Just wanted to point out a few #FreedomRespecting / #libre apps* which are paid on the Play Store/App Store, and gratis on #FDroid.

They enable their developers to make a living. Yes, some aren’t solo projects, they have small paid teams.

• The #XMPP clients #Conversations, #Cheogram, and #MonoclesChat
• #OsmAnd, the very powerful offline-first map which uses #OpenStreetMap for map data, #WikimediaCommons for photos, #Wikipedia for information, and #Wikivoyage for travel guides. Also available as a gratis demo which has limited map updates and no Live updates. F-Droid has the full version, completely gratis.

Hopefully this proves that it’s very much possible to make money writing anti-monopolist software…so people can stop making bullshit claims to the contrary.

Do you know of other examples?

*Sometimes known by the misleading terms #OpenSource or #FOSS

#contraLibre

@alisynthesis @JohnnieMac @NebulaTide

Y’all, using #Signal is a Bad Idea™, all because it is a centralized platform. Centralized platforms are

• vulnerable to changes in policies and management (see Twitter/X, Tumblr, Reddit, YouTube, …)
• vulnerable to downtime (see #Cloudflare and #AWS outages making large parts of the Internet inaccessible)
• at greater threat of backdoors, DDoS, and government pressure, since there’s much more to be gained than targeting smaller servers on federated networks

You’re using a federated social network, the Fediverse. Similarly, I use a federated platform as my primary means of chat and AV calls, and recommend you all do the same too. It’s called #Jabber a.k.a. #XMPP.

The easiest way to start using it is to install Quicksy (Play Store, App Store, F-Droid) or Prāv (Play Store, F-Droid). They use your phone number for registration and contact discovery, similar to Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp.

You also have many apps and servers which do not need a phone number - see my quick and easy user’s guide to XMPP to learn more.

And, as with anything I recommend, they are #FreedomRespecting software a.k.a. #libre software (sometimes mistakenly called #OpenSource or #FOSS) - the only kind of software that is trustworthy and resistant to monopolies.

PS I don’t know who needs to hear this, but please do better than just following the herd and installing whatever the people in your circle did. That’s how every abusive centralized big tech platform gets its power.

#contraXMPP

@bestsoln We should move off #GoogleMaps…but not to #MapMyIndia.

The best map is made by the community and owned by the community - like #OpenStreetMap. The best software is transparent, monopoly-free, and respects the users’ software freedom - i.e. #FreedomRespecting / #libre / #opensource software, such as #CoMaps, #OsmAnd, #OsmAPP, #MapComplete, etc.

Instead of investing in yet another privately-owned platform, we should invest in the aforementioned.

MapMyIndia could have joined the hundreds of other companies who have built their maps atop #OSM data, allowing them to benefit from the collective investment and helping improve OSM for the rest of the world.

I feel for this user - I’m a fellow ADHD sufferer and their distress is all too clear to me - and I tried to help them in the replies.

But on the other hand, I’m utterly enraged at the broader problem, and all the people who aren’t taking action today, choosing instead to wait until the water is past their neck.

This is the latest example of why we shouldn’t use #nonfree / #proprietary / #restricted and #centralized platforms like #Telegram, #Discord, #WhatsApp, #Signal, #Instagram, #Facebook, #Twitter, #LinkedIn, #Bluesky, #GitHub, and others.

There’s a whole-ass history of centralized platforms having the same class of issues. When are y’all gonna stop ignoring the problem and start exercising the power you have?

It’s as simple as quitting centralized platforms, switching to #FreedomRespecting #decentralized platforms like #ActivityPub and #XMPP, and telling others to do the same.

Create your communities there, and tell others about them. Move all your activity there. Onboard your friends and family. When there’s no other way to reach you, they will move.

Keep up the social pressure, and never relent.

Here’s a user’s guide to XMPP, for whoever needs it.

And developers? Get involved, improve the protocols, the clients, the servers…heck, I’m pretty sure a lot of features and fixes are popular/longstanding enough to make it feasible to crowdfund your patches!

#FreeSoftware #Libre #OpenSource #contraXMPP

I know many people who are aware of the importance of #FreedomRespecting software, data, and culture - and the related issues of digital sovereignty and privacy.

