Pirate Praveen 普拉文

https://social.masto.host/@praveen

Chairperson/The Prav Cooperative/https://prav.app, Indian Pirates/https://pirates.org.in, Debian Developer, Privacy Advocate, https://poddery.com, https://diasp.in, Free Software, https://fsci.in, Social Justice, Human Rights...

[matrix]: Pirate Praveen 普拉文 (npub1kx0…hnqj):poddery.com
XMPP: xmpp:[email protected]

Public Key

npub1kx0l7mpaeyfvn35wm50p4dq735zu6hfgujymhnjhwwh6uk7952mq76hnqj

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstr8llds7ujykfc68d68s6ks0g6pwdt55wfzdmeeth8tawt0z69dspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds0c002m

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1kx0l7mpaeyfvn35wm50p4dq735zu6hfgujymhnjhwwh6uk7952mq76hnqj

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Last Notes

2026-05-08 11:37:44 GMT

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I watch Chinese drama with English subtitles (and recently started watching the dramas again with only Chinese subtitles as I know the story/context already, but I can still catch only a few words most of the time, sometimes the whole sentence). I also use https://context.reverso.net ictionary/translation, https://strokeorder.com draw characters, https://libretranslate.com cross check translations, https://publicai.co/chat I chat with a few friends in Chinese.

2026-05-08 07:37:22 GMT

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我在学习中文. I'm learning Chinese. Duolingua level 15.

2026-05-07 16:53:30 GMT

印度不再有共产政府
我的洲是最后一个
这是五十年来的第一次
#印度 #共产主义
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/4/india-loses-its-last-left-wing-government-after-five-decades

2026-04-17 13:59:25 GMT

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We are just offering some hand holding to get started with #xmpp. #Prav is ready for iOS too, but #Apple won't accept it in App Store, so people have to take the longer route of #SideStore. We have started the process of involving the users to prioritize missing pieces in #XMPP apps.

2026-04-17 13:14:50 GMT

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it is very close to #quicksy in current state as we started from quicksy. It offers a choice to users - they can choose either Quicksy or #Prav without considering what their friends are using and users of either app can talk to users of the other app. We made small changes already like changing SMS provider so it works in countries like Nepal and Brazil where Quicksy SMS don't get delivered. We hope to offer custom username option and may eventually get other features.

2026-04-15 06:55:30 GMT

Two recent coconut grating machines. Both offers convenience over the traditional one. #coconut
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/407/404/251/447/770/original/f9691257a6a56f03.jpeg

2026-04-07 18:24:00 GMT

With persistent hard work by [@vaidik_](https://mastodon.social/@vaidik_ ) Prav (@npub1eyk…ndu6) is now available on iPhones!
Though with Apple rejecting it from App Store, installing it is a bit involved. You will need to setup http://SideStore.io and then add Prav source https://codeberg.org/prav/website/raw/branch/main/SidestoreiOS.json
#Prav #FreeSoftware #Apple #iOS #iPhone #OpenSource #XMPP
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/364/812/539/307/220/original/b77d226791afb29a.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/364/813/005/153/064/original/9a2a4d28bdc57cfd.jpeg

2026-01-23 18:28:46 GMT

I usually use this story of blind men describing an elephant to explain difference between #FreeSoftware and #OpenSource.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
A very widespread understanding equates #copyleft with #FreeSoftware and permissive licenses with #OpenSource.
In almost all practical cases you are referring to the same software.
The difference is what you focus on and this focus difference gives you different conclusions. So I focus on 4 freedoms for every user ie, copyleft Free Software.

2026-01-11 11:45:23 GMT

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404 Not Found when ?

2026-01-09 21:23:49 GMT

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印度也有

2026-01-09 14:52:52 GMT

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yes, only #prav and #quicksy. We are trying to explore ways to make this optional by offering custom username or using phone number only for password recovery. But we are not really sure about if those are sufficient .

