@dmoonfire I understand. Personally I hope Masto is kept simple and not too nerdy for most people to get into. :)
You might be interessted in checking out Wire for your chats, though. FLOSS apps and servers, e2e encrypted, good looking, group chats and markdown support :) https://support.wire.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002676029-How-can-I-use-markdown-to-format-text-on-Wire-