As someone who used Linux for years, then left due to issues with compatibility, and have recently returned; Linux distros have come a long way in ease of use for average/casual users like myself. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well everything just works. I’ve had to research a few things I wanted to do with my system, but those actions were going beyond the most common use cases. I don’t know if it is the “year of the Linux desktop,” but Linux is definitely in a place now that greatly increases its approchability. I know the community is very big on customization and tinkering, but that isn’t what the average pc user values, so having distros that are functional with zero or minimal tinkering will certainly be a boon to wider adoption. With apple being a “boutique” company and Microsofts continuous anticonsumer practices (my reason for switching), I definitely forsee a growth in Linux market share.
In addition to the mentions that this isn’t encrypted, doesn’t have video chat, etc, it’s also difficult to set up with little documentation and an enormous tech stack. They also had some recent controversy about open source licensing that gives me a bit of worry. I decided to go with a self-hosted synapse server.
Yeah, and it’s doubly infuriating because Discord is not a good replacement for support forums. It isn’t searchable via search engines, and even the built in search is fucking dog water.
Let’s say I have an error, so I google “{Program} {Error code} Solved”. With a forum, I would find a thread that is already talking about the specific error, with comments regarding troubleshooting steps or a solution… But with Discord, all I get is a generic link to the program’s server.
And even once I’m in the server, there often isn’t a good way for me to find existing threads about my specific error. Maybe I check the pinned messages, but some servers have dozens of channels; am I expected to check the pins on every single channel? Oftentimes that seems to be the expectation, because asking a question will often just get a “check the pinned messages, ya thud-fuck” type of response.
Or maybe I search it, but (again) am I expected to search every single channel? And since Discord doesn’t use fuzzed searches, searching for “Error code 0x00548327” won’t return any results if the thread simply uses “Error 548327” instead. With Google (or any half-decent search engine, really) you get results for both. But not with Discord.
So instead, I ask in the support channel. And that leads me to my final gripe… My response takes actual effort from another person in order to solve. Maybe I get lucky and they have a bot set up to respond to a keyword/error number in my comment… But if not, or if I didn’t use the specific keyword that the bot was searching for, then I need to rely on other people. If there are 200 people with the same issue, that’s 200 times that someone needs to respond to what is essentially the same message. With a forum, you could simply find the post, and read the responses. No human interaction necessary, because it has already been done. The question and answer process has already happened. But with Discord, I’m forced to wait on someone to actually respond, and the devs/admins actually need to dedicate time and resources to ensuring it gets answered. That constant vigilance takes a lot more time and effort away from actual mod duties.
I get it that it’s probably easier to setup a Discord server, than to run your own forum, but you can always get a managed solution or use reddit (I would prefer if Lemmy was used, but I am also realistic).
I’m actually against companies running their own subreddits, purely because I’m an old redditor who remembers when it was specifically disallowed by Reddit. The original intent was for the site to the run by the people, not by companies. Companies were actually prevented from moderating their own subs; the worry was that they would use their mod powers to suppress any sort of negative press or criticism, no matter how valid.
For instance, maybe there’s a popular TV show. The company wasn’t allowed to have a hand in moderating the official fan sub for the show, because it was left up to the public. If the show did something unpopular, the broadcasting company shouldn’t have the ability to suppress the criticism about it.
But Reddit has since done a complete 180 on that topic, and now goes out of their way to install corporate moderators. Subs are now run as an extension of the company’s marketing and/or PR departments
Self hosting and open source to me is the most important part. Federation can come if the need arises. I was just curious.
I’m personally going to stay on my matrix channels as they seem more established. But it’s good to have options.
Right now discord seems fine but I’ve already lived through many de-platforming events. And one day it too will go the way of the dodo. People getting attached to nameless online services is funny.
Another reminder, this is not my server, I just thought this was fun and I’m sharing an alternative. But I’ve tried reading all I can about Revolt, and I can’t see where they say it’s “for profit”. Can you link me to that?
Unfortunately, nothing else has really matched Discord’s combination of voice, video, and text chatting. Matrix doesn’t have feature parity, and doesn’t even have a functional client… Which means it’s only really viable for the people who care enough to learn how to set it up. And the average user does not care enough to learn.
I’m not sure what you mean? I have voice, video and text working on my yunohost without any real issues. My wife and I use it all the time. Element (the client) could be a bit easier def on the initial experience, but to me that’s it.
The thing discord has is the people. When discord went down a couple of weeks ago, my tiny instance quadrupled in users. And the local city specific matrix got quite a few.
Blue Prince- I’m taking a break after getting to a certain point. It’s been great fun and the underlying message seems very timely. Gran Turismo 7- it’s my “in-between” game and I like to play the weekly challenges. Vampire Survivors- my favorite game on my phone. I was on a break but I’m back to seeing gem explosions when I close my eyes.
bin.pol.social
Aktywne