this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2025
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I've never understood how or why this is an issue.
Shortly after Spez's petulant AMA, I ran across a link for Lemmy. org. It looked interesting, so I followed it. I poked around a bit, and it still looked interesting, so I picked an instance and created an account. I played with it a bit, then I went back and found a different instance that looked interesting and created an account there too. And I just kept reading and posting, just like I'd done on Reddit (and half a dozen different sites before that). Some instances came and went and I lost some accounts and created others and eventually settled into a few that I like best, and just read and posted and didn't leave. The end.
But it seems that every time I turn around, someone's going on about the hardships of moving to a different site and all the difficulties to be overcome and yadda yadda yadda, and I just don't get it. At all.
I've been trying for weeks to get friends to move to Signal. They don't have to delete WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to use Signal. Some of these people have got degrees in various computer disciplines and still won't even give it a try. I don't understand the reluctance to try new software either. If their job or uni asks them to use a piece of software they'll try it no bother but if a friend asks it's impossible. It's so strange.
I've had some luck getting some of my people to switch over by asking them to switch as a favor to me specifically (if they want to of course... And they can always just not use it if they end up not liking it).
Asking them in a more direct way like this seems to work, even if there's some reluctance at first. I tell them that it helps me out because I can also send stuff to them on my computer, which is true. Then there's the fact that I just really like all of the extra features it has (it's just a really good chat app in general), emoji replies, reply quotes, and read receipts to name a few.
If they need any other reasons, the last things I tend to get into are the privacy/security aspects.
Boom, all of a sudden they're using something better, and even though they're probably still using those other (shit) apps, at least I don't have to. You have to start somewhere, right?
Their life would be easier if you didn't use Signal, simple as.
I don't agree with it, but that's the reason.
There's an xkcd about this: https://xkcd.com/1810/
As the only Android user in a social group of iPhone users I felt this way too much.
You can forward yourself iMessages from a mac via bluebubbles
So just buy a mac. Got it.
I see some older mac minis on eBay for $50-75. But yeah you'd need a mac
I see
wall(Unix) but nottalk(Unix) orPHONE(VMS).Same here. About 25% have picked up Signal, the others haven't. Even though, like you say, they don't have to drop WhatsApp to get Signal. They aren't mutually exclusive.
And there's no rhyme or reason for who starts using Signal. Some of my most tech-illiterate friends jumped on it, because they were sick of Facebook and Meta. As I've if them said: it's not at all difficult to start using it. So it's all about motivation.
It didn't help that there are several other similar spots or there, like Viber. So some people who have multiple already installed don't want to get yet another. I get that. But Signal is such a solid and unobtrusive app
For the case of your job or school you either use what is required or you need to find another job or school. That might not be popular but it's the reality. Other relationships don't have that kind of pull. Maybe RCS could fix some of it but given what happened with XMPP I'm doubtful.
There's an easy solution for that.
F em.
I did that back in 2015 when I moved to discord for my primary social platform. "I am am leaving Skype and Facebook, anyone who wants to reach me can do so at discordname"
Did all my friends move? No, did I lose anything of value doing so anyway? Also no. The people who still wanted to message me either reached out to my family or myself for a phone number, or added me on discord.
You don't need all your friends to follow, what you need is enough people to leave the platform anyway that more people use that than other platforms in your friend group. That's why Skype died as fast as it did, a combination of instability and enough people deciding they didn't care who they left behind and just went to discord anyway.
It was a lot easier before signal ditched sms.
normie and/or bootlicker mind set.
Daddy asked me to do this, so obviously it is right and proper
My friend asked me to use Signal due to "privacy", I think he roof is starting to leak again, give him lip service and continue using whatapps as the "smart" move.