[Air-L] alternatives to closed, secret Facebook groups?

[Sanjay Sharma (Staff)]

Hello Charles

If you're looking for a privacy-centred chat space, then 'element' (aka 'riot') using the matrix protocol is fairly solid. https://riot.im/app/#/welcome Though may not be the most-user friendly.

Also, there's the well-established 'discourse' (forum type software) that connects to email well, which can be self-hosted.

I wish more of us made a commitment to avoid relying on services provided by Big Tech. Although not easy to do in terms of convenience.

best regards
Sanjay


Dr Sanjay Sharma
Reader
Department of Social & Political Sciences (MJRD156)
College of Business, Arts & Social Sciences
Brunel University
http://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/sanjay-sharma<http://www.brunel.ac.uk/sss/sociology/staff-profiles/sanjay-sharma>
darkmatter Journal<http://www.darkmatter101.org/> editor
twitter: @sanjay_digital<https://twitter.com/sanjay_digital>

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Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2020 06:59:26 +0100
From: "Charles M. Ess" <charles.ess at media.uio.no>
To: air-l <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
Subject: [Air-L] alternatives to closed, secret Facebook groups?
Message-ID: <9f73c9c6-400e-a6a2-9740-eebe505362a1 at media.uio.no>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Dear AoIRists,

I hope this finds you well, despite it all.

I'm wanting to know if any of you have good experience and can thereby
recommend alternatives to a Facebook closed or secret group - i.e., a
platform that offers the functionalities of these, but avoids
entanglement with FB?

Yes, I have some realization that, to put it in Montanan, there ain't
nothin' pure, especially in the online world.  But there are greater and
lesser degrees of entangelement, and these may be relevant to the
project I have in mind.

Many thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions you can share.

best,
- charles ess

--
Professor Emeritus
University of Oslo
<http://www.hf.uio.no/imk/english/people/aca/charlees/index.html>

Secretary, IFIP Working Group 9.8, Gender, Diversity, and ICT
<http://ifiptc9.org/9-8/>

Fellow, Siebold-Collegiums Institute for Advanced Studies,
Julius-Maximilians-Universit?t W?rzburg, Germany

3rd edition of Digital Media Ethics now out:
<http://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509533428>