly reminded of why it faded in the first place. I then managed to setup a Matrix instance, only to be shocked by its 1000+ page spec and crazy complexity. It tries to solve too many problems. All chat protocols attempt to cryptographically model human and social constructs and fail at them---magical foolproof portable identities, social networks. Could there be something with least-wrong tradeoffs where we get E2EE, federation, good UX, and a concise focus on chatting?
I went down the rabbithole ...
WALnet (inspired by database WAL--Write-ahead Log that avoids the absurd complexities of Matrix-like state-sync) is an experimental, opinionated, chat protocol that aims to be far simpler than Matrix's complexity. It draws clear distinctions between what is human, what is social, and what is cryptography. No "code is law" stuff.
In this talk, I present the spec and its core design ideas and principles: self-"sovereign" user nodes, deliberately non-sacrosanct cryptographic identities, MLS (standard) based chat encryption, and a very opinionated take on decentralisation and federation.
