Rxiv_mechanobio (@Rxiv_mechanobio@biologists.social)
đ° "Water-induced buoyancy controls transient water storage in the mantle transition zone"
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.13820 #Physics.Geo-Ph #Dynamics #Matrix
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Rxiv_mechanobio (@Rxiv_mechanobio@biologists.social)
đ° "Graph neural networks uncover structure and functions underlying the activity of simulated neural assemblies"
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.13325 #Dynamics #Q-Bio.Nc #Matrix #Cs.Lg
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strypey (@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz)
The @matrix Foundation folks have responded to my posts about the issues listed in Wire's blog post, posting this link to a mid-2025 blog piece of theirs, entitled 'Dispelling myths and misinformation';
https://matrix.org/blog/2025/06/dispelling-myths/
I have yet to read this (watch this space). But I said that silence from them would be a bad sign, I thought it worth confirming that they have at least responded publicly to the criticisms raised by Wire and other critics.
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2026 (@2026@tjcasey.vivaldi.net)
Enshittification, Privacy Experiments and Excuses
It feels like weâre watching the real-time enshittification of yet another platform. If youâve been following the latest drama, you already know Discord is firmly in the hot seat.
The current flashpoint is Discordâs new identity verification system. The company initially claimed that age-verification data â including facial scans â would remain on-device. That reassurance didnât last long. Users were instead directed to Persona, a third-party identity provider that does receive a copy of that data.
Persona isnât just a neutral infrastructure provider either. The company is backed by Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel. Whether or not you think that matters personally, itâs information many users would have liked before being asked to hand over biometric data.
When questioned about the mismatch between their messaging and reality, Discord fell back on a familiar defence: this is just an experiment.
A Familiar Pattern
Weâve seen this story play out before. The browser wars were an early warning sign.
Remember when Brave Browser gained momentum as the privacy-first alternative? It didnât take long for the cracks to appear. Brave was caught injecting affiliate codes into URLs, quietly earning referral revenue from crypto exchanges without clear user consent. Thatâs without even touching the long-running controversy around its founder, Brendan Eich, and his short, turbulent tenure as CEO of Mozilla.
The pattern is depressingly consistent:
build trust â capture the user base â monetise that trust once leaving becomes painful.
Discord now feels like itâs entering that phase. And people are noticing.
If youâre tired of being part of someone elseâs product experiment, hereâs where users are actually drifting.
The Alternatives
Stoat (formerly Revolt)
Stoat has emerged as the privacy-hardcore option following its rebrand late last year.
Pros: No phone number. No email. Just sign up and chat. It feels like a return to the early internet, when joining a space didnât require handing over your identity.
Cons: Itâs still very much in beta. Mobile support is rough around the edges, and the user base is small â though growing.
Root
Root is the closest thing to a drop-in Discord replacement.
Pros: Familiar UI, polished experience, and features like server tabs. Itâs the easiest transition for people who donât want to relearn how chat apps work.
Cons: Itâs centralised and venture-capital backed. That doesnât mean itâs bad today, but it does mean the enshittification timer is already running. You may just be moving to the next Discord â early.
Fluxer
Fluxer is a fast-moving open-source contender.
Pros: Web-first, lightweight, and refreshingly low-friction. You can even create an unclaimed account with no email or password just to explore. Itâs AGPLv3-licensed, with self-hosting on the roadmap.
Cons: No native mobile apps yet (the web app works well), and itâs still under heavy development, so the occasional bug is part of the deal.
Matrix / Element
Matrix, usually accessed through Element, is the heavyweight of decentralised chat.
Pros: You control your data. No single company owns the network, and end-to-end encryption is standard.
Cons: Onboarding is still a hurdle. Choosing a homeserver, managing keys, and understanding federation quickly weeds out non-technical users. Powerful â but not beginner-friendly.
Steam Chat
The path of least resistance.
Pros: You already have Steam Chat installed. Voice quality is excellent, and it integrates directly with the games youâre playing.
Cons: Itâs barebones. No persistent communities, no real server structure, and none of the ecosystem features Discord users expect.
Enclave
Enclave often comes up in privacy-focused discussions.
Pros: Strong emphasis on secure, private connectivity and controlled access.
