Stoat is being hugged to death. Not sure if they will wind up being a good alternative, but it is taking days for them to send out the email verification links.
Matrix seems to be okay, but I can't imagine non dorks feeling too happy with it. They make you verify sessions and such between devices and flag unverified sessions which results in it always seeming like there is some kind of security nightmare happening.
A few of us sort of jokingly suggested IRC, but we have several users in our friends group who already struggle to keep up on Discord, so I worry that might be just too much. And, we've come to rely on certain features like posting images, and scrolling way back in chat history, which I honestly don't know if modern IRC supports or not. I'll admit, it's been 30 years since I've used IRC, so much may have changed!
It took us literally years to get our old people to understand using Discord instead of Facebook was not going to ruin their phones or be so confusing they wouldn't be able to participate in discussions. I'm so tired. 😞
Check out https://www.neatnik.net/setting-... to see how easy it is to set up and host an IRCv3 server that supports message history (no bouncer required), emoji recations, image uploads, and other IRCv3 features.
After that, it's as simple as recommending a good IRC app with decent IRCv3 feature support, like https://goguma.im (my daily driver) or https://halloy.chat
IRC today has far surpassed what IRC was decades ago.
And, while setting up and managing a server is a bit more difficult than moving to someone else's service, owning your own community will prevent surprises in the future (like what Discord is doing right now).
@macmanx hmm: 34 steps, including DNS setup and cryptic weird shit like "established network name" (wot?) ... is this a "just use linux!" thing?
(I've been a Linux user since 1995. I realized that about quarter of the way through, I stopped understanding what each stage did, so I'd be copypasting stuff I didn't understand.)
@scruss Yep, small price to pay for owning your own community, still easier than it was decades ago. Not cryptic if you move from step 1 to step 2, and so on.
@macmanx wasn't a drive by. I'm thinking of my own Discord community of ageing C64 users. "Where's the + add media button?", "How do I see all the threads on a server?", "Where have my PMs gone?" would be the sort of questions users would ask if we moved to IRC.
The technical part is not the work. The cultural part is everything.
@scruss IRCv3 has media uploads and threads, and and the IRCv3 server in the guide full message and PM history. I mentioned that in the comment. I guess, obviously, they don’t transfer from Discord if that’s your point, but nowhere transfers from Discord.
If you want to stay on Discord, that’s cool, but shitting on Discord alternatives because they aren’t Discord, when people are considering moving away from Discord isn’t the answer.
Matrix seems to be okay, but I can't imagine non dorks feeling too happy with it. They make you verify sessions and such between devices and flag unverified sessions which results in it always seeming like there is some kind of security nightmare happening.
IRCv3 has been adding many modern chat elements, like emoji reactions and easier replies.
Check out https://www.neatnik.net/setting-... to see how easy it is to set up and host an IRCv3 server that supports message history (no bouncer required), emoji recations, image uploads, and other IRCv3 features.
After that, it's as simple as recommending a good IRC app with decent IRCv3 feature support, like https://goguma.im (my daily driver) or https://halloy.chat
IRC today has far surpassed what IRC was decades ago.
And, while setting up and managing a server is a bit more difficult than moving to someone else's service, owning your own community will prevent surprises in the future (like what Discord is doing right now).
(I've been a Linux user since 1995. I realized that about quarter of the way through, I stopped understanding what each stage did, so I'd be copypasting stuff I didn't understand.)
Seems like that’s happening more in general around here anyway.
The technical part is not the work. The cultural part is everything.
If you want to stay on Discord, that’s cool, but shitting on Discord alternatives because they aren’t Discord, when people are considering moving away from Discord isn’t the answer.
It just needs one person willing to manage the server: https://www.neatnik.net/setting-...