Why are users, especially technically-inclined ones, hellbent on using these proprietary services? Throw them all out if they are going to be this way since there are great alternatives. The last thing communities should do is build UIs around these types of services instead of building ones for systems/services that aren’t so hostile towards users.
Analogous to the metaphor you just made, the "better solution" is not talking to people. I'm all-for open and secure communication protocols, but the layman isn't going to agree if you cast it as an all-or-nothing mentality.
You can a) set up a gateway/bridge or b) contribute to those platforms to make them better so users like them more as the open+secure options are more worth the long-term investment into instead of making users choose between privacy/security or having the ability to communicate.
For 99% of normal people, neither A nor B is something they are capable of. If the success of free alternatives is contingent on this behavior, we might as well throw in the towel now.
If the average Discord user read your comment, I think it would reaffirm their assumption that free Discord alternatives aren't for them.
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Why are users, especially technically-inclined ones, hellbent on using these proprietary services? Throw them all out if they are going to be this way since there are great alternatives. The last thing communities should do is build UIs around these types of services instead of building ones for systems/services that aren’t so hostile towards users.
Because that's where people are.
— Willie Sutton, career bank robber, caught 11 times
Perhaps there’s a better solution out there
Analogous to the metaphor you just made, the "better solution" is not talking to people. I'm all-for open and secure communication protocols, but the layman isn't going to agree if you cast it as an all-or-nothing mentality.
You can a) set up a gateway/bridge or b) contribute to those platforms to make them better so users like them more as the open+secure options are more worth the long-term investment into instead of making users choose between privacy/security or having the ability to communicate.
For 99% of normal people, neither A nor B is something they are capable of. If the success of free alternatives is contingent on this behavior, we might as well throw in the towel now.
If the average Discord user read your comment, I think it would reaffirm their assumption that free Discord alternatives aren't for them.
Versus myself that would see that there is a security/privacy concern & would immediately see if I can use an alternative.
No. There aren’t.