The usability of Lightning network

[MadGamer]

If you visit the repository of wallets such as Zap, Eclair etc. you'll see a bunch of instructions to get them working and even more instructions If you want to use them on the mainnet. I know that It's experimental for now but is this going to change? It seems like LN is not for the average user. (download, install and go).

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[achow101]

Of course it is going to change! Once the Lightning Network is actually out of the experimental phase, developers will shift focus towards UI/UX. Currently, they are working on making sure that the various Lightning Network software can actually interact with each other and making sure that all of the technical details work. The most important things for a Lightning Network software is to ensure that the user doesn't lose their funds. UI/UX comes last, after everything that works in the backend is complete.

[hatshepsut93]

If you visit the repository of wallets such as Zap, Eclair etc. you'll see a bunch of instructions to get them working and even more instructions If you want to use them on the mainnet. I know that It's experimental for now but is this going to change? It seems like LN is not for the average user. (download, install and go).

Eclair, especially the mobile version is pretty easy to use even now. Also there's an online custodial wallet on testnet that is super easy to use, just write down your secret and you're ready to go - https://htlc.me/

But I think even now, after all these years, Bitcoin mainnet wallets are still far from perfect and many people, especially newcomers still choose to keep their coins on exchange, which sometimes leads to loss. So, all clients need to keep improving to make Bitcoin user experience better, developers need to put themselves in place of users to understand their needs. And if you as a user have some problems with software, you should provide your feedback to developers to help them see what can be improved.

[bob123]

But I think even now, after all these years, Bitcoin mainnet wallets are still far from perfect and many people, especially newcomers still choose to keep their coins on exchange, which sometimes leads to loss.

There are a lot of (almost) perfect wallets available.
There are advanced wallets with intuitive UI (e.g. electrum) and very straight-forward wallets (e.g. andoid: mycelium).

But even secure wallets can be easy to use. Take ledgers application for example. It is very easy to use. Thats really not a proper reason to leave coins on an exchange.

If you are buying because you believe in bitcoin or want to use bitcoin, you should also be able to understand a simple wallet application.
If you are buying BTC because of getting rich over night.. well.. Those people WILL lose their coins sometime in the future.

So, all clients need to keep improving to make Bitcoin user experience better, developers need to put themselves in place of users to understand their needs. And if you as a user have some problems with software, you should provide your feedback to developers to help them see what can be improved.

A developer is not responsible for the stupidity of a user.
There are enough wallets which are easily understandable. If one can not figure out how to use a simple wallet, he should maybe not own cryptos at all.