Paradoxically, a lot of these people also participate in, or even maintain, communities hosted on #nonfree / #proprietary / #restricted or #centralized platforms like #Telegram, #Discord, #WhatsApp, #Signal, #Instagram, #Facebook, #Twitter, #LinkedIn, #Bluesky, #GitHub, and others.

To state the obvious, each community which chooses a proprietary platform - or bridges to it - is also giving another reason for others to be on that platform. It’s reinforcing network effect.

Conversely, if these communities chose to move to free platforms, their members would be forced to move as well. In other words, these communities have the opportunity to push for change on a massive scale.

Sure, you have to reach out to people on proprietary platforms, if that’s where the majority are. But you cannot be stopping there - you must have a strategy to move people away from proprietary platforms to free platforms.

To give the example of #OpenStreetMap -

• I announce events on free platforms sooner
• I remind people on proprietary platforms that they should join the free platforms to get notified earlier
• After each event, we invite people to our #XMPP channel, which is not bridged to any other platform.
• All organizational talk takes place on our XMPP channel, which is not bridged to any other platform.
• I minimize my participation on proprietary platforms, and communities which bridge to them. The bulk of my activity happens on free platforms.
• I have never submitted data to Mapillary or KartaView, because their clients and servers are proprietary. All my contributions go to #WikimediaCommons and #Panoramax.

So to the people who are choosing - and therefore promoting - proprietary platforms, I ask…

How do you think things are going to change, if everyone keeps choosing what is easiest for them, and keeps choosing, supporting, and promoting proprietary platforms?

What part are you playing in making things better? Or are you just going to go with the flow of the world, even if you know it to be wrong?

They don’t like answering these questions, but I invite them to find the integrity and courage to answer them all the same.

Or, to find the integrity and courage to make the obvious change and do the obvious right thing.

People hate it when I bring this up. Sorry, but my conscience dictates that I speak up for what is right. Silence is complicity, and it gets us nowhere.

#FreeSoftware #Libre #OpenSource #OpenData

@lokjo Thank you for using and prominently crediting #OpenStreetMap data. Each product using and crediting it creates more awareness and more incentive for people to improve it.

From what I’ve been able to see, #Lokjo is not currently #FreedomRespecting / #Libre / #FreeSoftware (a.k.a. “ #OpenSource “/“ #FOSS “). I consider #SoftwareFreedom to be a vital sign of the longevity and trustworthiness of any software.

Could you please say why Lokjo is restricted software?

Went to Noida Sector 18 yesterday to scout the venue for our upcoming mapping party.

I rely on the community’s donations to make ends meet, so if you like my contributions, support me on Liberapay!

First order of things was finding a place which could seat 10-15 people. There was a park with stone bleachers for seating, but it was in a terrible state. I mentally toyed with the idea of bringing a broom and sweeping the thing before we sit on it.

Fortunately, I found there was a pedestrianized street outside the park with lots of benches, including a big one that could seat around 15 people - perfect for us.

The pedestrian street was separated from nearby streets by rows of bollards. As I added these bollards, I was about to tag them as bollard=fixed on autopilot, when I realized that I was witnessing my first example of rising bollards in India.

In another first, a young man saw my OpenStreetMap India T-shirt and asked me about OpenStreetMap, rather than the far more common and paranoid question of “What are you doing?” or “Where (read: which government department) are you from?”

He was a software developer who needed map data for a project, and was weighing the differences between Google Maps and OSM. I invited him to the mapping party, and we exchanged phone numbers.

Later, I evaluated the nearby eateries, and finally ended up getting dinner at the DLF Mall of India - in the process adding many eateries in the area, and adding details for the mall’s food court.

Here’s my changeset for the day, made using #Vespucci. Took me around 90 minutes of active mapping.
Noida Sector 18 - add park details, 4 benches, 4 bollards, 5 restaurants, 9 fast food, cafe, pub, 2 shops, 6 fast food details, food court, ATM, 5 building levels, building, building part, police booth.

#contraMaps #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeData #LibreData #OpenData #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #India #Delhi #Noida

Now that both #MangroveReviews and #MapComplete support editing and deleting your reviews, I set about making some much-needed improvements.

My review of Agasi now also describes the ambience a little, and ends on a more positive note to accurately reflect my feelings.

