most complains i see about the others are performance-related, not looks-related. and chatto is trying to be performant.

It is not looks or performance (I have no idea) I am talking about. It is the shape of the functionality — the intent of it.

All these systems end up with far too much furniture on screen, and this appears no exception.

I will test it, of course. But the promotional material argues against itself.

Then don't use it? I don't get the hate just because it doesn't fit people's use cases.

Not really hate now is it? Just questioning what i am missing in yet another of these things.

Though it does seem to (so far) be easier to host and less complicated than Mattermost, which is not nothing.