I've made Stoat and Matrix accounts.

Matrix because it seems like the most logical choice - largest platform that's federated/decentralised and has end-to-end encryption.

Stoat because realistically being more similar to Discord I know more users are going to go there. So I thought I'd hedge my bets. Just hope it also gets end-to-end encryption, the lack of that on Discord was always one of my gripes with the platform.

Oh yeah I was looking at Fluxer too, though haven't made an account yet.

In the "What's coming next" section on the website it mentions opt-in E2EE. So maybe it is actually on the roadmap? Unless the listed features aren't actually on the roadmap or I'm misunderstanding.

I hope it is anyway, I accepted no E2EE with Discord just because every single person I knew was using it, but I'm crossing my fingers to not have to make that compromise again if possible.

I'll probably give Fluxer a try as well then and give all three a go and see which one sticks, hell maybe I'll end up on more than one.

I've only briefly dabbled with Linux, but during the time I did I felt similarly. I (not sure if autism or ADHD causing it) hyperfixate on one hobby for a bit, then move onto another, and repeat.

Based on what you said about viewing music as a kind of language that can be written down and understood, I actually want to suggest something maybe a little less conventional: Making music in a DAW (digital audio workstation - basically software to make music) on a computer. Depending on the keyboard you have, you may be able to plug it in and use it to control instruments in the DAW.

The reason I think you might actually enjoy getting started there is because it's a great way to dip your toes in different areas of music without much experience.

Your very first song attempt will likely have you learning about creating melodies, scales, chords, bass, effects, song structure, etc. You won't necessarily learn a LOT during that first song, but you'll learn a tiny little bit about many different musical things. And you'll get to experiment and make something fun in the process. Your first songs will probably sound a little goofy, but they'll be your very own creation - rather than just someone else's song you've learned to play.

As you make songs, you can search up tutorials on each of the things you want to learn, like "drum patterns for [genre]" or "how to make a catchy melody for [genre]", or "how to use reverb properly" or "how to structure a song", just search up things as you run into the need for them. Or even follow complete tutorials for making a song from start to finish, and then experiment and add your own spin on things.

With each song you'll get progressively better, and learn more about music, and all of these lessons can translate into learning musical instruments too. You'll get understandings of things like scales, and chords, and basic music theory. Then if you learn any instrument you can even record it and incorporate it into one of your tracks!

Just thought I'd suggest this because like you I very much view music as like a language to learn, and I struggled to learn various instruments with little initial success - but then found myself drawn to making music on my computer and have fallen in love with it!

I have horrible social anxiety so it's not just the phone, but I actually sometimes find phone calls/voice chats more scary than even face to face interactions.

Also weirdly enough I'm actually less anxious about a video call than a regular phone call. When I can't see the person I'm speaking to I feel under this immense amount of pressure to constantly be saying something - can't handle a pause or silence. So I get into a real panic.

Intermittent fasting is in my opinion more of a diet adherence tool than a weight-loss tool.

Calories in vs calories out at the end of the day, so the timing of said calorie consumption won't actually affect the rate at which you lose weight. But what it can do is make a calorie deficit a lot easier to adhere to, since you stop feeling much hunger during your fasted hours, and then get to feel like you're eating more during your non-fasted hours since the meals are spaced closer together.

So it doesn't make make you lose weight any faster, but it can make the process less unpleasant. I find it helpful for managing hunger levels when I cut.

19,483 here, and that's just my main email. 💀

For what it's worth I think it's just because I use email in my browser and with no notifications, so I don't feel the urge to clear my notifications like I would with a phone app. Also at some point once it got stupidly large I decided I wanted to see how high it could get just for fun.

I still remember my rather embarrassing attempts at learning K-Style back in the day. I learned a tiny bit, enough to actually have an advantage against the pray-and-sprayers that didn't yet know about it, but I was absolutely trash against any experienced player.

Was a blast though, part of me is tempted to check it out again, but I imagine there's fewer noobs to practice against and it's mostly more skilled players now.

Happy to be here! One of my goals for this year is to significantly decrease the amount of time I spend on centralised social media sites and apps.

I've made Mastodon, Piefed, and Matrix accounts.

