Loops by pixelfied Is Doomed to Fail Because of Daniel Supernault
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25681950
TL;DR: Loops is doomed because Daniel Supernault doesn’t actually want to develop it or release the source code properly.
I’ll try to provide evidence where I can, but a lot of evidence was destroyed via bans from the Discord, so I can’t retrieve my messages, and All I have are files I saved on my hard drive and mastodon links.
How I Got InvolvedI got into Loops because of the TikTok ban scare and wanted to help develop a non-corporate fediverse alternative to TikTok and YouTube Shorts. I signed up, made two accounts (wasn’t sure why I couldn’t log in), and got approved after two days.
Once I had an account, I downloaded the Android APK and joined the Discord. I introduced myself as someone who wanted to help and mentioned that I had tried (and failed) to make a Fediverse app before. I was interested in seeing where Loops would go.
For about 12 days, I made videos for Loops, making sure there was consistent content so the platform didn’t go 10 minutes without something new. I also helped in Discord, answering questions about account activations and discussing how Loops could become a major part of the Fediverse (which, as of 2/16/2025, it still isn’t). I thought if Loops could launch before the next TikTok scare, it had a real shot.
I Start Asking Questions
After 12 days of making content and being active in Discord, I was getting bored. I wanted to figure out why there weren’t any real developments. I knew Daniel had promised on Discord that Loops would be open-source “by the weekend” (this was 12 days ago). To me, that meant publishing the source code.
So, I made a video calling him out (archived here: dalek.zone/w/jUUYe11xDvjz15ZRAxQuy7) and posted it on Discord. A few minutes later, Daniel deleted the link and removed the video from Loops. His only response was, “Misinformation is not appreciated”—with no further context.
To me, this reaction was suspicious. He didn’t explain why he hadn’t released the source code. He didn’t ignore it either, which I interpreted him as being guarded.Getting Banned from the Discord
After Daniel’s reaction, I started wondering if Loops was a waste of my time. Was anything actually happening?
I tried decompiling the Android APK to see what was inside but couldn’t get it to recompile. I thought about forking the Loops GitHub with the decompiled source and posting it in GitHub as a fork—but I didn’t even need to.
Instead, I asked why Loops wasn’t just a PeerTube instance, since PeerTube already worked on short formed video content with a tik Tok like interface. I even made another video about it: dalek.zone/w/fVW4GbW79bBpiyLrDGJBBa.
The last thing that happened before my ban was me asking if anyone was actually doing work on Loops. Instead of answering, they flipped the question back on me. I replied, “Yes, I am decompiling the source code so we can do work.” after, Discord glitched, the Loops server disappeared, and I was locked out. My Loops account was also deleted.
This made it clear: Daniel didn’t want me questioning loops or suggesting that PeerTube could do the job better.Calling Him Out on Mastodon
After my ban on discord, I did more research on Daniel and kept calling him out on Mastodon as a warning to others. Eventually, he did publish a “source code” for Loops. Just to spite him, I thanked Michael Downey (mastodon.social/@Cattail/113932221184535082) for pushing him to release it by asking him a question.
But two hours later, I pointed out that the APK and the published source code didn’t match: (mastodon.social/@Cattail/113932308245134257).Conclusion
I’m glad I did what I did because it saved me from wasting more time on Loops. Instead, I built a bot that announces when Fediverse streamers go live on Mastodon, which actually helps the community. Daniel is asking for money that would be better spent on PeerTube development or maintaining existing Fediverse instances. Daniel is deceiving people, pretending Loops is making progress when it’s really just a rehash of Pixelfed. His Kickstarter has no deadline and only vague updates.
If you still want to support him, that’s on you. I’ve seen enough.Links & Receipts
Official “source code”: github.com/joinloops/loops-app Loops development mention from 2020: mastodon.social/@pixelfed/104618452882003745?utm_source=perplexity Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/pixelfed/pixelfed-foundation-2024-real-ethical-social-networks/commentsLinks & Receipts
Official “source code”: GitHub Loops development mention from 2020: Mastodon Kickstarter: Pixelfed Foundation 2024 -
F [email protected] shared this topic
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I'm not even convinced that Loops was a good idea to begin with. Yes, sure, always nice to have fediverse alternatives of mainstream apps, but short-form videos like those on Tiktok wouldn't have been successful if not for Tiktoks algorithm which is much, much better than even any of the competition. It's really good at discoverability and being addictive. And Loops doesn't have anything like this (and even if this is good depending on who you ask, it definitely doesn't give Loops an advantage). Who even is the target audience of Loops?
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Are you seriously using alts to cross-post?
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It's been in development for 5 years. The audience is pretty much Tiktok refugees. Ironically it would be like the third biggest instance if it was part of the fediverse. Ironically loops' traffic state is used as marketing
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It seems the fediverse has a problem with regular attacks on project developers. The project may fail but no need to attack them before it happens. The project is very new.
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Loops is 5 years old
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I have always liked the saying that an overnight success takes 5-10 years. Getting frustrated with someone who is developing two different Fediverse platforms simultaneously after 12 days seems a little quick.
I think you make good arguments in your video about how similar loops and peertube are, but I don't view that as a negative. We see lots of duplication in the world, even within open source (Linux vs BSD vs Redox, ardupilot vs pixhawk vs betaflight). When it's open source they can all learn from each other and reach better solutions sooner.
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Loops succeeded in getting a user base for sure. I'm convinced it does proform better than peertube instances. But no the 12 days was for making the existing project open source like what was promised
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Loops was developed years ago as a component of Pixelfed and then shelved before being recently developed as a separate service. It is not 5 years old.
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Yikes. So you made another account since everyone banned and blocked you after your last tirade.
You need help.
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dansup is being all but trasparent, he's receiving money from nlnet (which he shouldn't since being open source is a requirement and loops published backend is just a project scaffolding, literally one hello world route). unhappy now he's asking money from a kickstarter, unclear for what since loops doesn't federate, doesn't have a web ui and is struggling scaling. pixelfed is a mess too, but now he got a surge of users so he's "the biggest instance on fedi" and needs more money to make bait products to cater to "digital refugees" he can lure in with clone UIs and lose 1 month later when they realize fedi is a whole other thing
we need better fedi dev accountability, please don't give more money to dansup, donate instead to mastodon or gotosocial or mitra, they're making a lot more innovative work for the fediverse
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This person keeps spamming the fedi with a smear campaign since they got banned from a discord. Please read the last iteration of this and report this post: https://lemmy.giftedmc.com/post/1345296
Edit: My client obviously does not use links well.
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That person has made an alt account. Probably got banned here too for smearing developers. Its absolutely disgusting how someone misuses the openness of the fedi to fight over petty reasons.
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Lol an account over 1 year old and I'm actually having fun finding all these issues I can report to the Lemmy devs. I know people don't block because they like seeing what I do. It's like I'm like rich Sanchez playing Roy in Blips and Chit
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For real. Who could ever understand why Dan banned them? It's a mystery..
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Whatever you think you're doing, you're working currently against the fedi. That means in my book you're with musk, zuck and Jeff.
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I'm not great with sarcasm so it made me double take. Yes, this person definitely lives a happy life, touches grass regularly and by no means is a elonazi Stan. They also write in French and backwards.
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Lol that's awesome. I'm going to share that on the peertube life stream I actively support. So how am I working against the fediversem
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This should have been your original post. I see where ur coming from now that we have more context.
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I was wondering why OPs post looked so familiar... It makes so much sense now.
OP really needs to touch some grass.
