Struggles in migrating to FOSS software

Post 5

Tue Jan 5 03:47:16 UTC 2021

I've gotta say.. I'm really enjoying my time here in the 'smolnet.' And yes, I'm cringe and hip enough to use 'smol' unironically in an attempt to describe what this microcosm of text and SSH connections is. However, it's not all sunshine and roses, considering that this time I spend here in Circumlunar.Space is only part of my growing hobby in utilizing FOSS. If I could put it into a checklist:

haven't used a proprietary browser in years

I've at least dualbooted Linux for years now

I write code, host stuff and share information using FOSS tools whenever possible

I rep what I use and try to share it, mostly on Mastodon and by word of mouth with IRL people.

The problems

But there are some gaping holes in that wall of achievements. Namely? Discord, Steam, and Youtube. Before I really started getting into FOSS I spent years building up a decent little community that I still admin on Discord. I also use it for several other groups that I regularly participate in, as well as a few that I lurk. Don't even ask about my Steam library and it's total dollar amount over the years. When video games were my primary hobby - as in, above coding and reading and writing stuff, even - I shudder at the thought of where my 401K could be now if I applied all that surplus back then! And finally, Youtube.. because even though I don't partake in a lot of the major content that's on there (because it sucks) my few favorites are on Youtube alone. And aside from privacy concerns I don't see the point of using Invidious or another proxy, because you're still feeding the same beast. Youtube's still getting your bandwidth, your time, and your interest, even if you're wearing a digital mask by using a proxy app.

The solution(s)

In at least one case I'm going to see about contacting the Youtube content creator, who's very accessible, and seeing if I could at least set up a mirror site outside of Google's realm of influence for them. Especially if they get nuked by the algorithm again, which has happened in the past. Not all of their videos exist anymore, which is sad.

But regardless of that potential solution for ONE creator, it's not a 100% thing. If you can't tell, I'm a fairly all-or-nothing donut. Not the healthiest mindset but here I am. There's a significant gulf between the extant possibilities in this situation that are firmly grounded in reality, and what ideologically should be pursued. In other cases, I've looked into using Matrix or XMPP to start a migration from Discord. But I know I'll have fairly significant turnover, easily upwards of 80% of my total population would probably disengage because I'm not the only community they're a part of on the platform. Giving them yet another app, yet another login, and yet another set of notifications is a really easy way to lose people, judging from the results of my previous small-scale experiments in this direction.

So I guess the real question, the real ultimatum, is: does the community itself and its' continued existence, growth and engagement matter more than the concept that the community is built on a platform that could - in theory - be taken out from under them any day, for nearly any reason, without their input, control or even possibly a chance to back up their contacts and groups?

I'm still trying to figure out the answer to that.