4 ms·

Luckily, it's not like iOS and you can still download an APK or use F-Droid. My impression is that most people who are using these rather obscure communication

Luckily, it's not like iOS and you can still download an APK or use F-Droid. My impression is that most people who are using these rather obscure communication methods would be able to find the app somewhere else.

yu_ni 3y ago
The developer relies on the income from Goolge Play Store to keep working on it though: "I understand that most of my audience here on Mastodon is more ideology aligned with F-Droid but the app sales on Google Play store have contributed significantly to me working (almost) full time on #Conversations_im. Without the revenue from Google Play I can’t afford this." -- https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111929678072451151 https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111929678072451151
- knightoffaith 3y ago
  Pretty surprising that you can make money off of a free software app like this, I always thought almost nobody would actually pay for it on Google Play store. I hope he can work it out with Google. Conversations is the best Android XMPP client I know of.
  - alwayslikethis 3y ago
    I'm using a fork but it is the best XMPP client out there. Even the ones on Linux are riddled with bugs and usability issues.
    - zaik 3y ago
      I heavily use Gajim and it works very well on Linux. I couldn't recall any problems I had recently.
      - rcbdev 3y ago
        Gajim, at least in Windows, has terrible to nonexistent support for (video) calls.
        zaik 3y ago
        Indeed, I don't really do video calls. For audio calls I use my phone, since I can move around. Maybe the web client https://mov.im/ https://mov.im/ can do video calls on Windows?
    - quectophoton 3y ago
      Even on iOS, none of them have UI as good as Conversations' (Android). I was using XMPP only for some notifications (through a small bot) and it was nice while on Android. But when I moved to iOS I just stopped using XMPP because I didn't want to use any of the available clients.
    - mrusme 3y ago
      Kindly allow me to reply with profanity [1] to that statement. :-) [1] https://profanity-im.github.io https://profanity-im.github.io
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    I’m using the F-Droid version, but I bought it on Play.
    - zaik 3y ago
      The best method is to install the F-Droid version and donate directly to the developer. Google takes a 30% cut on Play purchases. In the case of Conversations, Daniel has an account on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/iNPUTmice/ https://liberapay.com/iNPUTmice/
      - rakoo 3y ago
        This definitely helps the developer but as they said (https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111930342452832163 https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111930342452832163) they much prefer having Conversations being available to non-techy people than relying on the hardcore fans
- EasyMark 3y ago
  oof that hurts more than the app removal, it also took away most of his income. Surely he can find a human being somewhere that can help appeal it? No HN googlers with contacts?
RicoElectrico 3y ago
F-Droid is a mess too. Apart from the unclear organizational status at this point and the associated drama, they also are super keen on plastering "anti-features" on apps with very vague criteria and no grace period. Organic Maps was for example, first accused of ads whereas it just had clearly communicated referral links to hotels on Kayak, then somebody came up with an idea it promotes non-free network services (i.e. the goddamn map download CDN in an otherwise offline app)
- zaik 3y ago
  Anti-feature warnings on F-Droid do not affect your ability to install an app in any way, they are just there to inform users. Also the assessment of Organic Maps seems correct to me?
- veeti 3y ago
  So you're saying it did have ads as described?
HumblyTossed 3y ago
Is it really "obscure"?
- arendtio 3y ago
  Maybe 'traditional' would be better suited.

yu_ni 3y ago

The developer relies on the income from Goolge Play Store to keep working on it though: "I understand that most of my audience here on Mastodon is more ideology aligned with F-Droid but the app sales on Google Play store have contributed significantly to me working (almost) full time on #Conversations_im. Without the revenue from Google Play I can’t afford this." -- https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111929678072451151 https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111929678072451151

knightoffaith 3y ago
Pretty surprising that you can make money off of a free software app like this, I always thought almost nobody would actually pay for it on Google Play store. I hope he can work it out with Google. Conversations is the best Android XMPP client I know of.
- alwayslikethis 3y ago
  I'm using a fork but it is the best XMPP client out there. Even the ones on Linux are riddled with bugs and usability issues.
  - zaik 3y ago
    I heavily use Gajim and it works very well on Linux. I couldn't recall any problems I had recently.
    - rcbdev 3y ago
      Gajim, at least in Windows, has terrible to nonexistent support for (video) calls.
      - zaik 3y ago
        Indeed, I don't really do video calls. For audio calls I use my phone, since I can move around. Maybe the web client https://mov.im/ https://mov.im/ can do video calls on Windows?
  - quectophoton 3y ago
    Even on iOS, none of them have UI as good as Conversations' (Android). I was using XMPP only for some notifications (through a small bot) and it was nice while on Android. But when I moved to iOS I just stopped using XMPP because I didn't want to use any of the available clients.
  - mrusme 3y ago
    Kindly allow me to reply with profanity [1] to that statement. :-) [1] https://profanity-im.github.io https://profanity-im.github.io
- Semaphor 3y ago
  I’m using the F-Droid version, but I bought it on Play.
  - zaik 3y ago
    The best method is to install the F-Droid version and donate directly to the developer. Google takes a 30% cut on Play purchases. In the case of Conversations, Daniel has an account on Liberapay: https://liberapay.com/iNPUTmice/ https://liberapay.com/iNPUTmice/
    - rakoo 3y ago
      This definitely helps the developer but as they said (https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111930342452832163 https://gultsch.social/@daniel/111930342452832163) they much prefer having Conversations being available to non-techy people than relying on the hardcore fans
EasyMark 3y ago
oof that hurts more than the app removal, it also took away most of his income. Surely he can find a human being somewhere that can help appeal it? No HN googlers with contacts?

RicoElectrico 3y ago

F-Droid is a mess too. Apart from the unclear organizational status at this point and the associated drama, they also are super keen on plastering "anti-features" on apps with very vague criteria and no grace period. Organic Maps was for example, first accused of ads whereas it just had clearly communicated referral links to hotels on Kayak, then somebody came up with an idea it promotes non-free network services (i.e. the goddamn map download CDN in an otherwise offline app)

zaik 3y ago
Anti-feature warnings on F-Droid do not affect your ability to install an app in any way, they are just there to inform users. Also the assessment of Organic Maps seems correct to me?
veeti 3y ago
So you're saying it did have ads as described?

HumblyTossed 3y ago

Is it really "obscure"?

arendtio 3y ago
Maybe 'traditional' would be better suited.