Zulip is vastly better for people who are willing to learn an interface. But it’s not really very “pretty”

Hah, its 'good enough', but really has some bizarre ui flows that make things so very, very confusing...

Hi! It'd be a huge help if you can stop by chat.zulip.org and share in #feedback what you find bizarre. Maybe we can fix them for you :)

We use Twist at my company. I find the emphasis on asynchronous communication refreshing. It encourages more thoughtful discussion. Basecamp also lends helpfully in this direction, although adopting Basecamp means accepting an entire project management system as well.

I found that the way Basecamp tries to achieve async communication is to make sync communication as painful as possible. Not a great experience.