2026-01-09 12:04:02 GMT

@npub1eyk…ndu6 hopes to challenge the sim binding order with help from @npub1fhv…m889
https://prav.app/blog/prav-and-sim-binding/
Though we will still have to comply since the court may take its own time to stay or even hear it.
Our last challenge against IT rules is still pending.
#prav #xmpp #simbinding #WhatsApp #Signal

2026-01-08 11:36:43 GMT

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I have been using android apps on my FLX1 without much issues. There are still some rough edges with audio and video. I have to restart android container to get audio calls working on monocles chat. NewPipe had some issues but FreeTube works natively. I use this phone as my daily driver (no android backup phone). The second phone I have is Librem 5.
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/859/267/699/740/253/original/63132bb003117a96.png

2026-01-03 10:20:38 GMT

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thanks for the update, try again in another city. In Kerala, it did not work in Palakkad, but worked in Kochi.

2026-01-02 14:07:14 GMT

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this is basically mobile banking, so hopefully RBI and banks have taken care of security.

2026-01-02 13:58:46 GMT

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https://nirdpr.org.in/nird_docs/cle/cle-ussd241216-english.pdf this mentions the requests are sent directly to the bank server.

2026-01-02 13:50:13 GMT

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someone on fsci xmpp group answered this "Afaik, nope. It is relayed as a hash number, instead of plain text."

2026-01-02 10:40:42 GMT

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I'm not sure how exactly this is implemented, but the ussd service itself is run by BHIM.

2026-01-02 07:58:46 GMT

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Only Airtel works well in some cities, with Vi, you can only send money by phone number, so no scan and pay. If many Vi users port to Airtel and tell them broken *99# as reason, they might fix it. One way to support #FreeSoftware. If you dont have a specific reason to stick with Vi, I recommend you do it.
#UPI #MastIndia #Vi #Airtel #bhim

2026-01-02 06:27:58 GMT

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if it works, it works well. But it works only with certain combinations of City, Service Provider and Bank so only a really motivated and determined person with some luck can use it. I had to port my number to airtel (BSNL don't work and Vi only partly - you can send only to phone numbers, not by upi id) and update my phone number in my bank (because I had two accounts linked to a single number) .

2026-01-01 18:31:39 GMT

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thanks, I updated the wiki page.

2026-01-01 18:18:53 GMT

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Which bank did you try? Airtel or Vi ?

2026-01-01 18:15:58 GMT

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thanks for testing and reporting.

2026-01-01 14:00:32 GMT

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then the camera app should expose some APIs to avoid duplicating that part again in the UPI app. Same for USSD implementation, need an API to avoid duplication.

2026-01-01 13:19:57 GMT

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so with this the camera app itself could add a pay option and dial *99*1*3# and fill the UPI id, so we can emulate the scan and pay - then people will only have to enter pin manually!

2026-01-01 13:12:04 GMT

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yes, it should be possible, as we can send choices directly as well. *99*1# will directly open the send money screen. *99*1*3# will directly open the screen to enter UPI id.

2026-01-01 10:07:57 GMT

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Since it only works well in some cities, more people testing and updating the information in this wiki page would be good.
All you need to do is dial *99# on your phone linked to your bank account and update this page https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP (DM me if you need an account).

2026-01-01 09:33:17 GMT

Good way to start new year, I could do a #UPI scan and pay on my #librem5 with 100% #FreeSoftware.
Camera app millipixels suddenly started working and it supports detecting QR codes too!
Earlier I had to type the address manually and it used to time out (I was also switching to 2G only mode to make sure USSD goes through earlier, but noticed I don't need to do that manually) .
Now last 4 payments worked on first try!
Though you need a lot of effort to get this far https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/819/145/404/373/900/original/f1d467b883b9bd73.png

2025-12-29 10:43:22 GMT

#MiniDebConf is going to Kanpur after Navi Mumbai!
#debian #debconf
Stay tuned to https://mini.debconf.org
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/802/433/718/845/407/original/5ec32184ff363e22.png

2025-12-26 17:53:46 GMT

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we use hcaptcha at lists.fsci.in - it has django integration. @npub1zwm…m083

2025-12-26 09:49:47 GMT

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it was better physically - as I feel sleepy when eating lots of carbs. But psychologically without eating rice, I did not feel satisfied :)

2025-12-25 16:30:00 GMT

Automatically finding other #prav users is a core feature of @npub1eyk…ndu6 but in the last update this functionality was broken. We missed this during testing of the update.
I just added 2000 rupees to the bounty - we will give the money raised to anyone who fixes the issues.
Would you consider increasing the bounty? Small amounts are ok too.
https://prav.app/donate/contact-discovery-regression/
#xmpp #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/781/138/559/795/203/original/b4bdd4ff4858c014.png

2025-12-25 16:25:53 GMT

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I once did keto and lost 15kgs, now millets based diet. My body adjusted to burning fat directly.

