Observation ... user experience

[edkraus]

Thank you for working on a new chat program! I've installed in one location and posted a few things on the AREDN channel. I'll see if anyone replies.

Meanwhile ... a concern I have is that you have to be the admin and be logged in with full admin control to simply use the chat service. It would be better if I could have it as an advertised service anyone can login to and use similar to the existing chat programs. In an emergency an agency with many people should all be able to use the chat program but I don't want everybody to have admin control over the AREDN node they are chatting on.

Also, if my id in the chat is my node name, then I cannot use the service while elsewhere on the mesh. I would have to first find my home node, login as admin ... rather than just access the service from wherever I actually am in the moment. Hmmm. MeshChat was open to possible spoofing of identity but everyone knew it wasn't fully secure and it was ok. If we wanted secure coms we would use Winlink

It will be interesting to see this develops. Thanks again, Ed

[edkraus]

Some more observations/questions

1 Messages from yesterday on default AREDN channel don't automatically load for over two minutes after logging in to the node. I have to post something new to have the old content return to being displayed.

My node is a hAP2 on a tunnel into a major hub in the Oregon mesh. My laptop is on the LAN provided by this node. No connectivity issues.

2 I really don't like that the Raven app requires the node to be logged into as admin to use. This means the admin functions are exposed. If I logout I lose the Raven function. This also means I have to have admin rights wherever I am, and I cannot share my access to Raven with multiple users as the id of the message is tied to the node itself, not to a user call sign or tactical call sign as in Meshchat. I move about and need messages to be to ME, not to my device. This limits the usefulness of the app.

EDIT ... fwiw I'm using Firefox on both Windows and Linux machines

[jlp78]

In response to 2, above, you can always use the mesh to connect to a node where you DO have admin and run Raven there, right? There is no advantage to connecting to the Raven instance on the node where you are directly connected... unless I'm misunderstanding how Raven works.

I agree that having to log in as admin on a node to have access to Raven is a drawback. If the mesh to my node is down for whatever reason, I don't have access to Raven.

[edkraus]

You are correct. So far I have been able to login to my Raven installation via another node.

[edkraus]

New information about slow loading. I looked at Raven again just now. My AREDN channel messages (default) did not load. However, as of now there are two other user nodes in my node list. I clicked on one of the nodes I've messaged to (not yet received from) and then the messages popped up to see. When I then clicked on AREDN the messages were there.

I'm using Firefox on both Linux and Windows machines.

[edkraus]

Tim must have made a change overnight because now the main AREDN page loaded right away, and there was a number showing on the icon on my node main page. I still see only my posts on the direct message part where other nodes are listed, not any of their posts.

[KG7GDB]

Are there release notes (change log) for this project? I don’t see it under code tab.
I did search the Wiki and found revisions there.

[KG7GDB]

In loading today’s build, I appreciate two new features:

1. I had one of our main coders, K1RKS, add the “text stores” feature to his x86 node https://github.com/kn6plv/Raven/wiki/Text-Stores
   When I reinstalled my Raven package, the old messages appeared in my instance.

2. I am pleased to see the message length in the AREDN channel has been increased to 1200 characters (up from 150). I think this will result in fewer overall messages in the main AREDN chat channel.

Keep up the good work and we will keep testing.
-Brett

[edkraus]

I only have 150 characters.  Does Raven auto update or do I need to go somewhere to see the latest version? Ed Krausf.t.n.m.p. On Monday, April 6, 2026 at 06:14:20 PM PDT, KG7GDB ***@***.***> wrote: KG7GDB left a comment (kn6plv/Raven#3) In loading today’s build, I appreciate two new features: - I had one of our main coders, K1RKS, add the “text stores” feature to his x86 node https://github.com/kn6plv/Raven/wiki/Text-Stores When I reinstalled my Raven package, the old messages appeared in my instance. - I am pleased to see the message length in the AREDN channel has been increased to 1200 characters (up from 150). I think this will result in fewer overall messages in the main AREDN chat channel. Keep up the good work and we will keep testing. -Brett — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[jlp78]

It should auto-update, but you might have an older build where that functionality was broken. You can always load the latest apk (from the repo) onto your node, overwriting the existing one.