https://snikket.org/blog/snikket-hosting-launched/
"We believe that the ideal online communication network is larger than any single organization, and that it should offer people freedom and choice. That’s why we built #Snikket on open standards (#XMPP) and everything we produce is open source, so that people can inspect it and run it themselves."
#Conversations
A beta version of 2.15 arrived at F-Droid. It looks great and now uses Material 3 theme. Be aware: To install this version you need to explicitly select it in F-Droid.
#monocleschat
A new minor version has been released which brings GIF import, compatible stickers and other improvements.
#Snikket
A new version has been released bringing fixes and improvements from Conversations to Snikket users.
And additionally: Thank you to all the people being active in the #XMPP community and offering more digital sovereignty for everyone (including the developers of all the other great XMPP apps, libraries, ...).
This means:
Users who do not want to use a beta version should be able to use the stable version in a few days (F-Droid needs to finish the build, signing and deployment process for all apps of the current build cycle before the apps are published).
Just a heads-up that #Snikket#Android has been pulled by #Google from the store. We'll work on restoring it once we figure out their (as usual) nonsensical complaints. Apologies to everyone affected. Please look at #FDroid and free yourself.
Today's excuse for delisting yet another #XMPP app?
"Your app is uploading users' Image information without posting a privacy policy link or text within the Play Distributed App."
@snikket_im
They de-listed a browser plugin I made and pulled my developer license, because I pointed out that, as data never leaves the users device, and I don't seek access to it; I don't need a data policy.
I personally feel that this is the optimal delivery and update methodology for future software distribution.
I've written about this at length in several articles, and more and more service daemons and client software are taking advantage of this form of direct from the developers method of delivery - not just Android apps.
#FairEmail is one such app that even states in the docs that this is the preferred method, although they do support a total of four methods:
Google PlayStore - crippleware due to google funding source restrictions. In all cases, this is by far the worst distribution point for software, if not with respect for the product that the developers want to deliver, but also with regards for the privacy of the users who are tracked, mined, and themselves repackaged as a quantifiable inventory item.
F-Droid custom Dev's repo - 2nd best option, because this is built with the developer's keys when the developer decides to push the product, and contain all feature sets that the developer chooses to include.
F-Droid repo - 3rd best option, since it is signed with F-Droid's keys and typically lags by some measure of time with respect to release dates, considering that F-Droid staff pushes these out on a best effort basis, according to the time they have available to do so.
Direct from the developers Git repo - This is the best method. They push a release and the next time you open the app you're notified of an update.
This is part of the magic of Slackware's philosophy too - Patrick and team don't church it up like most distro's do (Debian and AlmaLinux quite often, quite heavily wrt customizations, use Apache or Nginx HTTP servers as examples). Slackware tries to package up software as close to how the upstream intends it to be.
In earlier articles I've published on the topic, I've focused at times on a solution to a theme proffered by #Moxie_Marlinspike, who denigrates the open source model somewhat, for being at a great disadvantage when compared to that of proprietary solutions that can update and evolve protocols, APIs, etc., on a whim, because they're centrally managed and controlled by a single dictatorial source. Microsoft is one such classic example. You simply have NO CHOICE as to when you must allow your software to be EOLed, evolve, or update itself.
Using this model, however, where a central repo, or a distributed, CDN type of repo mirroring is deployed at the origin by the development team itself, FOSS has no problem upgrading even things like protocols as they evolve. Of course, it is ultimately up to the operators of the software to allow updates and the prerogative of the developers to establish the level of nags that users of the software will experience until they permit the updates to occur, but that's beyond the scope of the basis of advocating for this type of delivery model.
Okay I think I'm bordering on hijacking this thread, so I'll make a comment about these types of shennigans by Google, and how one one hand it's certainly a huge frustration, if not an impediment to being found and adopted by users, but moreover, a predatory practice by one of the most egregious violators of personal choice in the free market of consumerism and commerce.
It may hurt being pulled like that, but IMO, I don't think there's anything preventing the good folks behind #Snikket from pushing out the kind of crippleware that google wants them to, while at the same time pushing banner splashes in the app that explain just how fricken' useless it is under the terms necessary to distribute it via that medium, and encouraging users to install it instead by following the instructions at the #git_repo for a fully featured, #e2ee secure messaging platform.
IOW, there's always a silver lining - wear this dejection as a badge of honor and as the evidence to support the fact that you're on the right track!
#Libervia now supports SCRAM-SHA authentication. Previously relying on outdated Twisted #XMPP mechanisms, we experienced incompatibilities with recent servers like #Snikket. This issue is resolved, and Libervia can now operate with up-to-date Snikket instances.
"Our goal, as a not-for-profit organization, is to run this sustainably. Our business model is a simple one that does not involve data harvesting/mining. Instead we charge a simple fee per instance that you host with us... This fee pays for the servers, maintenance and other associated costs. Any extra revenue is used to further our goals - building and promoting sustainable communication solutions."
Full disclosure; I've done some paid work for Snikket, including drafting some blog posts. But I don't work for tech projects I wouldn't endorse anyway.
Many people affected by the recent blocking of #Telegram in 🇪🇸 Spain are looking for alternatives - especially decentralized ones.
#Snikket is one of those alternatives, and fully open-source. However, our Spanish translations are lacking, which can lead to a poor experience for our #hispanohablante friends.
If you think you could help us with translation, please reach out 🙂
@shuro Snikket is XMPP for people who don't know what #XMPP is 🙂
If you're happy with Conversations, continue using it! Snikket is more limited because it focuses on a specific use case.
If you want an easy-to-use messaging solution for a group of people (e.g. family, friends, clubs), plus companion apps and easy onboarding without forcing people to learn what a "XEP" is, then Snikket is here for you: https://snikket.org/start/
"…it became increasingly clear that, as easy as we make self-hosting, it’s always going to require skills or time that people don’t have. If we want everyone to be a part of this network, we can’t expect them all to learn Linux, SSH and system administration!"
Snikket seems to be broken big times. iOS users doesn't get all messages or images. At least it seems to only happen in MUCs. Logs doesn't say a word about it.
I've been using XMPP for almost two decades now. I have never had any issues like this before. I have my whole family on XMPP.. We rely on XMPP for all communication. I really don't know what to do. :/
"Look what happened to #XMPP", yeah, I use it every day without even thinking about it to receive calls and texts with zero friction thanks to the asskickery of #jmp and #snikket. The only thing I feel cut off from is Verizon. SUCK IT VERIZON
Chatting in our organization has been difficult so far because we don't have a real IM - not even on the board. That has now changed: we now #chat with #snikket#xmpp. This is quick and easy!💬