2025-12-25 13:43:56 GMT

圣诞快乐! shèng dàn kuài lè! 🎅

2025-12-25 07:20:17 GMT

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I think I just had one McDonald's this year - I eat subway more often and it is always their tuna. I rarely have break fast, usually it is only two meals a day.

2025-12-20 12:29:53 GMT

#diaspora service at poddery.com will be shut down after we ran it for 12 years. Joe Bivins ran it before we took over maintenance in 2013. It was one of the earliest diaspora pods.
https://codema.in/d/Cg3RqOWk/shutting-down-poddery-s-diaspora-service-on-15th-jan-2026
Both #xmpp and #matrix services, which shared the diaspora accounts will continue operating for now.
Thanks to everyone who helped maintain it till now. Even though diaspora failed to get the adoption we hoped for, #mastodon is continuing the fight for #federated social media.

2025-12-19 08:49:06 GMT

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gnome web / epiphany - it uses an engine built by Apple, so not dependent on Google.

2025-12-13 11:16:30 GMT

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Organize one near you : ) Next one is in Kanpur.

2025-12-13 05:26:59 GMT

#MiniDebConf Navi Mumbai
#Debian #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
Some photos from the event ( adding alt text with tuba seems broken )
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/590/026/725/808/original/a8dcf92289f7cec8.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/591/036/386/897/original/317937cabec34b72.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/592/163/081/153/original/c9e484ba8e7f8c49.jpeg

2025-12-12 10:25:29 GMT

durare. org is now listed in #XMPP providers website!
https://providers.xmpp.net/provider/durare.org/
We are currently in class B since creating accounts is a manual process to prevent spam sign up.
My wishlist is adding email verification to automate sign ups.
Thanks to the entire team behind #Durare
This public service is supported by your donations and maintained by volunteers with love! Consider donating today https://durare.org/#donate

2025-12-06 19:59:17 GMT

Interesting post around #AWS and #AGPL looking at #ElasticSearch vs #OpenSearch
https://socket.dev/blog/developers-burned-by-elasticsearch-license-change-arent-going-back
Reminded about this issue in a recent discussion around new challenges to #FreeSoftware like #AWS in #FSCI
#OpenSource

2025-12-05 13:49:44 GMT

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I don't think we can take it for granted. AAP is already out of India block. There is no place for complacency . Things will be totally different by next election.

2025-12-04 23:10:03 GMT

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Lets at the least not give up in the war of perception and marketing. BJP and media want people to believe they cannot be stopped. Do you want to give them an easy win ?

2025-12-04 23:08:20 GMT

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Just stating the problems or pointing fingers at different people or institutions is not going to help us fix it. Are you willing to seek a possible solution and make an effort to change things together ? minimum we can do is stop spreading depression, that can only help BJP. What we need is create hope, only when there is hope we can do something. If you look back, emergency in 1984 was much more direct and brutal, we did come out of it. @npub188m…kczn @npub1fw5…p4dp

2025-12-04 14:00:21 GMT

#FreeSoftware versions of Vagrant is no longer maintained. Vagrant was one of the methods we suggested when people are learning #debian #packaging. I liked the way of sharing a Vagrantfile when doing a workshop for many people.
As I was preparing for another packaging workshop for #MiniDebConf at Navi Mumbai, I gave Incant a try. It is a replacement for Vagrantfile like declaration of machines and uses #Incus as its backend.
https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging/Pre-Requisites/Virtual-Machine#Incant
Join us at https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEvents/in/2025/MiniDebConfNaviMumbai

2025-12-04 13:42:51 GMT

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your idea about physical spaces and discussions can help in the long term. But that is not enough if we want to defeat BJP, they have large and strong grass root network across the country. We need focused and coordinated effort from a large number of organizations and individuals.

