For those that missed my previous posts, GAW.Social is a platform that I have put together using the open-source chat software called Matrix and their client app Element. It's similar to Discord or Telegram but anyone can install the server software and host their own infrastructure.
Been online for about a week now and everything is running smooth. Some people were having trouble registering at first but that should be sorted out now. The invite link can be found on the main page and will direct you to download the app or log in from your browser.
Edit: Ok, a little caveat. When you get to the account creation screen, if it has the domain as "matrix.org", you need to change it to "gaw.social" (no quotes). Trying to find the config setting to fix this.
A word about privacy: People understandably have displayed skepticism of this platform, which I expected. I should point out though that the reason I went with the Matrix software is because of its security model. Even as admin, I have no access to any user account info, but anyway, there is no personal info requirement, and everything is encrypted by default. All you need is a username and password, email optional, so that should alleviate any concerns people have about giving sensitive info.
I hope to see you there!
I've been working on this pretty much nonstop since last week. I posted an invite the other day but it didn't get a lot of views.
Well, now there's a website up too, so you can go to gaw.social and read about it and sign up, send your friends there too. Download the app or just run it inside your browser.
Hope you all enjoy it. I feel like this community desperately needs something like this so I decided to put it together and I'm pleasantly surprised with how smoothly it turned out. Check it out!
So I can't be the only one who wishes this community had a better platform for connecting with the other people we meet here. This site works similar to Reddit - great for posting news and comments, but not very good for having private conversations. The problem with Discord is that it's centralized and insecure, and they monitor conversations. Telegram requires a phone number to sign up and has other issues as far as security and privacy.
But I have found some open source software called Matrix that solves these issues. It is a federated network of peers called homeservers. Every homeserver is independent and private and sets their own rules for users and chatrooms. Groups can be either public or private and end to end encrypted. Private messages are always end to end encrypted so not even admins can read conversations they are not party to. There are already apps developed for all platforms, including mobile. It even supports voice and video calls.
I've spent the last few days setting up one such homeserver and I'm proud to say it's now up and running, though still pretty barebones. Need people to join and start adding content now. Go ahead and sign up and check it out. No personal info required. Email is optional.