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  1. Home
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  3. Open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp raise funds on Kickstarter | TechCrunch

Open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp raise funds on Kickstarter | TechCrunch

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  • E [email protected]

    Following that logic:

    Many popular Linux distros contain closed source blobs. Ergo Linux is closed source.

    jagged_circle@feddit.nlJ This user is from outside of this forum
    jagged_circle@feddit.nlJ This user is from outside of this forum
    [email protected]
    wrote on last edited by
    #51

    Yes. This is the position of the FSF.

    And its why most Linux distros have an option to include closed source or not.

    Signal, however, has no option. Its just closed source software.

    1 Reply Last reply
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    • E [email protected]

      Sure. That's one possible vector. Is it "Open Source" software? Yes, they accept contributions for the community. It's is "Libre" software? No, they depend on closed source software.

      I'm trying to illustrate that the definition of "open source" can be weaponized for no good reason. Dismissing Signal because it doesn't fit a narrow definition of "open source" makes everybody less secure. I have a hard enough time convincing my non-tech-savvy friends to switch to Signal. There's a snowball's chance in Hell I'll convince them to use something even more obscure.

      jagged_circle@feddit.nlJ This user is from outside of this forum
      jagged_circle@feddit.nlJ This user is from outside of this forum
      [email protected]
      wrote on last edited by
      #52

      You're wasting your time. Have the move to a platform that is open source.

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • dharmacurious@slrpnk.netD [email protected]

        I'm really excited for it. I might actually be able to get my family off Whatsapp because of fuckerberg, but I can't get them to move twice. I'm debating pushing signal now, or waiting it out for sup

        J This user is from outside of this forum
        J This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote on last edited by
        #53

        Lol fuckerberg, its too funny

        (Sorry I don't have anything to contribute to this discussion)

        1 Reply Last reply
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        • E [email protected]

          Sure. That's one possible vector. Is it "Open Source" software? Yes, they accept contributions for the community. It's is "Libre" software? No, they depend on closed source software.

          I'm trying to illustrate that the definition of "open source" can be weaponized for no good reason. Dismissing Signal because it doesn't fit a narrow definition of "open source" makes everybody less secure. I have a hard enough time convincing my non-tech-savvy friends to switch to Signal. There's a snowball's chance in Hell I'll convince them to use something even more obscure.

          dbosiers@social.vivaldi.netD This user is from outside of this forum
          dbosiers@social.vivaldi.netD This user is from outside of this forum
          [email protected]
          wrote on last edited by
          #54

          @ExFed Lol, I messaged 20+ connections to step over...nobody. We have a saying "what the farmer doesn't know, the farmer doesn't like" I fear signal has to be mentioned a thousand times from all directions before they "trust" it. The publics trust is based on repetition and the concept that a big firm has more to lose than an non profit.

          E 1 Reply Last reply
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          • N [email protected]

            Ah ok that makes sense. In my head this guy was maintaining four codebases which did seem impossible

            H This user is from outside of this forum
            H This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote on last edited by
            #55

            It's not impossible if you are a good developer

            1 Reply Last reply
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            • O [email protected]

              WhatsApp? Just use signal already!

              spaduf@slrpnk.netS This user is from outside of this forum
              spaduf@slrpnk.netS This user is from outside of this forum
              [email protected]
              wrote on last edited by
              #56

              It's not really a whatsapp alternative. More like a facebook messenger alternative. It replaces and encrypts dms from mastodon, pixelfed, lemmy, etc

              P 1 Reply Last reply
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              • N [email protected]

                Is it really just one guy writing three different platforms?

                spaduf@slrpnk.netS This user is from outside of this forum
                spaduf@slrpnk.netS This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote on last edited by
                #57

                Loops and sup started as upgrades to pixelfed and then got spun off.

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • F [email protected]

                  What can replace Facebook?

                  And how can anyone convince all their friends, family, and random people the follow, to jump platform?

                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                  B This user is from outside of this forum
                  [email protected]
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #58

                  There's Frendica

                  1 Reply Last reply
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                  • astro_ray@piefed.socialA [email protected]

                    Why are there so many downvotes? Dude said the truth. Signal, like whatsapp, is a single point of failure. It can be enshittified just like whatsapp.

                    moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM This user is from outside of this forum
                    moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM This user is from outside of this forum
                    [email protected]
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #59

                    We are on Lemmy and some are against everything who is centralized.

                    astro_ray@piefed.socialA 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM [email protected]

                      We are on Lemmy and some are against everything who is centralized.

                      astro_ray@piefed.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
                      astro_ray@piefed.socialA This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #60

                      With so many examples like twitter, reddit, Factbook, whatsapp, instagram etc. can you really blame us for not liking centralized services? Also, I don't hate all centralized services. I love Wikipedia, Openstreetmap.org etc. Also, the outage of OSM earlier proves that single point of failure is a reason for concern.

