WEBVTT 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:06.720 You were the chosen one. 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:14.440 It was said that you would unite gamers all under one platform, not divide them. 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:22.240 Bring all services together under this one roof. Give me your Face ID. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:24.240 Please. Wait, what am I saying? 00:00:22.240 --> 00:00:28.520 There was a world before Discord, and with Discord announcing that it will be 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:33.200 demanding government photo ID from a significant number of users as a way to 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:37.560 verify their age, whether that's today or in the future, you can see that by 00:00:35.080 --> 00:00:41.400 this search trend, people are wanting to leave. They just don't know where to go, 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:46.360 which is why we are going to be breaking down the best Discord features into four 00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:50.480 different categories and identifying three solutions that could be a 00:00:48.160 --> 00:00:55.160 replacement for you. Depending on how you use Discord with some honorable 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:59.320 mentions along the way. At the end, we will see if any stand out across the 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:03.720 board as the best all-in-one replacement because, spoiler alert, you might have 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:08.560 to compromise on a feature or two in the name of retaining your privacy. But, you 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:14.360 know what I'll never compromise on? Are these segues to our sponsor. 00:01:11.360 --> 00:01:16.600 Previously on The Coding Chronicles. 00:01:14.360 --> 00:01:19.480 Where am I? In the realm of Boots THE BEAR DEV. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:24.360 ARE YOU SURE THIS IS THE BEST WAY to learn Python, Boots the Bear Wizard? 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:25.800 >> You will learn to code the hard way. My 00:01:24.360 --> 00:01:29.160 name is Boots. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:34.360 Watch to the end for a new episode. 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:38.400 The four categories that we have decided to focus on today were what we deemed 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:43.680 were Discord's most important offerings for most people. That's voice calling, 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:47.840 text channels, community, and usability. Obviously, there are other important 00:01:45.640 --> 00:01:52.840 features like forums and screen sharing, customization, and hey, maybe even the 00:01:50.240 --> 00:01:57.040 shop if that's your bag. But, these four strip Discord down to its roots and 00:01:55.080 --> 00:02:00.720 highlight why it ended up dominating the market in the first place. So, let's 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:03.960 start with probably the most important one on this list, voice calling. Whether 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:07.240 it's with your close friends or strangers in a community server, our 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:11.360 three programs that we're going to highlight need to prioritize clear 00:02:09.160 --> 00:02:16.240 communication first with minimal drops or stutters. And Steam Chat is a real 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:21.000 contender here, featuring high enough bit rate for a casual conversation, 00:02:18.320 --> 00:02:24.880 group voice calls, and even channels for these calls if you want to set up 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:29.040 separate chats for multiple teams. The biggest complaint among Steam Chat users 00:02:26.760 --> 00:02:33.840 is that it has a bit of a higher latency than Discord, meaning while your calls 00:02:30.720 --> 00:02:36.640 are basically in real time, there is a 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:41.080 bit more of a delay. Which can be awkward. Like that. 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:46.400 For the best audio quality, you guys should check out Mumble. It's kind of an 00:02:43.160 --> 00:02:48.120 OG and its UI also kind of shows it. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:51.000 Like Discord, you can join multiple friends servers if you want to hop 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:55.400 between different friend groups, and it even features in-game overlays to see 00:02:53.000 --> 00:03:00.519 who is chatting. Unlike Discord though, Mumble has positional audio. So, if you 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:03.840 want to hear where your friends are in game. The catch? 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:07.920 Hopefully one of your friends likes being a server admin because while there 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:11.160 are guides to help, the setup process requires you to get your hands dirty. 00:03:09.320 --> 00:03:14.880 TeamSpeak can also require users to get their hands dirty, but it is a lot 00:03:13.320 --> 00:03:19.959 easier than Mumble and is probably the closest looking to Discord out of these 00:03:17.320 --> 00:03:23.880 three. But, don't think that means it'll be an easy adjustment as it behaves 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:29.400 completely different. Being a voice chatting focused software, you have to, 00:03:26.040 --> 00:03:31.160 for example, be in a voice call in order 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:34.160 to type text into the chat. Not to mention it's the first on our list where 00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:38.160 you might need to bust out your credit card. If you like being the server 00:03:36.239 --> 00:03:42.400 admin, you'll probably end up needing to buy a license before you can host more 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:47.640 than 31 friends. And speaking of friends, we need to talk about one of 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:49.760 Discord's biggest advantages, and that's 00:03:47.640 --> 00:03:53.560 community. While Discord is a bit confusing to start out for the first 00:03:51.200 --> 00:03:57.280 timers, There is no denying that having thousands of different servers and 00:03:55.240 --> 00:04:01.520 communities to easily join and be a part of is incredible. Whether it's a Linux 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:05.480 community to help you troubleshoot or even a financial advice group to