I think they mean in the sense that it’s not a native desktop app (or mobile)

The call to action button is the free plan, with subscribe having a secondary button style. That alone makes it clear they want to show you ads more than they want you to subscribe.

I’m also still interested in the xmpp vs matrix debate. I’m using matrix ATM because it seems more actively developed and used, but I know some people still swear by xmpp. Ultimately I really just want a decentralized alternative to discord, but beyond that I feel like I’ll just want to go to whichever alternative has the most users, since that’s pretty useful for chatting software.

I’ve heard feedback that matrix doesn’t seem to be very united, with different groups implementing different competing features proposals etc., which does seem to be a pretty big issue.

I’m also pretty optimistic about a lot of the new stuff being built on matrix. I recently became aware of Commune, which is about making sections of matrix servers web searchable, and that sounds incredible - one of my biggest issues with discord is how often it gets used as effectively game wikis, collecting all these guides and information that’s only accessible through a proprietary discord account. No anonymous search.

The bit about "no" not meaning "no" means they're specifically implying meta employees can be sexually assaulted even if they say no. I'm sure it's said in jest, but it's still a fairly offensive comment.

I think this article makes reasonable sense. Also that quote from Spez is so disheartening. Glad I'm not on reddit anymore

Fwiw, I think using a self hosted home automation setup (shout out to home assistant) paired with smart devices that don’t use internet (e.g. zigbee, zwave, or matter once it comes out) can allow you to have a smart home without these kinds of fears.

That said, I would definitely agree to using mechanical locks. Although a monitored smart security system is probably still a good idea - you’re letting a company virtually enter your house, but you can’t rely on a self hosted solution to notify you when your power goes out, for example.

I’m not sure I understand the overall goal of this project. If it’s only serving a single user, why put it online in the first place? It sounds like what they’re specifically trying to offer via kitten and domain is a portfolio site, but it feels like they’re hiding that fact behind a lot of language about how they’re taking a stand against the “big web”. I’m obviously all for federated services over centralized ones, but this just seems to wear loftier goals than what it’s actually capable of. And if it is a portfolio site, then they should have spent a lot more time talking about discoverability, the obvious issue with small independent portfolio sites whose inherent goal is to get seen by others.

I’m just using matrix through other cinny on web and schildichat on android. You will need to self host if you want to host the bridges yourself without any possibility of another server owner seeing the unencrypted chats, but matrix is definitely the way to “future proof” your chatting imo.

I’d really really love for matrix to take off and to effectively replace discord, with continued development so things like stickers are supported in more clients, and to let servers be leaner.

However, if the friends and communities I want to talk to are all on discord, it’s hard to pioneer the alternative chat.

I’ll keep my matrix account and use it when I can, but discord will have to be on all my devices for the foreseeable future

I don’t want to defend meta here, but I’ve heard this or similar about literally every social media site ever, when it first opens. It’s way too early to tell if threads will be proactively moderating hate speech and other dangerous content.

That looks pretty cool, although it doesn’t appear to be FOSS. If I could use an app like that and self host the server or use next cloud to sync it that would be very cool. I noticed in their FAQ they’re going to stop supporting nest and Google home voice commands, so if it were foss and you could integrate the server with home assistant that would’ve been super cool.

ooh, that looks like a handy thing I’d like to store! I’m a bit worried I’ll have lost some of my saved links because I think I heard they only keep the most recent ~1000 or so.