A look at the famous messenger from the other side. There were enough laudatory words addressed to him, but is everything so clear?
Remember, once upon a time, everyone had ICQ? And then he was ousted from the mass segment Skype, and then instant messengers poured out, as if from a cornucopia, which is why now there is even a certain surplus of them. Good, bad – different. And there is no ideal among them, only more or less convenient for a specific user, often chosen on the basis of 'all friends have'. Or you need it for work. That's exactly my last option – I need Telegram for work. However, if there was an opportunity, I would never use this messenger. And that's why.
I'll start from the end, comments that are unpleasant, but typical for other instant messengers. Android – the Telegram version is simply terrible for its appetites for the consumption of smartphone resources. You sit, relax, play a game, and suddenly once … a message came from the chat. That's it, the game crashes, because in the settings for the significance of notifications, the 'default' is left, which means that you have nothing more important than messages from this application. If you choose the low priority mode, then problems with missed messages will begin, which in some cases will come without any notification at all.
Of course, this is not only a problem of Telegram, but of the whole concept of preemptive multitasking and game developers who do not always take into account the peculiarities of the smartphone as a gaming platform. But here it is pertinent to note that messengers WhatsApp, Facebook, Vkontakte, Hangouts, as well as the application for SMS and MMS Textra have never caused the game to crash or stop.
In addition to games, WhatsApp suffers from Telegram. Perhaps the problem is in the smartphone drivers, but it was after the installation of Telegram that this application became inexplicably among those that the OS Android stops as rarely used. And this 'pleases' even more than the collapse of the game, since it is WhatsApp that is my main instant messenger 24/7.
The desktop version is no better. Changing the notification settings in this application affects the settings in the smartphone. If you choose to disable notifications on the computer, then the smartphone will also stop responding to incoming messages. The simultaneous use of computer and smartphone versions is the Achilles heel of all instant messengers, without exception. The easiest way to not receive a notification at all is to run both options at once and respond alternately. If instead of reading it completely, you simply swiped the notification from the lock screen, then Telegram may stop notifying you of messages, even if they are from other chats.
The second interesting point of the desktop version is Russification. I will not talk here about what prompted the developers to do Russification with a shamanic dance with a tambourine, but I will note an extremely unpleasant feature. When the application is updated, Russification flies, and you again go to the 'robot Anton' to bow. If you want to see the application interface in Russian – become a professional shaman.
And now it's time for the main question for Telegram. Of all the shortcomings, only the approach to Russification is unique. Many years ago, such methods were in use, and the proposed scheme is far from the most complicated. After all, you don't need to manually edit registries Windows or root Android, but there is exactly one step left before that. Or even half. The only reason for this is the principled position of the creator of the application, Pavel Durov.
Officially, it sounds like a reluctance to develop a Russian version of the application due to the small number of its Russian-speaking audience. But if you do not make a Russian version, then the Russian-speaking audience will not grow. The app with the description 'Telegram is a messaging app with an emphasis on speed and security' can hardly count on popularity. By the way, I wonder how big is the Russian-speaking audience of the Line messenger, in which the Russian language is present by default?
So here I would rather agree with the semi-official story about Pavel Durov's insult to the Russian authorities. I am sure that the officials do not care what Pavel Durov thinks about them and how his messenger works. But this approach demonstrates a dismissive attitude towards users. It is impossible to find out that the application supports many more languages than the interface shows. You don't need to be a programmer to understand that the amount of improvements that would be required to create a more or less adequate interface for adding language localization is incomparable with the creation of this localization itself. No less strange is the impossibility of redirecting to the Russian-language FAQ page after Russification. It exists quite officially, but you will have to use Google search or another way, and not at all by clicking on a button in the application itself.
For most users, there are no critical differences between Telegram and any other messenger. And there is an unpleasant attitude towards 'insignificant audiences'. It is it that leaves a residue, as if at the entrance to the hotel instead of 'Hello! We are glad to see you 'they muttered something indistinct and waved their hand, they say,' come in, what are you standing?