2025-12-04 13:40:22 GMT

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if we don't find people for second, it is not much useful. If we can find even 5-10 people who can agree with spending at least 2 hours to do something, then we can give it a try.
3. Now this part, what do we do with the 2 hours, there could be different ideas. My idea is this, we need to tell people that without their involvement and commitment it cannot be done. Then we need a unified campaign that tell organizations and parties to work together.

2025-12-04 13:35:08 GMT

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I think we need to separate these things and focus on each. 1. Crucial question is if people agree the current system needs change. This needs more outreach. We will easily find a lot of people who agree with it. We might not even have to try and convince people at this stage.
2. But the second part is even more crucial. Of the people who agree we need change, how many are willing to dedicate time and effort to fix it. This is harder than first part.

2025-12-04 12:37:20 GMT

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so the question really is,
1. Do you just wish/pray this gets fixed?
2. Or are you willing to take the efforts necessary to get it fixed?
Willingness alone don't guarantee success, but at least it has a non-zero chance. For option 1, it is waiting for a miracle. Trying and failing (> 0 probability) is different from not even trying (0 probability).

2025-12-04 12:34:03 GMT

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I do have a plan and path, though longer term and hard - pirates.org.in. I tried it too - I went on the ground too, but it is hard for people to join. Many expect to do only simple things like posting on social media and signing petitions. If we diagnose someone with cancer, then if we really intent to cure it, we have to use appropriate measures like surgery, just wishing drinking lime juice - since that is what I know to make - will cure it is not going to work.

2025-12-04 12:30:37 GMT

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there are different layers here, conferences are not only about outreach. We also need to work together and build things so we not only need people to know about Free Software. So we need events like IndiaFOSS to share experinces and learn from each other. Similarly politics is not just theory that we tell others, we have to practice it on every day level too. So there are things we can share and learn from each other too.

2025-12-04 10:16:36 GMT

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Most of the time BJP wins because those oppose it are fighting among themselves on smaller differences and cannot think about a unified fight. Even though bringing people and organizations are harder because of people's egos and attitudes, but that is crucial to winning this fight.

2025-12-04 10:15:23 GMT

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You don't need to be an expert in everything to understand the big picture, also we can depend on other experts when going deeper. But the picture is about whose interests, who is going to benefit etc. In specific case, we might need expertise, but the general case is about choosing sides and picking interests. Also the more effort we need is not finding solutions but organizing people and bringing people who already agree together.

2025-12-04 10:12:26 GMT

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Individual efforts are needed, but they have to match a larger goal/plan of action. Just having individual actions that does not fit into a larger goal does not help. Also a larger goal cannot be realized by a single individual either. So we have to remove our personal restrictions when thinking about the solution. We have to actively organize and increase our strength if we have to solve big problems.

2025-12-04 10:10:41 GMT

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the two things you are trying to mix up. 1. Looking at the big picture and having a big plan 2. What we can do at individual levels.
If you limit even your thinking to individual levels, we can't really win big battles at all.
Everyone has limited ability/time/constrainsts what they can personally do. But that should not be a blocker to thinking about the real problems and solutions. Because big problems cannot be solved at individual efforts.

2025-12-04 09:58:33 GMT

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If people expect just posting on social media or signing a petition will solve fundamental issues, we cannot win this fight at all. I'm not saying the fight is easy, but we have no chance if only want to take the easy path.

2025-12-04 09:57:20 GMT

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the core point I am making is this - "If we only chose the easy path/option, it does not guarantee the results we want to see". If we really care about the results, we have to include the harder/long term efforts on the table as well. When we know others are not doing a good job, just naively expecting they will continue to do good or repeatedly asking them to do good job don't work.

2025-12-04 09:52:51 GMT

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and how do you imaging that will happen? There has to be a plan and a path. Just stating the expectations won't make things happen. What role do you see yourself playing in that scheme?

2025-12-04 09:48:38 GMT

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Politics is about interests, so different interests fight. It is a subjective thing, not something you can learn like engineering. Politics means you want things to happen in a certain way, there are people who want things to happen in other ways too. Why would politicians care about people when they can easily get away with just making personal gains?

2025-12-04 09:46:19 GMT

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Choices are not without consequences, when you take choices, you need to take responsibility for those choices as well. You cannot simply take a choice and ignore what happens when you make that specific choice. It is exactly because a lot of people leave politics to experts, we are in the situation we currently in. Just because you leave it to experts does not mean they will work for your interests.

