Here’s something: Apparently, my RC Snap was stuck on 3.x track and I thought it was some big problem that I had to solve in order to bring things up to speed and get the “latest features and updates” from Rocket.Chat…now I realize I’ve been had!
I don’t see how RocketChat, with its roots so firmly planted in the community…you know, the one which helped build it, test it, advertise it, give it LIFE…is being effectively stolen from in progressive updates. In my out-of-date snap, I had read receipts, and they functioned well. Immediately after updating, not only was the function to get new ones missing…no, all of my already-generated Read Receipts were also removed.
Oh, but in return, RocketChat definitely felt obligated to throw a “Free Version” tattoo on the bottom of the chat window…at best looking to sell me, the server admin, on upgrading; at worst clandestinely seeking to nudge my users to pester me about making the purchase.
You want to make an improvement? How about writing the docs so they don’t contradict each other when they reference supporting documentation stubs? Here’s an example: Just take a look at the state of the Docker deployment docs compared to its referenced article here and read them as if you’re someone with a basic understanding of how Docker works, but being sold by RC on how easy the implementation is. Tell me you’re not going to struggle when one stub tells you to do one thing, and the other doc it references directly contradicts it or features information that is entirely outdated and/or irrelevant.
Of course, I’m not saying RC is responsible for the level of one’s technological understanding and capacity, but this criticism was largely meant to illustrate the sheer distance between the current state of Rocket.Chat and other SaaS chat apps that feature things like Read Receipts, standard. My RC x. Docker reference above is not the exception…it is in fact the norm with RC, and I can tell you for sure that these other chat SaaS companies do not suffer from this glaring problem.
I am shocked by this behavior, but in RC’s defense, it does have the opportunity and capability to be a great messaging platform. Unfortunately, its astronomical pricing model and apparent disregard/disdain for the user experience of its legacy community edition users does not bode well for its future, especially in a market so saturated with SaaS chats.
Hopefully it sees the light following this community call or whatever. Return the Read Receipts.