help 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:09.480 you plan your retirement, there is probably a Discord server for just about 00:04:07.920 --> 00:04:13.520 anyone these days. As for our alternatives to the community aspect, 00:04:11.480 --> 00:04:17.600 TeamSpeak gets another mention here. If you're wanting to game with like-minded 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:22.960 individuals and probably go hard on the roleplay in Arma, TeamSpeak is perfect 00:04:20.359 --> 00:04:28.160 for that. Sure, it lacks persistent text chats or the forums like Discord has, 00:04:25.520 --> 00:04:32.919 but if I'm being honest, Discord forums suck. They often result in three people 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:36.960 answering the same handful of questions because of how terrible they are to 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:41.440 navigate, but let's get back on track. At the moment, TeamSpeak appears to have 00:04:38.760 --> 00:04:46.600 the greatest amount of people dedicated to their communities. But, other than 00:04:43.840 --> 00:04:51.200 TeamSpeak, that's it. In order for an application to have a community-focused 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:54.120 side, there needs to be community. 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:58.760 And while there are multiple applications that could be great 00:04:56.360 --> 00:05:03.480 community hubs or seem to have potential like Stote, Matrix, and Circle just to 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:08.520 name a few, until they see mass adoption from users, they will never really have 00:05:06.440 --> 00:05:12.080 the same community momentum Discord has captured. But, if you are looking for 00:05:10.640 --> 00:05:16.360 something that is focusing on text channels and the ability to send 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:19.919 messages, organize chats, and send memes with your small community or friend 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:24.120 group, those options I just mentioned are incredible for that. Matrix is one 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:28.680 that can be self-hosted, is open source, features end-to-end encryption, and 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:34.440 allows you to choose from a variety of client-side interfaces because Matrix is 00:05:32.640 --> 00:05:37.720 actually just the back end of this messaging service. To connect to 00:05:35.960 --> 00:05:42.800 someone's host server, you will need a separate app like Element, FluffyChat, 00:05:40.200 --> 00:05:47.520 or Cinny, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, but you can mingle 00:05:44.919 --> 00:05:50.960 with users from any one since they all run on Matrix. 00:05:49.320 --> 00:05:54.960 Element is the one that's recommended most often though, and I'm going to have 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:59.720 more on that a little bit later. Revolt, formerly known as Revolt, seems to have 00:05:57.400 --> 00:06:03.920 a lot of potential. It is in its very early stages, but features community-run 00:06:01.760 --> 00:06:08.640 servers, and of course, private DMs and group chats, which they boast very 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:12.400 proudly are secure and confidential. There are some people online expressing 00:06:10.520 --> 00:06:17.200 doubt and concern for Revolt, whether it's because of the name change or just 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:21.160 the small user base, but I think it's a program that is worth trying just to see 00:06:19.520 --> 00:06:26.160 if it fits your friend group's needs. Our final text-focused application is 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:30.000 Slack, which What? Corporate software, right? But hey, if 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:33.840 you're willing to live with some of the tradeoffs that come with using the free 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:37.800 tier, you can have a great organized chat experience with threaded 00:06:35.320 --> 00:06:42.080 conversations, as well as as many free users as you want. And besides, if you 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:46.120 really need more than 90 days worth of message history or larger group calls 00:06:44.080 --> 00:06:51.240 and more app integrations, their monthly plan is cheaper than what Discord Nitro 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:54.720 costs, which is kind of funny, right? Cuz you know that if you tried to 00:06:52.440 --> 00:06:58.120 convince your Nitro-using friends to pay for Slack, that they would look at you 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:02.280 like you're crazy while their profile badge does a little spin in the background. 00:07:00.680 --> 00:07:06.160 Yeah, it's kind of a touchy subject, which I'm going to go on a small tangent 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:11.120 before I get to our final category. I think going a paid route is a totally 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:14.440 valid option. If you or anyone in your friend group really doesn't want to be 00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:18.400 the server admin worrying about self-hosting or maybe even accidentally 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.360 giving out your IP because of the peer-to-peer nature of some of these 00:07:19.919 --> 00:07:25.600 applications, I think it could be worth paying money 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:28.800 to a service if everyone in your group can get behind it. What I would 00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:32.919 encourage though, is if you and your friends are upset at Discord and the 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:37.200 whole age verification change, you should cancel any paid services you are 00:07:34.960 --> 00:07:41.720 using with them, whether that's Nitro or server boosts. The only chance that we 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:46.320 have at these big companies realizing that what they did doesn't really sit 00:07:43.440 --> 00:07:50.000 well with us, the users. We need to hit them where it hurts, man, in their 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:53.600 earnings. Back onto our final category though, I don't even think I would put 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:58.400 Discord in the top three here. That's ease of use or usability. Sure, most of 00:07:56.760 --> 00:08:03.320 you are probably used to it by now, but when it was first introduced, I remember 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:05.880 seeing a ton of guides online about how 00:08:03.320 --> 00:08:10.000 to navigate the interface. Heck, today I even get confused when I can't find my 00:08:07.840 --> 00:08:15.640 DMs before I remember I have to click on the little Discord logo in the top left. