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Update on my search for an alternative long-text #fediverse software:

Misskey

I stopped using my #Misskey account first, mainly because #Calckey was the better option between the two which are otherwise rather similar. Misskey also offers only rudimentary account transfer functionality, i.e. import / export data but no account transfer.

From my point of view, at least some account transfer functionality is absolutely essential in the spirit of the Fediverse and I don’t want to be locked into a particular instance, even if it is a reliable one, as I may want to switch to self-hosting at some point.

If you like Misskey, I can recommend misskey.de, maintained by #libranet.de grand master @alfred.

Calckey

Calckey is interesting and quirky, and it has implemented suitable account transfer functionality. The team even work on cross-platform post/toot import which is great. In a somewhat strange move this was deployed into production today, largely untested and broke the calckey.social experience for quite a few users.

The developers are generally very enthusiastic, committed and present in the community which is a great thing.

One other issue, at least in my considerations, was the emoji and #mfm (Misskey Flavoured Markdown) overload - it’s just a little too much if you’re beyond 40, it’s blinking and jumping and rotating and 90ies animated gif-ing everywhere. This functionionality is really being used extensively and whilst you can switch it off in your settings, so the interface will be much quieter, it feels like you shouldn’t, as it is a major part of the Calckey community DNA and people actually want this…

I also noted that the software is a bit beta, updated often, and the deploy method into production seems very progressive (post import function, looking at you…). So if you need a stable, reliable and distraction-free environment for (semi-)professional use or long-form debate, Calckey is probably not the first choice.

I did like the #antennas function, however, which was more usable for me than following single hashtags on #Mastodon or save searches on #Friendica. It is possible to save thematic antennas with multiple keywords and read those as a separate consolidated antenna feed which is convenient and a good way to discover content and users.

I may keep my account for a while to follow the Calckey journey and for the days where I feel like I need more rotating emojis, but won’t use it extensively.

I am on the flagship instance calckey.social and I want to shout out to @atomicpoet who is ever present and the greatest advocate for Calckey.

Friendica

So after testing extensively over the long weekend, I like Friendica the most, although its plethora of functions can be bit of a usability challenge, but it is very powerful and usable for my specific purposes.

I keep discovering functionality which makes this platform the best for my use case. And don’t get me even started on the thread view - this is by far the best, most readable and well rendered implementation of threads I have seen across the #Fediverse applications I have tested, ideal for long-form debate.

There’s also a mobile app in development, shout-out to @hankg to put me on the TestFlight. This looks very promising and will be key to bring more users to Friendica - and also keep them there, using it with a well-designed, simplified interface. So far, and for me, the web browser on a PC or a tablet seems to be the best option if you want the full Friendica experience.

So, I will stay on here for long-form writing, groups, debates and keep my #Mastodon account in parallel. I may consider self hosting Friendica and #Pixelfed at some point in the future but this remains to be decided.

With my Friendica account, I am on venera.social, a reliable server run by @alfred as well.

Feel free to connect on Friendica or Mastodon, if you wish.

Thanks for reading!

PS: Please note - no character limit and basic markdown formatting, that’s what I am here for. 😀

@fediversenews @fediversereport