Hi all, I'm looking for some Discord alternatives. All I really need is the ability to do voice calls and screen shares. It can be either via DM or channels, I only need to it be able to speak with a few friends that'd be open to moving over. I've tried Matrix/Element but there doesn't seem to be a screen share function. There's Teamspeak but I don't think that's FOSS nor does it support screen shares as well. Any other options? Basically just voice calls and screen shares is all I need, I couldn't care about channels or servers or whatever other functionalities Discord has put into their app. Thanks!

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[–] 22 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (13 children)

The Matrix network is the closest you're likely to get to Discord's features.

Nheko is a Matrix client that I believe can do screen sharing.

Eventually, whatever Matrix clients support Element Call might be what you want, but it's in beta for now.

Jitsi Meet might also be worth a look, although its (optional) end-to-end encryption was too demanding for some laptops last time I tried it.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Are there any limitations with the screen sharing for these alternatives? Audio support or resolution adjustment? I thought I've seen mentions of lack of something but I may be thinking of Discord on linux

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    discord doesn't do audio on Linux

    matrix clients that support pipewire should do fine

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (3 children)

    Is there at this point such a thing as managed hosting of Matrix? Like i pay somebody to install, keep upgraded and in general maintain a Matrix server with bridges to all the major things, then i just use it along with my small pool of users? Even further, would that be advisable?

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  • [+] 18 points 3 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago)
    [–] 12 points 3 years ago

    All I really need is the ability to do voice calls and screen shares.

    Have you looked into Jitsi?

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  • [–] 11 points 3 years ago (7 children)

    I would recommend using Matrix. But if you really want the "Discord experience" than I would suggest Revolt.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (5 children)

    I've never had revolt come close to working; it always felt really buggy. It also seems abandoned looking at their GitHub, there's been no activity in over 7 months.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago (2 children)

    Where did you look at? The backend had a commit 2 days ago, the frontend rewrite 2 weeks ago. Looks active.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago

    Element for Matrix

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago

    Since everyone is only recommending self hostable options and no hoster, here is a new candidate:

    OpenTalk on tchncs.de

    https://talk.tchncs.de/

    It is also free and open source and the server is hosted by a german who takes donations.

    The also have a mumble (like Teamspeak but as you said without screenshare) and matrix instance running, which are great but not for your needs.

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago

    Jitsi, for sure

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  • [–] 6 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Signal. Works both on mobile and linked to desktop.

    It should also work on Element Web, but not desktop clients.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago

    Matrix using element for the client and element call or jitsi should do the trick

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  • [+] 4 points 3 years ago (3 children)
  • [+] 14 points 3 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 3 points 3 years ago* (1 child)

    You're not wrong, but in terms of a polished alternative to discord... Telegram is a pretty solid option. It's ultimately still better than Discord.

    Personally, I hope Telegram improves their privacy guarantees, or enough time passes that the true E2EE apps can "catch up" to the feature set and quality of the clients.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    It's been doing the exact opposite and implementing more targeted advertising after several previous monetization attempts (including a cryptocurrency integration) flopped.

    Similarly the feature set is increasingly locked behind "premium" paywall.

    It's headed in no good direction if you ask me.

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