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:17.720 Saying that, if you must have the exact 00:08:15.640 --> 00:08:22.320 same interface as Discord because you're used to it, Fluxer, which is about 2 00:08:19.960 --> 00:08:26.480 months old, is basically a Discord clone. It's currently in beta, but is 00:08:24.640 --> 00:08:30.480 open source and even allows people to self-host their servers on their own 00:08:28.280 --> 00:08:35.200 hardware, which unlocks more features than the non-self-hosted free tier 00:08:32.680 --> 00:08:39.800 servers. A big downside is no mobile support. Yet, their website does show a 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:44.600 screenshot of what appears to be a mobile app, so fingers crossed on that 00:08:41.760 --> 00:08:48.360 one. Matrix pops up here again, but your experience will vary depending on what 00:08:46.560 --> 00:08:51.920 client interface you're using. For Element, it's pretty straightforward and 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:56.200 most people will probably not have too much difficulty getting it to work. And 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:59.920 there's even Comment, which looks a lot like Discord if you are wanting that 00:08:58.040 --> 00:09:03.400 again. This really does highlight the strengths of something like Matrix, 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:07.680 allowing people to have different experiences based on preferences, but as 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:12.160 someone who is currently going through the Linux challenge right now, sometimes 00:09:09.880 --> 00:09:16.440 having 30 different ways to do something can introduce choice paralysis and ends 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:20.400 up doing more harm than good. Whether it's guides looking different because 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:24.839 you're using a different client app. The final choice for ease of use is Steam 00:09:22.800 --> 00:09:29.600 Chat. Hey, it's back again, which at first glance is confusing, but when you 00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:34.440 stop thinking of it as a Discord replacement and more of a standard 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:38.400 messaging app, it becomes second nature. Having tabs for different group chats or 00:09:36.280 --> 00:09:43.360 individual messages is convenient and fast. And when you fully utilize the 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:48.560 Steam integration, cuz you know, it's Steam, being able to invite and join 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:52.560 people's games with ease is a huge plus. With all of that in mind, if we compare 00:09:51.040 --> 00:09:57.480 all of the applications that we looked at today, I personally think that the best 00:09:55.160 --> 00:10:02.080 all-in-one replacement is probably Steam Chat. Great voice communication, great 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:06.040 chatting experience, integrated well into gaming with the biggest downside 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:10.920 being the lack of a massive community outreach or a hub. But all of these apps 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:15.440 struggle with that because once again, if people aren't on these applications, 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:19.760 it makes it really difficult to mingle. Now, I am very aware that we probably 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:23.080 missed an almost infinite amount of other communication apps. So, please let 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:26.440 us know down below what some of your favorites are. And maybe if there's 00:10:24.760 --> 00:10:32.440 enough, we can compile them all into a part two. There is some good news on the Discord 00:10:29.680 --> 00:10:36.280 side. Discord did cut ties with Persona, which was the controversial service that 00:10:34.160 --> 00:10:40.920 was going to be used for this face ID verification system, as well as delaying 00:10:38.920 --> 00:10:44.680 the initial rollout date for this. So, public pressure does work. Just remember 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:48.160 that for when the next time they try something like this. Just like I will 00:10:46.400 --> 00:10:53.240 always try to do a better and better segue to our sponsor. 00:10:51.400 --> 00:10:55.680 Quickly. Quickly. Shh. It's about to start. 00:10:56.680 --> 00:11:00.839 The Coding Chronicles. 00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:07.160 Wait, so you want me to believe you're the real Boots The Bear Wizard and he's 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:07.160 not? 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:15.240 Yeah, okay. Larry. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:21.320 Larry? No, no, no, no, no, NO. THE COUNCIL SAID YOU WERE DE- DEPRECATED. 00:11:18.680 --> 00:11:25.760 NO. I'M STILL current enough to stop a 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:31.320 deceitful script kiddie from twisting the magic of this realm. 00:11:29.160 --> 00:11:36.800 Boot.dev is the best way to learn to code. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:42.200 By making it fun, helping you build real projects, and mastering back-end web 00:11:39.520 --> 00:11:42.200 development. 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:52.080 Because the smartest way to learn is to make sure you're never bored. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:56.680 Plus, you can use Codecademy to get 25% off your first month or year. NOW, 00:11:54.040 --> 00:11:56.680 BEGONE. 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:03.120 UH SO, he's gone? For now. Something 00:12:00.520 --> 00:12:09.040 tells me we haven't seen the last of Larry the lion lizard. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:12.880 Lizard? Wizard. Ah, yeah. Uh your brain wants to go Come. Wha- What are you 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:17.360 doing? I'm going to find my hat. 00:12:19.280 --> 00:12:25.560 If you guys enjoyed this video, go check out the time that we compared other VR 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:28.960 headsets to the unreleased Steam Deck. It was kind of a similar vibe where we 00:12:27.040 --> 00:12:33.320 looked at the pros and cons of each of the headsets on the market and compared 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:35.720 them to what the Frame has to compete with.