Cons: It feels more like a networking solution than a social space. Thereâs little of the casual, community-driven feel that gamers or creators tend to want.
The Network Effect Problem
Online platforms are always in motion. We moved from IRC to Skype, from Skype to TeamSpeak and Mumble, and eventually from those to Discord.
The technology is rarely the hard part â the people are.
A platform only works when your community moves with you. You can pick the most ethical, decentralised, open-source option available, but if your friends, raid team, or moderation crew stay put, you probably will too.
Right now, weâre in a fragmentation phase. The monolith is cracking, but the next standard hasnât emerged yet.
Where We Go Next
Discord doesnât disappear overnight. Platforms rarely do. They erode slowly â one âexperimentâ at a time â until staying feels worse than leaving.
If this moment made you pause, thatâs probably the point. You donât have to delete your account today, but you can start asking harder questions about who youâre trusting with your identity, your community, and your data.
So where are you experimenting instead? Are you testing Stoat, Fluxer, Matrix, or something else entirely â or are you waiting to see how far Discord pushes before you move?
Drop your thoughts below. The fragmentation phase only ends when people start comparing notes.
https://tjcasey.vivaldi.net/2026/02/17/the-great-discord-exodus-where-do-we-go-next/
#brave #chat #communities #discord #element #enclave #fluxer #gaming #matrix #root #steam #stoat
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soundsonthewaydown (@soundsonthewaydown@mastodon.social)
RE: https://fosstodon.org/@commetchat/116001313486144267
Discord alt. Very familiar layout with the addition of galleries and a calendar. So far just testing it out but I enjoy it a lot. Looking at Stoat too. In general we have options --- saying this just as Discord apparently has another leak... Will tryband tone it down with the privacy atuff, it's just been on my plate of late
#foss #matrix #commet #discord #privacy
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Brian (@Brian@veganism.social)
@nm upcoming vegan Matrix homeserver???????
đđđđđČâ€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïž #Vegan #Matrix #Hype #Veganism #Server #Host #Hosting #SelfHosting #Self_hosting #Homeserver
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TheZeldaZone (@TheZeldaZone@mastodon.social)
A couple of my #Discord regulars already switched to #Matrix with seemingly few issues. I am using t2bot.io to bridge the two for now.
Not ready to make a full move, but it is pleasant to have such an easy in-between for now.
When joining a new platform my first question will now be: "Can I just host this on my own and stop caring about the corporation/people who write this app?"
Or ideally just like, no new platforms. RSS, email, IRC. I guess fediverse is okay but, no more. This is enough.
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notes (@notes@mk.absturztau.be)
Today, I have found a glitch in matrix.org homeserver.
When you mention a blocked user. They will get notified about the message but they can't see it. I have tested and its real. But I feel that they will patch that glitch
#fediverse #matrix #community
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nm (@nm@veganism.social)
I'm checking out Matrix now. Handle:
@nume:veganism.chat
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nivex (@nivex@tenforward.social)
I really wish @matrix would go ahead and kill their Bifrost instance rather than leaving it in its current zombie state where it's keeping an s2s connection (over legacy IP no less) open to me but not doing any actual bridging.
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krafting (@krafting@mamot.fr)
Hey les mastonautes, comme en ce moment y'a pleins de discutions pour quitter Discord, je fais l'auto-promo de mon Espace Matrix/Element : #OutBreaker
C'est un espace de discussions général/gaming avec pleins de salons sur différents sujet, et un bot à la Mee6 également.
https://matrix.to/#/#outbreaker:matrix.org
(Les Espaces sont l'Ă©quivalent des serveurs #Discord)
Si tu connais pas #Matrix / #Element hésite pas a demander :)
Sinon, ici pour créer un compte matrix simplement : https://app.element.io
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camelwize (@camelwize@mastodon.social)
Those of you put off by Discordâs new ID verification plans and planning to move elsewhere, where are you planning to move? Matrix to me seems the most logical choice for being federated and having E2EE, but I feel like Stoat or Fluxer will probably end up getting more popular despite the lack of E2EE. Thereâs also Movim, which looks promising but lacks separate rooms. Hard to decide.. #discord #matrix #stoat #fluxer #movim
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