that’s because this “challenge” is the type of thing for college kids to do for the lulz. the author believes that this is interesting to people outside their social sphere.

they are incorrect. at least in my opinion.

i think he meant to respond with that to another thread or commenter. likely just a mis-post.

ive done some digging to see if there’s some glaring issue I’m just not aware of. i found no evidence whatsoever so far of anyone using this device or saying these phones or devices are used for anything criminal or nationalist activity.

i just found a lot of linux nerds or FOSS nerds who seem to have varying opinions on whether they like it or the company or not.

in a world so absolutely brimming with click bait headlines and buzzwords being used to incite conflict, let’s not rally behind every cry of vilification without first checking that it’s actually villainous. you know?

we need to make sure we don’t fall into the same habits those headlines aim to force us into.

or well, thats just my feelings on it.

we’re having a conversation. who’s paying for things? what on earth are you even talking about?

thank you for confirming that even you have no idea what the hell you’re actually angry about. that’s pretty funny.

good luck with whatever you think you’re fighting against 😅

isnt that just a FOSS operating system for phones and tablets?

if its something more sinister, I’d be interested to learn it.

but what specifically makes this racist? I’m failing to see any example of it in the text you initially showed.

…racist? ive read that description in the screenshot twice. what part is specifically racist?

usually mint is focused on because it’s a simple enough ui for those new to linux. it doesn’t mean other distros are forgotten. it’s usually just for those not familiar with linux or coming from a different OS.

another will pop up in it’s place. these anti-piracy groups are fighting against something that can’t be stopped.

good lord, I could not do that job. that is so messed up.

holy crap. i went in with an open mind and it just got worse and worse as I kept reading.

i hope whatever AI firm commissioned this propaganda at least paid well.

weirdly my first thought just now was “wouldn’t it be cool if we could federate this somehow”. have a single (or a handful) of secure communication protocol(s) so that users could just choose the app with the UI they liked best and be done with it.

…then I realized I just essentially invented matrix and that already exists. lol. but yeah the issue is getting everyone to the same place.

its impossible to get some people to move from a platform they’ve used for over a decade in most cases.

nope I fully understand it. completely. and when they removed it, they removed my need for their app. as suddenly I went from being able to message everyone, to being able to message just 2 people.

it no longer fits my needs. so it isn’t used by me or by both of the people that were leftover after the sms turn off. as they had the same reaction I did.

so that’s that, I suppose.

it does make sense, actually. as they had that function when the app was first around. why do you think they have you sign up with a phone number in the first place?

also, it’s not on me to solve every technical hurdle you make up. if you want to learn more about Spam Prevention methods, I can point you to some resources if you’re truly interested.

I’m sorry that not everyone thinks Signal is a god app worthy of worship. its a message app, and its not the only one. it does stuff some people don’t like. including me.

no we are all on different platforms. half are on android and half are on apple which is irritating. so sadly the sms is our best tool to hit everyone at the same time with any urgency.

we used to be fine with candles and stinky lanterns filled with perfectly good kerosene too. who tf needs electricity? 🤨

on the topic of family connection, I can’t speak to your family experience. only my own. and our family group chat is pretty damn active.

Spam prevention? Ive got spam on Signal. Having your phone number be the barrier of entry doesn’t make Signal a flawless app.

and considering i can just plug a google voice number in, I’m not sure its the best barrier.

Signal is not capable of SMS and quite a lot of people still use it.

yes, i know SMS isn’t secure at all. but if the option is “keep in touch with close family” or “don’t keep in touch” they will probably choose the former if they want to keep that.

using the phone number is still a pretty unnecessary risk, imho.

there’s no real need for it any longer.