There's been quite a bit of...unsettlement (totally a word) regarding the news that Discord has a new CEO and the company is going public (typically a sign of things going shittier than before).
I'd just like to re-post this which I shared some time ago, if you'll indulge me in my rare post which isn't a Steam Deck / Gaming News # post - a rarity for me.
In the end, this is not the be-all-and-end-all alternative, it won't be for everyone. Matrix exists of course. But this is a nice place. And I thought considering recent events I'd recommend it regardless!
Following is just a copy of what I posted last time. It's mostly Linux chat, gaming, handhelds (like the Steam Deck), movies and...general chats. Anyway, here's the post:
So...this one is a bit left-of-field.
A friend of mine (Gardiner Bryant of YouTube - who reports on Linux and the Steam Deck) has started a Revolt server.
What is Revolt?
It's kinda like a FOSS alternative to Discord. You'll see the layout is almost a direct copy, and it's far less polished...but then again you haven't got the downsides of Discord's constant upselling either:
Why is this relevant?
...I can hear you ask? Well, so far its just a few developers and creators in there, but I thought of all spaces...maybe those very devs and creators whose work you use and watch...well it might be nice to join in there?
My personal friends who are in here so far are:
-
imLinguin whose GitHub is here - but you may know most as a developer of Heroic Games Launcher
-
Lazorne whose project is RetroDECK - my personal fav emulation option for the Steam Deck
-
Eben Bruyns whose GitHub is here - but you may know best as the dev of Junk-Store
-
Kyle Gospo whose project is Bazzite
-
Gardiner himself, of course whose YouTube link is here,
What is the damn link to the damn server, woman?
I mean, you will have to make an account on Revolt, but it might be interesting to some here. You're all very welcome!
Just switched my friend group over to Matrix. Honestly looked at Revolt, but no federation was a non-starter. Convincing friends to leave is hard enough, unfortunately being locked into a single server was a non-starter. It's too bad, they have a great UI, but I think they should have left the backend to trusted protocols.
If you like Discord's UI, there is a new Matrix client being developed - called Commet.Chat - that is trying to look and feel like Discord.
Might be worth checking out!
Oh that's AMAZING! I'm going to try it out tonight!
I also hadn't used it in a while - used to be very rough around the edges.
Just installed it on my phone, it's actually pretty usable now!
Just imagine the good they could have done by being a new competent Matrix client that can do everything, but instead they are a Discord clone.
It would have been a massive win win