Replying to @⁨inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world⁩

Shout out to Fluxer.

Still don’t think its quite ready but its chugging along and its been fun following the progress. I know they have some big updates inbound. Hopefully people actually give it a shot and flip over to Fluxer.

I’d also add that the “Proton” subscrition equivalent - “Plutonium”, is a better value proposition. But I will admit, they still need to clear a few hurdles before even I feel completely comfortable ditching Discord.

But its Open Source and it has a self-hosting option, along with the Quality of Life you expect from Discord in terms of the app layout, screen sharing, etc.

Replying to @⁨dan@upvote.au⁩

The new one usually won’t have the same issues at first, but they’ll have the same opportunities and motivations that lead to the issues. People will see a different provider and say they’re not doing the bad things, and they’ll be correct for a few years maybe, but then it becomes a struggle to get them to switch to the next thing. This whole problem would mostly be solved with open-source alternatives instead.

Replying to @⁨Cethin@lemmy.zip⁩

The thing with age verification is that it’s a legal requirement, so they’re all going to have to do it.

Running an online service with a lot of users is very expensive, too. All these proprietary services eventually realise that they need revenue in order to continue operating. That’s one of the reasons why decentralized, federated services are the way to go - everyone runs their own small community, so there’s no one company or person that has to cover an enormous bill.

Replying to @⁨dan@upvote.au⁩

That’s why I think we should start teaching FOSS Linux as the first operating systems Kids are exposed to. It’s neutral ground in the sense that no one company owns and controls it, and the things they learn will help them understand why things are the way they are, not just what the latest marketing-hype “feature” is.

Someone I know went to a university that ran off Linux and I’m jealous of the comprehensive Linux 101 they got. It took me years to learn some of that stuff.