Hello Delta Chat,
@delta
From the start of the recent protests in Iran, following the experience of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel and the experiences of the Aban 1398 (2019) and 1401 (2022-2023) protests, we knew widespread internet disruptions were coming. Earlier, active members of the free software community had set up internal Delta Chat relay servers on tiiiz.ir.
Relying on that prior experience, we conducted practical user tests with general users to observe their interaction with the application.
The result was clear: Delta Chat was far simpler for everyday users to understand and had a more intuitive interface compared to platforms like Matrix.
That’s why, together with community members, we began producing educational content for Delta Chat. The goal was to prepare users as much as possible before Iran’s internet was completely severed and localized.
Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه
in reply to Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه • • •When the blackout hit, and after a day had passed, almost no access to the global internet remained—only very limited internal networks were active. Under those conditions, our public promotion and training efforts for using Delta Chat began.
First, we had to create an environment where users could install and set up the application. We set up a local GitLab instance and uploaded the necessary files there. To share download links and installation guides, we used the (Jitsi Meet) platform—because in that situation, almost no other means of communication (even SMS) was stable or available.
As many users joined the `tiiiz` server, it gradually began to slow down. We needed to move toward a decentralized architecture. So, with the collective cooperation of members, we encouraged the public to set up their own new servers. A simple, public server installation guide was posted on the main server, and gradually, one by one, new servers were added to the network.
Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه
in reply to Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه • • •As more servers came online, the user base also grew.
Volunteer teams across various cities in Iran introduced and installed Delta Chat for others, inviting server owners to launch their own decentralized networks.
With the addition of servers and contributors, initial issues were resolved, and new ideas were proposed and implemented by developers.
For example, each server’s installation page included a section for sharing user IDs. Gradually, more extensive documentation, security solutions, detailed introductions to Delta Chat, and other practical features were organically added to the network by various individuals.
Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه
in reply to Abbas Davarpanah عباس داورپناه • • •To this day, while internet restrictions persist, Delta Chat has become the communication platform for a significant portion of users. There are no precise statistics available on the number of servers or users, but based on my own involvement in setting up servers and collaborating with other installers, and by averaging the user counts per server, I can estimate that over (250 Delta Chat host servers) with more than (300,000 users) are active in Iran and I know the actual numbers are far higher.
This report does not mention by name all the individuals and supporting organizations involved, but I sincerely thank every member of this collective effort. This event stands as a symbol of the power of free software and community solidarity in preserving decentralized communications in Iran.
به امید آیندهای بهتر برای ایران عزیز🖤
با تشکر از همهی افرادی که در این جریان کمک کردن🙏