2025-12-04 09:44:04 GMT

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if we take the Free Software analogy - when a Free Software project turns bad, someone else has to fork and step in to take it back to a direction that benefits the users. We cannot just naively expect they will work for users when we clearly see they are not. So this is why I keep saying the root problem is not BJP or their supporters, but people who claim to be against BJP, but do nothing or just lip service to stop BJP. This cannot work. The more people realize that, the better

2025-12-04 09:41:27 GMT

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this is a failed strategy - leaving politics to experts. This is the root cause of the problems we are in. Everyone thinks politics is just a field for experts like engineering or medicine - it is not. We cannot outsource politics and expect they will work in our interests at the same time. If they do work for our interest, that is luck. What happens when we realize they are not working for our interests? Just continue to read them the preamble of the constitution?

2025-12-04 09:18:07 GMT

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I think a common misconception is that people only need to focus on their profession / area of interest. That is ok if the system is working overall ok. But what if the basic premise of the democracy and division of labor/responsibility break down? Can we just continue to demand politicians should work for our interest when we know they are not listening ? Can we just say we will do the first step and someone else do the remaining ?

2025-12-04 09:14:57 GMT

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I think it is important to challenge this sim binding order (even though it is less likely to actually win in court), it will at least give the issue more visibility. In parallel we have to promote apps that don't require sim binding and motivate people to do a bit of extra effort to add contacts manually.

2025-12-03 16:21:25 GMT

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all protests don't necessarily work, we have to understand it as one of the many possible tools available to us. Though credibility of election commission is going down, a lot of election failures seems to be our own doing (the opposition / people not voting etc). We need to consider these factors that can have a real impact too. Basically don't just limit to speaking out - because that is relatively easy option, at least people with access to technology/internet.

2025-12-03 16:17:39 GMT

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at least in this specific case, the outbursts have helped, as they canceled Sanchar Sathi bundling order. But we may not be as lucky in every case. We are looking at challenging the sim binding order for messaging apps. But in parallel we can also ask people to use apps that don't need sim binding, but need a bit of extra work from the users. As long as we have clarity about the big picture each small step matters, but if we limit only to small steps, that need not work.

2025-12-03 16:14:22 GMT

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it is important to recognize it is only the first step, but many times people forget that. So I'd like to remind/ask if you thought about the follow ups too. This is not necessarily only about speaking up, which can help only when it can complement the other activities that are going on. More importantly are we prepared for the long term actions that needs a lot of time and patience? We cannot restrict ourselves to just reacting and demanding.

2025-12-03 12:21:52 GMT

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so calling out is the goal itself or you thought about other options too ? Unfortunately, they keep in power not only because of their supporters, but many who oppose don't even vote. Also splitting anti BJP votes. We have to think beyond outbursts if we are serious. As long as the Supreme Court let the govt get away with violation of rights, just saying out these don't help.

2025-12-02 19:10:29 GMT

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I can understand that feeling, but were you expecting something different ?

2025-12-02 17:27:30 GMT

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Through discussions, we came to this conclusion, "So basically, they want to stop account sharing?"

2025-12-02 16:54:20 GMT

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We have been discussing about the possibility of challenging this order in court. The stated aim seems to be that, at least what we understood it to be, "people can gain unauthorized access to accounts through sharing OTPs". There can be other mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access to make sim binding at least optional if we use other 2FA or new device verification methods. 6 hours web session validity is arbitrary @npub1fw5…p4dp [@thej](https://social.lol/@thej )

2025-12-01 16:30:33 GMT

Anyone with an #iPhone ? #AskFedi #MastIndia
Can you help test @npub1eyk…ndu6 ? We are looking for some feedback before releasing it to the general public.
If you know anyone else with an iPhone, asking them to try will help as well?
You can try this using this link
https://testflight.apple.com/join/9TvkKefV
#iOS #Apple

2025-12-01 14:52:09 GMT

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Looks like they have only considered proprietary apps and services. Even if #Prav or #Signal mandates Sim binding, it is easy to remove such a requirement with a fork. Also using prav account in another xmpp app like monocles chat can easily defeat Sim binding. Even further scammers can just use another xmpp account not using phone number as username to contact prav users. So what should be our response to this order ?

