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1. Embed this notice
   Robin Riley (robin@social.riley.pub)'s status on Friday, 07-Mar-2025 14:42:49 JST Robin Riley

   Discord reportedly exploring an IPO. Hold onto your hat, dear user!

   Great opportunity for FOSS alternatives to prepare to roll out the welcome mats. (And not to scold. We know that doesn't work.)

   https://kotaku.com/discord-reddit-ipo-gaming-server-gta-6-enshitification-1851768033

   • Embed this notice
     翠星石 (suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com)'s status on Friday, 07-Mar-2025 14:42:45 JST 翠星石

     in reply to

     • tyil
     @tyil @robin >Mere alternatives rather than replacements.
     There is the Galène free software conference software replacement, which does voice and video and also text well.
   • Embed this notice
     tyil (tyil@fedi.tyil.nl)'s status on Friday, 07-Mar-2025 14:42:49 JST tyil

     in reply to

     @robin@social.riley.pub Are there any viable free software alternatives to Discord? As far as I'm aware, there is currently nothing that is actually usable that does text and voice well in a browser setting. Matrix is so slow its laughable, Revolt doesn't have working voice, Spacebar doesn't have working anything. If you just want voice, there's obviously Mumble, which works great, but mumble-web seems unmaintained so getting that as a clean web client for The Uneducated seems like an uphill struggle too.
     
     I've been looking for an actually usable free software alternative to host for me and my friends for a while, since I refuse to use Discord but don't want to give them a noticably worse experience. Sadly, I have not been able to find anything so far.

   • Embed this notice
     翠星石 (suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com)'s status on Friday, 07-Mar-2025 14:56:19 JST 翠星石

     in reply to

     • tyil
     @tyil @robin They are not in fact synonyms.
     
     When there's the option of choosing from alternatives, there is a choice to choose from several acceptable options (which implies that Discord is acceptable, when it is not).
     
     When you install a replacement, you are permanently replacing proprietary malware.
   • Embed this notice
     tyil (tyil@fedi.tyil.nl)'s status on Friday, 07-Mar-2025 14:56:22 JST tyil

     in reply to

     • 翠星石

     @Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com @robin@social.riley.pub
     Alternative and replacement are synonyms of each other. They can be used to have the exact same meaning.
     
     Galène looks interesting, I never heard of it. Upon first inspection, however, I don't think many people would consider this a Discord alternative.

   • Embed this notice
     GNU/Gabi (gabi@freesoftwareextremist.com)'s status on Saturday, 08-Mar-2025 21:07:03 JST GNU/Gabi

     in reply to

     • 翠星石
     • tyil
     @tyil @Suiseiseki
     You are confusing similar words and synonyms. A "replacement" and an "alternative" are not synonyms. "Replacement" refers to the action of substituting something for another thing, that is, putting something new in place of something that is no longer used or has been removed. "Alternative," on the other hand, refers to an option or possibility among several. It does not necessarily imply that one option replaces another, but rather that it is presented as a different option.
     
     Why would you want slavery to be an option? Freedom demands the extermination of proprietary software, not its acceptance as alternatives.
     翠星石 likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     tyil (tyil@fedi.tyil.nl)'s status on Saturday, 08-Mar-2025 21:07:07 JST tyil

     in reply to

     • 翠星石

     @Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com Let's try it out, then.When there's the option of choosing from replacements, there's a choice to choose from several acceptable options (which implies that Discord is acceptable, when it is not)
     When you install an alternative, you are permanently replacing proprietary malware.Sure works like a synonym, and several dictionaries seem to agree it is, in fact, a synonym. I understand it is difficult for you to accept, but you could try. It leaves you with more time and energy to focus on actually getting people to use free software.
     
     The nit-picky start of your previous post would've turned most people off from even considering the software option you referred to, which is harming your cause of getting people to use free software. I intentionally talked about it anyway, but now you're not even mentioning the software part that the thread was supposed to be about anymore. You're actively distracting people from the use of free software right now. You're undermining yourself with this kind of post.