• I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make unless you’re saying no one has to create a Discord account, or have to download an app, or have to find an invite to locate the server. My keys are auto-generated and auto-saved, simple 20 second process. Forums are also a lot easier to sign up for than Discord, if you’re worried about making another account I don’t know what to tell ya because every service requires it.

        • You set up a discord account once. When you want to join a project discord all you have to do is click the invite link and hit „accept“. Bam. Done. No need to join a forum. No need to keep track of another website and check if you got a personal message from someone or something. The benefit is that it is all one location.

          • It’s undoubtedly nice during that step of the process, but afterwards you’re on a platform that may not be well suited to the purpose. It’d be better just to make the new account on an actual forum. Granted, I use Bitwarden now, so I don’t sweat making new accounts anymore.

            This makes me wonder if there is a centralized system for forums. We have stackexchange already, but that’s really designed to be a question and answer site.

            •  poVoq   ( @poVoq@slrpnk.net ) 
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              9 months ago

              Discourse, NodeBB and Flarum are all currently working on ActivityPub federation support. The first two have some basic support already available.

              Edit: I read “decentralized”. The “centralized” system for forums is obviously Reddit.

      • I’m probably way out of the loop but from the perspective of devs getting to contribute, don’t stuff like Discourse ship with “login with your Github account” already? Or Google, or Facebook, or…

        Also, please, it’s 1 click nowadays to make your browser remember your logins for you, if it comes down to laziness

      • I guess we have different perspectives. Ease, convenience = forums, existing userbase? = Do you prefer Reddit for this reason?, familiarity = forums lol, search-ability = forums, privacy = forums, etc etc.

          • I think you might just be blinded by Discord for some reason. I’m not sure what “niche” you’re referring to with Discord that can’t be provided with forums (unless you’re worried about cosmetics I guess?). There are forums with real-time communications like chat, notifications, direct-messaging. I’m not trying to argue, getting your perspective is always helpful and might show something I’m missing, but your responses seem vague and not really a counter-point.

            • My perspective is of a FOSS developer with multiple communities of thousands. If you can’t grasp it, that’s on you. It’s also why purity moralizing isn’t useful. I have only so much mental bandwidth to spend on organizing and self-hosting. If people are not stepping up to do the community management and infrastructure work, I will go with the past of least resistance.

              • If you can’t grasp it, that’s on you. It’s also why purity moralizing isn’t useful

                oh ok, thanks for the clarification.

                If people are not stepping up to do the community management and infrastructure work, I will go with the past of least resistance.

                That’s basically it in a nut shell, path of least resistance. Doesn’t refute any claims made in the article or arguments presented here. Just a shame another company has a stranglehold on a whole category of services that have to be used to participate in society … while developing FOSS.

                • Doesn’t refute any claims made in the article or arguments presented here.

                  Nothing to refute. I never said otherwise. Discord is just more convenient for people already overworked.

                  Just a shame another company has a stranglehold on a whole category of services that have to be used to participate in society … while developing FOSS.

                  Yes, it is a shame. I hope you’re doing something practical about it instead of moralizing towards FOSS devs.