There is no truer adage to me than nothings is perfect. And when it comes to anything related to Discord it’s no different.

Discord itself to me has been an issue for years. Its use of data collection, the obsession of companies trying to buy it all were concerning. For me the latest age verification just further reinforces my beliefs. That being said the majority of users who ignored all this and kept going, really nothing would change. Most people I know use Discord lightly and aren’t in large chats that use hentai gifs. I still would tell anyone who would listen to get out of dodge. But if you never cared about data usage then you’re probably not going to start now.

For all the alternatives out there truth is, none are really anywhere near perfect. Matrix and most of its clients while encrypted don’t offer true jump in /jump out game chat. More a kin to Skype really. Foss Discord implementations like Spacebar are to all over the place and for me are not really functional. Stoat while probably my favorite is still really small and not holding up to the stress of the user influx. And of course it’s missing “discord features” and the new kid Fluxer while appealing is still to new and it’s monetization model a little to concerning. 300 bucks as a backer for unproven project ? And of course with the exception of Matrix none of the other projects currently offer encryption.

Truth is no option really is ideal. Truth is all the options have some pretty serious flaws. And truth is getting your large swaths of friends to move might be close to impossible.

So if you are looking to move please do some digging. Ask people who use the apps their opinions. Try to as a group of friends chose to make a move.

And the final truth is it’s a really good thing we finally have some options. No matter the flaws having competition brings innovation.

I hope this posts helps clear up some things for people who might be confused or concerned.

  • snowsuit2654@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    6·
    3 days ago

    From my quick testing I did the other day, the conclusion I came to was:

    • Fluxer looks like the easiest drop-in replacement for my group. I agree I am also a little hesitant about its longevity & funding.
    • Matrix UX leaves some to be desired, but it’s functional and I like the E2EE.
    • We don’t have anyone good enough at selfhosting in my group to even attempt Spacebar.
    • Stoat just doesn’t seem viable. Lack of screenshare is a big issue for my group.

    Surprisingly, the new TeamSpeak 6 looks pretty okay to me, but the UX is pretty different so might have a little bit of a learning curve for some people in my group. It costs money for a server but honestly my group is fine with that. We used to pay for a Mumble server back in the day but it doesn’t have robust text channels so we don’t want to move back to that.

    • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.netEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      EDIT: The Fluxer dev has agreed to remove the CLA!

      I was just informed today of a huge red flag for Fluxer; it has a contributor CLA that could allow it to change to a non-FLOSS license in the future. I was hopeful for it previously, but that kills it for me.

      Also @64bithero@lemmy.world

      I’ll be sticking with Movim, which is already federated, encrypted, can do group video calls, can even screenshare, and most critically does not have a CLA.

      • 64bithero@lemmy.worldOP
        2·
        3 days ago

        Movim looks insanely promising. I’ll have to check it out after I get off work. I’ll have to update my write up if it’s that impressive. Curious how it will handle from what I understand XMPP is protocol like matrix yes ?

          • 64bithero@lemmy.worldOP
            1·
            2 days ago

            While I appreciate what Movim is going for it feels like something different then Discord. It fees like it’s trying to be a whole social network. Which is kind of cool but it also feels very very busy.

            • ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.netEnglish
              2·
              2 days ago

              Honestly that’s fair enough, it definitely could use a professional UX pass. Cheers for giving it a shot though :)

              • 64bithero@lemmy.worldOP
                2·
                2 days ago

                I might end up trying that as my Facebook replacement but not Discord. Their policies and data handling should win them an award

    • Feyd@programming.dev
      3·
      3 days ago

      I’m interested in movim. They are a mature project that has been around for ~15 years and are working adding some discordy features. With those coming it seems more promising to me than the alternatives that haven’t even hit a stable state yet https://piaille.fr/@movim

    • 64bithero@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      3 days ago

      For me Fluxer is technically more feature complete with steaming options. But banners and custom emojis are behind paywalls. (Non local hosted)

      Stoat offers free banners, emojis a nice UI even a community browser! Its voice chat works well enough but no streaming features. Stoat is purely donation based at the moment.

      Sounds like Fluxer is gaining momentum mainstream wise. I’m happy with either option …