How to save the Japanese learning community
Even big figureheads in the Japanese learning community still recommend
other learners to join their discord servers to ask questions
and otherwise talk about languages.
For example, on the Itazura website even today despite many complaints
you can still find a link to so-called DJT Discord.
It is needless to say that this situation upsets people in the community,
but I want to believe that the main reason behind the discord links remaining on Itazura
is simply that the site hasn't been updated in a long while.
Otherwise, it would literally mean that the owner wants us to install
malware
on our computers and become victims of the mass surveillance.
Most of us already know that discord is malware, and many refuse to use it. Unfortunately, while some simply avoid discord and don't search for alternatives, in general the need for a safe place to gather among Japanese learners remains unsatisfied.
Why should discord be avoided
I really hope that it's not the first time you read about discord being malware, silently logging and tracking every action performed within their app. There has been already published thousands of articles and videos describing this issue.
Here are some of them:
- https://spyware.neocities.org/articles/discord.html
- https://stallman.org/discord.html
- https://cadence.moe/blog/2020-06-06-why-you-shouldnt-trust-discord/
- https://web.archive.org/web/20230129105117/https://old.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/8lkb5s/friends_dont_let_friends_use_discord_the/
The key points:
You are forced to run a nonfree client program, so the source code is not available. You can't study or modify it.
Discord collects your personal data.
Discord knows what programs you have open.
Your data, including messages, can be sold to anybody. The government potentially has access to all of the information that Discord collects about you.
Censorship.
New and clearer rules for prohibited content Our Community Guidelines now officially prohibit misinformation and disinformation, malicious impersonation, and better define spam and platform manipulation.
Anything that's not the official narrative will be now censored.
The solution
Long story short, our chat app should be:
- Libre Software. It should respect the users' freedom.
- Federated. Choose where your data lives, so you own it. Because one central authority doesn't control every single bit of information that goes through it, you can avoid censorship.
- No email address or phone number is required for registration. These are nice to have for more privacy respecting experience.
Personally, I would recommend Matrix. It meets the requirements, and it's very easy to use. If you want to connect to our Japanese chat, follow this link. Unlike DJT discord, I can guarantee you that our members understand immersion learning, and many of them have achieved great results doing AJATT and other similar methods.
How do I register
Unlike discord, matrix users can choose a server (node) for registration. It's similar to the way you can choose to register your Email account on airmail.cc or on waifu.club or even on mail.ru. I have selected a few servers that have open registration. I also made sure that the sites don't use Cloudflare.
What matrix client can I choose?
If you're lazy, you can connect to our chat via your browser, but I still recommend you to install a desktop client. You can find a list of matrix clients here. All programs listed there should run on any GNU/Linux distro. And if you're still using Windows, make sure that you don't access Matrix/Element from a Windows machine because even the most secure messenger can't save you from Microsoft surveillance. Only log in from an OS that runs 100% free software.
What if I'm a phone poster?
Your only option is Element for Android. Though other clients do exist, I don't know any worth recommending. Make sure to run a matrix client on a phone without Gapps or other proprietary software installed that can potentially breach your privacy.