redadalertas
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Support for message platforms (i.e. Messenger, Kik, etc.)
Hi - I just found out about this project yesterday, and was looking at your features. I noticed messaging at this point will be handled via SMS, which can become cost prohibitive for the project, even at a small scale.
Any thoughts on supporting notifications via a messenger? Bonuses: No additional apps to install, just follow the "redadAlertas" bot.
Future interaction can also be added via a bot.
If this is of any interest or was already in the horizon, I can help out. I've developed bots for several platforms out there, including FB, Kik, Telegram, Slack, etc.
Using SMS also means users are identifiable by subpoenaing phone companies, who are often all too eager to cooperate with law enforcement.
I think this is a valid point. @ajose01 we could consider using something like Signal or WhatsApp. Do you have experience in hooking into those? (not sure if WhatsApp has an API).
@anseljh another option could be to host the data in a server outside of the US, but that would slow down the service considerably. Have you seen any use cases of projects doing that?
@celsom3 I don't think WhatsApp has an open API yet, although it may be coming. However, once we build a framework for one platform the client can be adapted for others. Figuring out the details on new platforms is not a problem though, would just need to explore the API and build it.
Telegram is big on privacy, so that may be a good choice.
Telegram is not recommended. Servers in Russia, poor transparency, etc... What is the community already using? Good to hook into that if it makes sense.
Oh good catch @anseljh But yeah, FB needs to be tied to an account, maybe Kik since it's not strict on account creation?
But I'm up for whatever the consensus is re: messenger(s).
@celsom3 @ajose01 I've messed around with signal-cli a bit, which is a command-line interface for Signal. It does work. So, if we can get people to install Signal, that may be a good option. But even with that, you still need to hold a list of people's contact info.
I'd like to think through a message-less architecture a bit more, instead. I will write it up and link back here.
Here you go. As you'll see, I think it would be a good idea to rethink "subscribers" more fundamentally. How little can we know about them, and still deliver notifications?
https://gist.github.com/anseljh/881d8cea87ccf3dc26591516f3364248
I'd suggest picking a platform and getting started, taking into account security, ease of use and availability to potential users.
i.e. How many of the end users would be familiar with signal, etc.? Maybe Kik with it's loose account creation settings is a good middle ground?
I'm open for discussion on this as well.
Too bad service workers doing notifications is not supported on Safari. Those are encrypted and could come straight from the redadalertas-api server.
We're discussing this in another place as well, but quickly picking a platform and getting started is not the right way here. We need to design the architecture of this whole system with privacy and anonymity in mind, and not get locked into whatever seems convenient at the start. Anything based on messaging is very different from the design the Ansel proposed in that link.
@anseljh I think the best we can do is not send notifications to specific users, just send out huge chunks of data and let the client decide whether an alert is warranted or not. However, it would have to not be a mobile application, because that is too easily tracked. It would have to be a web application, which would also mean users need to have the page open for the client to process the huge chuck of data and decide if an alert is warranted.
I think for MVP we can just shoot for the CRUD processes of reporting and verifying, and allowing anyone to access to the data, and look for raids in their area, without needing to create an account. We can then figure out how to approach in later iterations.
It's about iterating fast, failing fast, and improving during each iteration.
Folks, anyone here interested in picking up this project again? Had been thinking about developing a similar application and came across this app through due diligence.
Hi, we've continued to work on this app but have separated the project into different sections, and the conversations are happening mainly on Slack. The proof of concept for the alerts mobile app can be found at the redadalertas-android repository, and we expect to begin testing it in a couple of months. Let us know if you want to join!
@arghgr I would absolutely like to do so. I'm actually an attorney-full-stack-developer-hobbyist (although I'm thinking about reversing that). And... this would be my first collaborative development experience, which is very exciting for me, but maybe not so much for you. In any event, I think I could add value and would love to discuss further. Let me know what you need from my end to get the process moving.
@medelman17 No worries, your skillset would definitely be useful! I sent you an email through the address on your Github profile with more details so you can get a better idea of where we are currently. It'd be great to have you on board.
Hi @arghgr. I am interested in contributing to this project but wasn't sure if it was still being maintained. I am a full-stack developer, primarily working in Angular right now but wouldn't mind getting my hands on React.