My review of Manoj Nān Wālā also got some tweaks.

Both also got some new photographs on #WikimediaCommons and #Panoramax! Check out my recent uploads on Wikimedia Commons

I discovered that there is a slight caveat to how MapComplete handles edits of reviews, but I hope it will be fixed with time.

As always, I rely on the community’s donations to make ends meet. If you like my contributions, support me on Liberapay!

#contraReviews #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeData #LibreData #OpenData #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #India #Delhi #Food #Reviews

Please suggest some names for a community-run service like Disroot, but aimed at non-technical people in #India 🙏

The service focuses on #Federated and #FreedomRespecting * services, like #Fediverse , #XMPP , #NextCloud etc

The mission is to provide an accessible alternative to proprietary corporate spyware propaganda platforms.

Names in any Indian language are preferred, but English works too.

The name should be easy to communicate, verbally, to most Indians. Avoid words that can be confused for other words…

• a.k.a. #Libre / #FOSS / #OpenSource software

🧵 As planned, I ended up going to Hunger Strike. Years and years ago, me and my friends would go there after our theatre rehearsals in Lajpat Nagar. Would the food still be just as good?

This time I took photos of not only the food but also the menu, taking advantage of MapComplete’s menu photo upload feature + its Panoramax instance.

Read the review and check out the photos on MapComplete!

See the edits I made nearby on Changeset Map

Support me on Liberapay!

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #WikimediaCommons #FreeSoftware #Libre #FreedomRespecting #FOSS #OpenSource #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 I discovered this low-budget tandoori place in recent months and it quickly became a go-to for me. I was hoping to sample all their stuff before I wrote the review, but then I figured that would take too long, and that I could always write a separate review for the other items later…

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #WikimediaCommons #FreeSoftware #Libre #FreedomRespecting #FOSS #OpenSource #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 I was hungry, and didn’t feel like splurging on Woody’s Pizzeria again so soon, so I figured I’d walk to good old Hunger Strike for their classic tandoori momos (another place I’m planning to review!).

On the way I spotted this place called Döner Valley, which caught my eye by advertising falafel wraps.

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 Many years ago I had some terrific pizza at a place called Stoned Pizzeria, which boasted of being stone baked in a wood-fired oven. But it closed down, and I pined away for pizza of the same quality.

So imagine my surprise when I came across Woody’s Pizzeria in Guru Nanak Market (Lajpat Nagar 4), boasting of the same claims as Stoned. And it delivered! 😀

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 Next, I came across this Lebanese restaurant in Lajpat Nagar. I love making hummus and falafel at home, and I wanted to see what it was like at a real Lebanese place. It turned out to be an excellent albeit expensive treat! The food was quite a sight too - see the photos 🤤

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 My next review was for one of my favorite places in the city, Mohingā in Humānyūnpur. I had to cut a few details from my draft to fit into Mangrove Reviews’ 999 character limit.

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

🧵 My first review was Mr. Littīwālā in Mandāwalī, but I unwittingly submitted it as an anonymous review, and now it doesn’t appear under my name. Hopefully everyone can see it’s me from the writing style 😅

Read the review on MapComplete

#MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #FreeSoftware #FOSS #OpenSource #Libre #FreedomRespecting #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi #Food #contraReviews

Been adding restaurant ratings and reviews to Mangrove Reviews @mangroveReviews using MapComplete @MapComplete (and places to OpenStreetMap and photos to Wikimedia Commons, as usual)

I’ve written 6 reviews so far, and there’s more to come! Plenty of WIP drafts to finish 🙂

This really plays to my strengths, combining my love for

• writing,
• improving OpenStreetMap, free data, and freedom-respecting software,
• reviewing (as a child, I liked to review the theatre I watched with my parents…my parents and their theatre friends would often ask me for my review after the show, and would listen to me intently 🥺)
• …and trying new things to eat and drink!

If you like my open data reviews, photos, and places, please support me on Liberapay!

I’m unemployed, and I’d much rather help the people by improving the commons rather than enriching some CEO at a meaningless corporate job 🙂

PS - Ratings may look different between MapComplete and Mangrove Reviews. Mangrove Reviews stores ratings as a score out of 100, but whereas MapComplete displays ratings as fractional stars, Mangrove Reviews displays them as integer stars.

