Custom Communication Systems: Chat and Collaboration

If mobile notifications are weak, the team returns to proprietary chat. Pilot with the least technical user.

Bridges to other networks increase attack surface and moderation complexity — enable deliberately.

Federation is powerful and operationally heavier. Start closed-room if you only need private team chat. Add federation when there is a concrete partner need.

Plan for push notification infrastructure, media retention, and moderation tooling before inviting everyone. Chat outages feel personal.