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

[exfed@lemm.ee]

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.

[astro_ray@piefed.social]

Then that particular build of the distro is closed source. The linux kernel is still open source.

[exfed@lemm.ee]

Okay, so the Apache license is a "closed source" license?

[jagged_circle@feddit.nl]

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.

[jagged_circle@feddit.nl]

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

[just_an_average_joe@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Lol fuckerberg, its too funny

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

[dbosiers@social.vivaldi.net]

@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.

[harbinger01173430@lemmy.world]

It's not impossible if you are a good developer

[spaduf@slrpnk.net]

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

[spaduf@slrpnk.net]

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

[bunkyprewster@lemmy.world]

There's Frendica

[moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

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

[astro_ray@piefed.social]

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.

[andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Sup Signal = WhatsApp

[pbaesse@bolha.one]

@Andromxda why?? @fediverse @shnizmuffin

[omegalemmy@discuss.online]

It would help with a lot, yah

[andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

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.

[littleomid@feddit.org]

What about Simplex over Matrix?

[moitoi@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

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.

[exfed@lemm.ee]

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.