Having been glued to the Reddit homepage for the better part of a decade, feels exciting to actually be somewhere new for a change!

Hey all :)

I worry about it being a single dev. Feels like that's going to be a lot of pressure and could cause trouble scaling the platform to accomodate for a growing userbase. That said, the more I read about Fluxer, the more I'm convinced it could be the most fitting contender to actually replace Discord, and not just be an alternative.

E2EE and federation are both in the roadmap, and if it gets those, you'd have the conveniences and bells and whistles of a Discord like app, with the security and freedom from interference of an app like Matrix. To me that sounds like the app a lot of us have been dreaming of.

Right now it's still just a pipe dream, especially with just one dev, but I'm hoping if it picks up in popularity that maybe it has a chance of coming to fruition.

I didn't know about Blorp on web, gonna check that out now, thanks, and I appreciate the awesome app!

I just realised typing itself almost functions like a fidget toy to me. Sometimes I just write a comment or type just for the sensation. Especially feels good to try and type as fast as I can.

Out of curiosity, does Fluxer have any sort of directory/server list that you're aware of? I've always been very reliant on Disboard to find servers with Discord, and both Stoat and Matrix seem to have similar sites but I couldn't find one for Fluxer. Wonder if I'm just searching poorly or if one hasn't been made yet.

Aside from wanting to use it to find servers I was curious to get a gauge on how many people are actually using it too.

Yeah been an on/off problem of mine for half my life now, something about both the nicotine and the ritual. I haven't really found anything to replace it with, chewing gum kinda does it a little bit but it's not quite the same.

I used to take my glasses cleaning cloth and roll it up like if I was rolling a cigarette, then run my thumb and finger down it because it has that nice velour(?) texture, that's another one that relaxed me but I haven't done it in forever.

I haven't checked out Android options yet but on my iPad I'm loving Blorp. I like how easy it makes it to switch between all the various lemmy and piefed instances.

It's actually mildly disappointing because I prefer the app to viewing the websites themselves, but can't use it on desktop!

Mu online. Damn that's a name I haven't heard in a long while. I was never any good at it but remember me and a few school friends played it for a while back in like 2006ish.

Absolutely. For what it's worth, if you like the stimulating effects of caffeine, and hot drinks - you're better off with black tea. Theanine as found in tea significantly reduces the jitters and anxiety from caffeine, so tea tends to cause less anxiety than coffee even if you drink enough to consume a comparable amount of caffeine.

You can also just take theanine supplements alongside your coffee. Can work wonders if you're feeling anxious from it.

But it's still not a perfect solution and you're better off just avoiding caffeine entirely. Easier said than done though and I'm sitting here drinking my 4th coffee of the day so.. can't say I'm the best at it myself.

This is actually my second ever comment on Piefed. I'm gradually trying to spend a bit less time on the big centralised social media hubs - I'd like to be less dependent on places like Discord, Reddit, Twitter. So I've joined Mastodon, Piefed, and Matrix. It feels liberating, brings back fond memories of the small web before big social media giants took over.

As for my news this week, I'm entering my second week of a new medication for my anxiety and depression. It's a bit early to say but I've seen some early positive signs that it might be helping, so fingers crossed.

I can touch type. A typing teacher would probably be horrified at my form because I followed absolutely no rules about finger placement whatsoever, but I hit a peak 138wpm before so I feel zero need to change to a more conventional style.

For what it’s worth, funny story but I learned both to touch type and to type so fast from playing Runescape.

Back before they added a central auction house you used to have to sit and type like “white:wave2:selling rune scimmy 25k - camel” amongst a sea of people doing the same thing when looking to buy/sell items. And your text disappeared after a few seconds so you had to keep repeating it over and over. I used to trade like that for hours every day and that repetition of just typing things over and over really quickly taught me to type like I do now.

Spotify supports one of the companies building drones to help defend Ukraine? I don't see the downside to this. Without companies like them, Ukraine would absolutely not be able to hold the line. If anything, as someone living in neighbouring Poland, it makes me feel much better about the idea of renewing my sub.

I do understand the reluctance to support any sort of defense/military company, but come on, helping defend Ukraine (and by extension, the rest of Europe) is a little different than the companies spending billions on weapons to be used in the middle east.