#contraReviews #MangroveReviews #MapComplete #OpenStreetMap #OSM #WikimediaCommons #FreeSoftware #Libre #FreedomRespecting #FOSS #OpenSource #OpenData #LibreData #India #Delhi

Inviting the #Fediverse to join another #Jabber / #XMPP channel I co-moderate - the Personal Protective Equipment channel. #PPE

Protect yourself from hazardous substances, #pollution, diseases ( #CovidIsNotOver !), #surveillance, police repression, and other threats. Or maybe just look cool and #cyberpunk.

Discuss cloth #masks, surgical masks, filtering facepiece (FFP) #respirators, reusable #elastomeric respirators (half-face or full-face), source control, powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), and more.

Discussion of #EyeProtection, #HearingProtection, #HeadProtection and similar also welcome.

You can join without a client or an account. Just visit chat.queer-spark.org/#/guest?join=ppe@conference.queer-spark.org

But for the best experience, I recommend using a proper client. The easiest way is to install Quicksy or Prāv on your phone, if you don’t mind using your phone number.

Otherwise, install one or more of the following clients, and use them to register an account on the conversations.im server (see providers.xmpp.net or compliance.conversations.im/old for more server recommendations) -

• Movim or ConverseJS - web clients, for those who don’t fancy installing anything
• Monocles Chat, Cheogram, or Conversations on modern Android devices. They’re paid on app stores, and free of cost on F-Droid.
• Yaxim or Bruno on old/low-end Android devices
• Monal or Siskin on iOS
• Gajim on Linux, Windows, and Mac
• Monal on Mac
• Poezio or Profanity in the terminal
• Convo on KaiOS/JioPhone

…once you’re set up, open this link to join the channel - invite.joinjabber.org/#ppe@conference.queer-spark.org?join (or join ppe@conference.queer-spark.org from your client)

If you’re new to Jabber/XMPP (e.g. coming from #WhatsApp #Matrix #IRC #Signal #Telegram #Discord etc), The Quick and Easy Guide to Jabber/XMPP explains why it’s the best communications platform we have, why it’s important that we push for it, and helps new users get started.

#BoostsAppreciated #Privacy #Federated #FreedomRespecting #Libre #OpenSource #FOSS

@Novlene #TorBrowser.

• It’s #FreedomRespecting / #Libre software, which is a nonnegotiable requirement for me to trust any piece of software.
• It prevents both websites and ISPs from learning about my browsing habits.
• It circumvents government #censorship.
• Even if you don’t need #privacy and #anonymity yourself, by using Tor Browser you are helping cover for activists, journalists, and other at-risk people who do need it.
• It’s #Firefox, with all the bad parts disabled. You can install all the usual plugins like Tree Style Tabs etc, although it’s not recommended.

Inviting the #Fediverse to join another #Jabber / #XMPP channel I co-moderate - the #BlackLivesMatter channel! Another initiative by the wonderful @maskedwitch

You can join without a client or an account! Just visit - https://chat.queer-spark.org/#/guest?join=blm@conference.queer-spark.org

But for the best experience, I recommend using a proper client. The easiest way is to install Quicksy or Prāv, if you don’t mind using your phone number. Alternatively, install one or more of the following, and use them to register an account on conversations.im (see https://providers.xmpp.net or https://compliance.conversations.im/old for more server recommendations) -

• Monocles Chat, Cheogram, or Conversations on modern Android devices (They’re paid on app stores, free of cost on F-Droid)
• Yaxim or Bruno on old/low-end Android devices
• Monal or Siskin on iOS
• Gajim on Linux and Windows
• Monal on Mac
• Movim or ConverseJS in the browser
• Poezio or Profanity in the terminal
• Convo on KaiOS/JioPhone

…when you’re set up, open this link to join the channel! https://invite.joinjabber.org/#blm@conference.queer-spark.org?join

If you’re new to XMPP (e.g. coming from #WhatsApp #Matrix #IRC #Signal #Telegram #Discord etc), this guide has everything you need to get started - https://contrapunctus.codeberg.page/the-quick-and-easy-guide-to-xmpp.html

#BoostsAppreciated #BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackPower #Federated #FreedomRespecting #Privacy #OpenSource #FOSS