this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2025
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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:

https://revolt.chat/

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:

What is the damn link to the damn server, woman?

https://rvlt.gg/dqJT3rJH

I mean, you will have to make an account on Revolt, but it might be interesting to some here. You're all very welcome!

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (5 children)

I just went through this tree about a week ago. Downloaded the app for iOS to try it and would say it wasn’t ready for mainstream. It looks very similar to discord but it just consistently would crash or send me back to the website in order to get anything done. Even the main channel for Revolt would hang and not load properly. That and iOS is on TestFlight… not gonna work well for non tech enthusiasts who know how about it. That

I have a small server on Discord and would love to move it. But the people on it aren’t super tech savvy and the replacement will need to work. Plus, I have less desire to go from one centralized service to another, especially when the backup doesn’t work well. Wish Element would get it together with the phone app and make spaces appear as they do on the computer. That and stable call/video channels.

It would be nice to see a capable app built on matrix platform. Or just another capable platform that has a well working app. Just my two cents.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

No thanks. One more centralized service to enshitify. Will stick with Matrix.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I really hope indie gamedevs start moving off Discord. Sometimes it's the only source for finding help or reporting bugs.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

I normally like GitLab issues as a place for bug reports.

A FAQ and an old style forum works pretty well for help.
In fact, just make a community on Lemmy for the forum part and you'll have what's required.

GitHub also has this new "Discussions" thing which should do some good, for those that want to stay on GitHub

[–] [email protected] 32 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Yeah, and it’s doubly infuriating because Discord is not a good replacement for support forums. It isn’t searchable via search engines, and even the built in search is fucking dog water.

Let’s say I have an error, so I google “{Program} {Error code} Solved”. With a forum, I would find a thread that is already talking about the specific error, with comments regarding troubleshooting steps or a solution… But with Discord, all I get is a generic link to the program’s server.

And even once I’m in the server, there often isn’t a good way for me to find existing threads about my specific error. Maybe I check the pinned messages, but some servers have dozens of channels; am I expected to check the pins on every single channel? Oftentimes that seems to be the expectation, because asking a question will often just get a “check the pinned messages, ya thud-fuck” type of response.

Or maybe I search it, but (again) am I expected to search every single channel? And since Discord doesn’t use fuzzed searches, searching for “Error code 0x00548327” won’t return any results if the thread simply uses “Error 548327” instead. With Google (or any half-decent search engine, really) you get results for both. But not with Discord.

So instead, I ask in the support channel. And that leads me to my final gripe… My response takes actual effort from another person in order to solve. Maybe I get lucky and they have a bot set up to respond to a keyword/error number in my comment… But if not, or if I didn’t use the specific keyword that the bot was searching for, then I need to rely on other people. If there are 200 people with the same issue, that’s 200 times that someone needs to respond to what is essentially the same message. With a forum, you could simply find the post, and read the responses. No human interaction necessary, because it has already been done. The question and answer process has already happened. But with Discord, I’m forced to wait on someone to actually respond, and the devs/admins actually need to dedicate time and resources to ensuring it gets answered. That constant vigilance takes a lot more time and effort away from actual mod duties.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

It's a comically bad experience.

I get it that it's probably easier to setup a Discord server, than to run your own forum, but you can always get a managed solution or use reddit (I would prefer if Lemmy was used, but I am also realistic).

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I’m actually against companies running their own subreddits, purely because I’m an old redditor who remembers when it was specifically disallowed by Reddit. The original intent was for the site to the run by the people, not by companies. Companies were actually prevented from moderating their own subs; the worry was that they would use their mod powers to suppress any sort of negative press or criticism, no matter how valid.

For instance, maybe there’s a popular TV show. The company wasn’t allowed to have a hand in moderating the official fan sub for the show, because it was left up to the public. If the show did something unpopular, the broadcasting company shouldn’t have the ability to suppress the criticism about it.

But Reddit has since done a complete 180 on that topic, and now goes out of their way to install corporate moderators. Subs are now run as an extension of the company’s marketing and/or PR departments

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

Agreed. Just at this point I think it's fair to say that this policy is definitely not in effect.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 days ago

This is super hilarious, ’cause host a devlog is so simple, it can be done in ssh, even in forsaken email. While lemmy is literally here.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I did notice the recent developments in discord. If discord starts putting ads in their platform I might switch

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They already have done that a while ago.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] -4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Does Signal not do everything people need?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (2 children)

You can do a call in a group chat, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

I'm unsure. I've only ever used Mumble, Jabber, & SimpleX.

Can't afford rn to setup a SIP or SRTP dæmon. I even have to setup a PBX for normie related contacts.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (4 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

It would have been a massive win win

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