Today is Global Switch Day for the Fediverse, and to be honest it surprised me after waking up and seeing @dansup@mastodon.social posting about it.
Post by @dansup@mastodon.social View on Mastodon
I follow Dan closely due to his work on PixelFed & Loops, amazing platforms that has been
A lot of these are not ready for primetime, as much as I wish they were. Loops and pixelfed are barely functional as an app, friendica is clunky and confusing to use, peertube has almost no content, element is more of a discord replacement than messenger. I do think people need to switch, but to recommend a switch right now is a bit irresponsible, since it will just give people a bad impression of the fediverse.
element is more of a discord replacement than messenger.
I would argue the opposite. Trying to use it as a Discord replacement is a nightmare, if you ever actually try it. You can use the comet app to fix that but it doesn’t fix that it’s a crazy slow protocol that collects all the metadata and is almost entirely controlled by the corporate entity that runs the matrix.org server.
When suggesting switching now, today, in the near term, always present this as a ‘new canvas’, a new beginning in which we collectively will recreate what we want from what we left behind, and build forward to what we collectively desire. The lemmiverse I entered 2.5 years ago is not the place we have created up to this point. My early kbin content is more or less gone, I think, sigh, but so what. This is an opportunity, not an impediment. For example, because of the shambles IG creates when one exports one’s content, I’ve been sorting out my less favored content, and sorting in my more favored images while also adding new on Pixelfed. One may wish to ask one’s self, what do I want in my Fediverse, and what am I quite happy to leaving behind?
On top of that, I’ve seen a few of these posts over the last few hours, and it seems like they all have different recommendations for alternative apps.
I’ve seen at least three replacements for WhatsApp already, Signal, Element, and another one I’ve forgotten the name of. The one based on email. If I’m getting confused, imagine how a ‘normal’ person is going to feel.
A lot of these are not ready for primetime, as much as I wish they were. Loops and pixelfed are barely functional as an app, friendica is clunky and confusing to use, peertube has almost no content, element is more of a discord replacement than messenger. I do think people need to switch, but to recommend a switch right now is a bit irresponsible, since it will just give people a bad impression of the fediverse.
I would argue the opposite. Trying to use it as a Discord replacement is a nightmare, if you ever actually try it. You can use the comet app to fix that but it doesn’t fix that it’s a crazy slow protocol that collects all the metadata and is almost entirely controlled by the corporate entity that runs the matrix.org server.
My recommendation would be SimpleX.
When suggesting switching now, today, in the near term, always present this as a ‘new canvas’, a new beginning in which we collectively will recreate what we want from what we left behind, and build forward to what we collectively desire. The lemmiverse I entered 2.5 years ago is not the place we have created up to this point. My early kbin content is more or less gone, I think, sigh, but so what. This is an opportunity, not an impediment. For example, because of the shambles IG creates when one exports one’s content, I’ve been sorting out my less favored content, and sorting in my more favored images while also adding new on Pixelfed. One may wish to ask one’s self, what do I want in my Fediverse, and what am I quite happy to leaving behind?
Yeah, I’ve been recommending Signal to people to get them off Messenger and WhatsApp.
On top of that, I’ve seen a few of these posts over the last few hours, and it seems like they all have different recommendations for alternative apps.
I’ve seen at least three replacements for WhatsApp already, Signal, Element, and another one I’ve forgotten the name of. The one based on email. If I’m getting confused, imagine how a ‘normal’ person is going to feel.
Pixelfed has some wonderful third party apps. Like Impressia. They are definitely good enough.
I agree on loops.
Fluffychat works for matrix with a more signal vibe.
I searched for Loops in the Google Play Store but it’s not there…
It’s only in beta on ios.