Replacing Discord

[confusis]

As I'm sure you're aware, the changing political landscape has meant that platforms like Discord are likely, in the near future, to demand ID, amongst other personally identifying information.

As an ardent supporter of digital freedom, and being mindful of the rise of hostile and over-reaching governance around our world, SFF Network has been looking into alternative platforms for communication to support the SFF hobby, and enable open discussions around related, and unrelated topics.

So far, we've 3 platforms that seem to maybe fit the bill, but we'd like feedback as to where we should go to replace Discord.


-Siropu Chat
Integrated into forum for authentication
Easy setup
Uses existing server
Image upload, etc
Message persistence for users not online (i.e. log in and you see what the recent conversation was about)
One off licence fee (US$39)
Data will be on US server (at present, until we move SFF Network off a US based host)
Non-registered folks won't be able to participate
No mobile app
Not encrypted

-IRC
No licence fee
Data can be hosted outside of hostile nations
Super customisable
We can provide a web client for users
Non-registered folks can join
Super lightweight to host
No message persistance unless we roll IRCv3 which appears to be not fully complete
No authentication with forum if we go IRCv3
Less functionality
Not encrypted


-Stoat
No ads/tracking
Self hosted
Very customisable
Appears to have headwind behind it for user migration
Image uploads, etc
Could just use their hosting
Webhookable
No existing auth plugins for Xenforo
Heavier than IRC to host (2vcpus, 2gb ram)
No supporters section due to there being no ability at present to link authentication with the forum
Not encrypted
Noted as an immature platform

---
Apparently Teamspeak has picked up a lot of users as of late, but reporting that their infrastructure is heavily loaded.

I'm open to hearing feedback and suggestions!

 

[Lux]

Another reasonable option would be Element. Details for self hosting are available on github and they offer free community licensing for non-commercial use.

It’s built on the Matrix open source ecosystem . Which a ton of organizations use for secure and decentralized communications.

It can be accessed in browser or via apps for desktop and mobile.

 

[confusis]

Unfortunately, SFF Network is a commercial entity in effect, and our user community is far past the 100 user 'limit' Element lists on the free tier. The lack of admin tools and moderation ability in the free tier also are points against the platform.

Please let me know if I've misinterpreted their info

Whilst we don't expect anywhere near a full migration, the SFF Network Discord currently has >250 Forum users online, and >330 non-linked accounts online. (that's a lot of lurkers! :S )

 

[confusis]

Fluxer has come up as an option.

Almost identical to Discord
No ads/tracking
Very customisable
Appears to have headwind behind it for user migration
Image uploads, etc
Could just use their hosting
Webhookable
Self hosted in time. Not available at this moment.
No existing auth plugins for Xenforo
Heavier than IRC to host
No supporters section due to there being no ability at present to link authentication with the forum
Not encrypted
Somewhat immature, vibe coded

 

[damex]

> Not encrypted
what kind of 'encryption' are you looking for? e2e for users is technically possible using certain clients but that's as far as it goes.
connection to irc servers could be and should be encrypted.

> No message persistance unless we roll IRCv3 which appears to be not fully complete
what is the reason to keep all messages indefinitely? if there is something worthy - post to forums/wiki.
i guess those web clients can keep <some> history if implemented to be connected at all times... independent bouncers would do that too.

> No authentication with forum if we go IRCv3
irc3 support sasl / external auth or just scram-sha*, not sure how far you want to go with integration but there is no out of box solution that would give you that

> Less functionality
depends on implementation/clients. what 'functionality' are you looking for?

 

[confusis]

The points mentioned were more for community members to help make an informed decision, rather than needs four a workable solutions.

Re message persistence, comparing to discord where one can see messages posted before login. I.e. you don't need the app open prior to when you have time to chat just so you can see what subject was being discussed.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Still have to watch the vid, but Steeve made one about self-hosted Discord alternatives :