                      moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM 1 Reply Last reply
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                      • shnizmuffin@lemmy.inbutts.lolS [email protected]

                        BlueSky Mastodon = Twitter
                        Loops = TikTok
                        PixelFed = Instagram
                        Sup = What's App
                        Lemmy = Reddit

                        andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                        andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #61

                        Sup Signal = WhatsApp

                        pbaesse@bolha.oneP 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA [email protected]

                          Sup Signal = WhatsApp

                          pbaesse@bolha.oneP This user is from outside of this forum
                          pbaesse@bolha.oneP This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #62

                          @Andromxda why?? @fediverse @shnizmuffin

                          andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA 1 Reply Last reply
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                          • winterfrost@lemm.eeW [email protected]

                            I'm all for fediverse.

                            omegalemmy@discuss.onlineO This user is from outside of this forum
                            omegalemmy@discuss.onlineO This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #63

                            It would help with a lot, yah

                            1 Reply Last reply
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                            • pbaesse@bolha.oneP [email protected]

                              @Andromxda why?? @fediverse @shnizmuffin

                              andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                              andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.comA This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #64

                              There's nothing inherently wrong with Sup, but it's very new and hasn't had the chance to stand the test of time yet. It also has very few users and isn't as intuitive as straightforward as Signal, which is basically just a carbon copy of WhatsApp (UI/UX-wise). Network effect is a very important aspect.
                              Federated networks aren't easy to explain to users, this is already a huge issue for Mastodon, and it's probably why it hasn't taken over social media.
                              As other comments here have pointed out, Sup would be a closer alternative to stuff like Facebook Messenger than to WhatsApp. I'd say Signal is still the best option for private and secure instant messaging.

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • W [email protected]

                                Centralized. Not good. Conversations is on fdroid and is decentralized, federated, and uses a mature and battle tested protocol. If I wanted something new, I would prefer Matrix over Signal.

                                L This user is from outside of this forum
                                L This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #65

                                What about Simplex over Matrix?

                                W mitm0@lemmy.worldM 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • astro_ray@piefed.socialA [email protected]

                                  With so many examples like twitter, reddit, Factbook, whatsapp, instagram etc. can you really blame us for not liking centralized services? Also, I don't hate all centralized services. I love Wikipedia, Openstreetmap.org etc. Also, the outage of OSM earlier proves that single point of failure is a reason for concern.

                                  moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM This user is from outside of this forum
                                  moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.comM This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #66

                                  I don't like centralized services. I also never pretended the opposite.

                                  This is for me and my usage. The caveat is that not everyone is in the tech. We can look at the disastrous communication of Mastodon. They focussed and lots of people promoting it focussed too on the “decentralized argument”. This backfired. It was not clear for the public. A good strategy would have been to market Mastodon as an alternative with an easy process to create an account on the general website. Tech people would have chosen another server and do their stuffs. People would learn progressively the decentralization part and move from server to server. This takes time. We have to put great strategies in places and be patient to bring the public to the fedi.

                                  astro_ray@piefed.socialA 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • dbosiers@social.vivaldi.netD [email protected]

                                    @ExFed Lol, I messaged 20+ connections to step over...nobody. We have a saying "what the farmer doesn't know, the farmer doesn't like" I fear signal has to be mentioned a thousand times from all directions before they "trust" it. The publics trust is based on repetition and the concept that a big firm has more to lose than an non profit.

                                    E This user is from outside of this forum
                                    E This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #67

                                    I fear signal has to be mentioned a thousand times from all directions before they "trust" it.

                                    Yes. A thousand times yes. The risk profiles humans naturally adapted to are not well aligned with the artificial risk profiles we see today. I can't fault someone for not transcending their own natural instincts, because heaven knows I can't.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • viking@infosec.pubV [email protected]

                                      Nobody but a handful of nerds uses it though. You won't get your grandparents and less tech literate friends to leave whatsapp in droves, simple as that.

                                      D This user is from outside of this forum
                                      D This user is from outside of this forum
                                      [email protected]
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #68

                                      And they're not going to leave WhatsApp for Sup? either.
                                      All I'm saying is we've had an alternative for decades, even before WA was created, we don't need another one, we need the one we already have to have more success.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • N [email protected]

                                        what happened to pidgin

                                        D This user is from outside of this forum
                                        D This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #69

                                        Pidgin is a client, not a specific protocol.

                                        N 1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • L [email protected]

                                          What about Simplex over Matrix?

                                          W This user is from outside of this forum
                                          W This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #70

                                          Sure, it looks great. But it doesn't have the popularity of Matrix, which is already less popular than XMPP which has enjoyed decent adoption since it's inception.

                                          N 1 Reply Last reply
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