Fediverse

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Open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp raise funds on Kickstarter | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The developer behind Pixelfed, Loops, and Sup, open source alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp, respectively, is now raising funds on Kickstarter to fuel the apps’ further development.

The trio is part of the growing open social web, also known as the fediverse, powered by the same ActivityPub protocol used by X alternative Mastodon. The latter saw increased signups and use after the company formerly known as Twitter sold to Elon Musk in October 2022 and during the X exodus that followed the U.S. presidential election.

In the months and years following that sale, open source and decentralized apps like Mastodon and Bluesky (which uses the newer AT Protocol), have continued to grow their user bases, as people sought alternatives to centralized social media apps controlled by billionaires like Musk and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg.

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Edit: Link to the kickstarter

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (15 children)

Not open source

There are lots of good reasons to be upset with how Signal produces builds. And maybe Signal has no good reason why they keep opaque dependencies. But by every common definition of the term, Signal is open source. Being on FDroid is not the definition of open source.

Please don't gatekeep. There are better ways to criticize Signal. This is not one of them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (14 children)

If your releases include closed source blobs, then your software is closed source.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (13 children)

Following that logic:

Many popular Linux distros contain closed source blobs. Ergo Linux is closed source.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

@ExFed @jagged_circle you mean drivers for external devices ?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

@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.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

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.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 days ago

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

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