[carshodev]

Is there really no open source version of these that people can selfhost?

There are multiple free providers for AI moderation models (openai and xai), you can get a vps with 1tb of storage for pretty cheap, just setup an image optimizer/downscaler with Go or Rust so its fast and you can handle probably 10,000 people pretty easily.

I guess the main reason that discord is good is because of the centralization as it allows all your servers in one place and super easy link sharing and signup.

Decentralized social and chat should be present in this new era, clawbot showed that people are willing to spinup and selfhost useful things even if they are not overly technical. I think we could see a new wave of similar things happening for things like social media and chat.

[cedws]

I think you overestimate the capability and willingness of the average Discord user to go through that. Majority are not technical, they have no idea what self hosting is, what a VPS is, etc.

Also self hosting creates an issue of balkanization. Everybody will have to join everybody else’s server. Too much effort. The closest we can probably get is the Mastodon model.

[Zambyte]

You underestimate how much people hate age verification. Literally everyone I know on Bluesky that uses Discord has been talking about wanting an alternative. I'm slowly getting people on Fluxer, which is the closest thing to a Discord clone out there.

[david_shaw]

I agree that most Discord users do not want to self host. However,

> Everybody will have to join everybody else’s server. Too much effort.

This is already the model. Everyone has "their own" discord server, and you have to connect to it manually via an invite. That would actually be the exact same usage.

[pjl0]

You can connect directly to other discord users with no mutual servers. You can make chats and calls with users with no mutual servers. You can make group chats and group calls with users with no mutual servers. You can screenshare in these calls, stream to the group, etc, all just by being Discord users. No need for a server.

[Zambyte]

All of that is perfectly reasonable to support with a federated model.

[david_shaw]

Those are all great points. I totally agree.

[spartanatreyu]

Clicking a link (discord's approach) is very different from downloading a different piece of software and setting up a new account for each gaming group

[david_shaw]

Totally. I meant if people were all using the same replacement software, that joining groups' different "servers" would be the same experience.

Absolutely agree that if everything splintered, it would be a mess.

[zdlovett]

Normally I'm a lurker here but I gotta put in a good word for this project: https://sharkord.com/

It's still super early in development but it's already been amazing to have a self-hosted 3rd space for my friends and myself. The "living room not a convention center" focus is exactly what I find missing in most of the other options.

[opan]

There is Mumble for a free software option similar to TS. Works well in my experience. I've hosted a server for friends for around a decade now I think.

[carshodev]

yeah i remember using mumble over 10 years ago for game chats, but you cannot compare the UX and design of something like mumble to discord for the average person.

[m4rtink]

Jitsi does usable conferencing and Matrix is mainly text but has some support for calling or integration with Jitsi.

IMHO the bits all exists, it just needs to be all integrated in to a distribution that people can easily setup.

[tcfhgj]

These days Matrix does even have native support for conferences

[tomasphan]

some of OSS if you search for it:

* https://github.com/jkleincodes/echo

* https://github.com/ericellb/React-Discord-Clone (not maintained anymore)

* https://github.com/SashenJayathilaka/Discord-Clone