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Comment by bifrost | Hacker News Reader

I tried using Zulip, nobody else wanted to use it because it was so clunky. I appreciate what they're trying to do but as someone who's been using internet based chat for 30 years (oof), I don't think its going to catch on until you can turn off the "thread only" mode.

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I think the "thread-only" feature is the biggest selling point, it's niche-y by default. Zulip is the meeting point of a hackernews/reddit-like board, real time chats and mailing lists. UX and UI needs work, but the base concept is its main feature.

I participate in two different zulip's, the microsoft rush one and the functional programming one and I always felt Zulip was the best choice for technical discussions.

Threads discourage spam and off topic, searching discussions and topics you care about is simpler. If you come from 3 decades of IRC it gets time to get used to, but it's great in everything IRC is unfit.

And if you don’t want it, use a “General” thread? Or basically a thread like a channel?

Thread only is the biggest reason to use it outside of FOSS, but the UI design and overall experience could use some work. It's not bad, but for apps like Zulip that are different from what people are used to, it can make a big difference.

Thread mode is the selling point for us. I’ve been in various chats since late 90s, and threads aren’t exactly a cookie-cutter IRC thing, that other chats are doing, but it does wonder for organizing the flow of inforamtion

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