> It talks a lot about decentralization and protocol development, but I doubt it will be able to best Matrix in this regard. Matrix has bridges
XMPP has had bridges for more than a decade. That was actually one of the core promises of the XMPP protocol, compared to others (like IRC). Both XMPP and matrix have exactly the same promise to be the only and ultimate federated protocol you will ever need, so there's no real distinction on this front.
> without many users or features that appeal to a mass audience
Many people were (are?) unconsciously using Jabber/XMPP on a daily basis. What plagued XMPP is open standards with closed-source implementations: i.e. private companies ripping off the benefits of specifications. There's a ton of fancy new features in the Jabber/XMPP ecosystem, including some unique stuff like federated forging: https://staticadventures.netlib.re/blog/decentralized-forge/
XMPP has had bridges for more than a decade. That was actually one of the core promises of the XMPP protocol, compared to others (like IRC). Both XMPP and matrix have exactly the same promise to be the only and ultimate federated protocol you will ever need, so there's no real distinction on this front.
> without many users or features that appeal to a mass audience
Many people were (are?) unconsciously using Jabber/XMPP on a daily basis. What plagued XMPP is open standards with closed-source implementations: i.e. private companies ripping off the benefits of specifications. There's a ton of fancy new features in the Jabber/XMPP ecosystem, including some unique stuff like federated forging: https://staticadventures.netlib.re/blog/decentralized-forge/