2025-11-30 18:21:05 GMT

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I'm curious to see the response from Signal as they are named here and apparently got a direct communication about it. For #Quicksy and #Prav I'm not sure if we have to comply yet (since we are not explicitly identified as a TIUE in this order, but the definition is too broad) . Looking for support from @npub1fhv…m889 and @npub1eyh…ae7d about our options #XMPP #FreeSoftware #OpenSource

2025-11-30 17:04:50 GMT

"From 90 days of issue of these instructions, ensure that the App based Communication Services is continuously linked to the SIM card (associated with Mobile Number used for identification of customers/users or for provisioning or delivery of services) installed in the device, making it impossible to use the app without that specific, active SIM."
https://scroll.in/article/1088890/why-indias-telecom-department-has-mandated-sim-binding-for-whatsapp-some-other-app-services
My preliminary reading is that @npub1eyk…ndu6 would have to comply, but I also read the govt has sent these only to some apps.

2025-11-29 15:55:20 GMT

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We have observed people find it harder to remember a username, password and server address. So Prav is just an additional option to existing #XMPP apps to make it similar to other mainstream messaging options. The core idea is federation like how #mastodon is offering that choice for micro blogging.

2025-11-29 15:50:38 GMT

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In the future, we might consider adding email verification or invitations as alternative options to SMS based verification in #Prav. But as I mentioned in my previous reply, people have a choice to use another compatible app that don't require a phone number. Just scan the QR code of the contact or add the contact manually instead of detecting them automatically based on phone number. For iPhone users they can use Monal to talk to Prav users, without phone number. #XMPP

2025-11-29 15:43:56 GMT

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since Prav is part of the #XMPP network, people who don't want to provide a phone number can choose any XMPP app/service to talk to #Prav users. In that sense, phone number is optional. It makes a few things easier for people who are ok to use phone number like in other mainstream messengers. But unlike those other mainstream options like WhatsApp, Telegram or Signal, we don't lock people to Prav. For example, you can use Monocles Chat and talk to Prav users.

2025-11-29 12:55:19 GMT

After we released an updated version of @npub1eyk…ndu6 Android app, we noticed the contact discovery was broken.
Since this is a core functionality of Prav, we want to fix it. To motivate someone to fix this, we have setup a bounty.
https://opencollective.com/contact-discovery-regression
Please donate so we can get this fixed sooner. Contact us if you'd like to help in fixing this issue. #Prav #FreeSoftware #XMPP #android #java

2025-11-29 12:51:32 GMT

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there is only one Free Software UPI app, which is still in development by https://github.com/librefin-in They did a demo of making UPI payment at #IndiaFOSS early this year, but the app is not ready to use yet.

2025-11-26 14:55:01 GMT

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that issue seems to be fixed already.

2025-11-25 13:14:57 GMT

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did you report these issues ? can you report / share links ?

2025-11-24 20:50:12 GMT

We have reached another milestone for @npub1eyk…ndu6 !
https://testflight.apple.com/join/9TvkKefV people with an #iPhone can now help test Prav!
Thanks to [@vaidik_](https://mastodon.social/@vaidik_ ) and all people who donated to https://opencollective.com/prav-ios.
Our community identified iOS app as a priority through a poll and we raised 600 USD for this project.
This is first significant result of our experiment to put users in charge of setting direction to #FreeSoftware. Even non non developers can actually modify Prav this way!
#prav #XMPP #Apple #iOS
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/606/631/039/450/400/original/c0f83496e27b9e1e.png

2025-10-16 23:16:12 GMT

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Private contracts could be profitable to individual officials. You are correct, we are not the same. I'd assume Germany would be closer to ideal democratic expectations, we are far from it. We cannot expect a different outcome only when it comes to choosing software. This is the default for most govt official - what can they gain personally.

2025-10-16 23:12:52 GMT

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two possible scenarios 1. incompetence 2. lobbying. In case of two officials could benefit petsonally even if public loses. It happens all the time.

2025-10-16 22:47:02 GMT

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a shower and a girl variant could give it a different feel. May be a couple and hotel room too.

2025-10-02 15:31:07 GMT

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may be omemo link can be a simpler explanation to end to end encryption. May be https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/end-to-end-encryption-E2EE

2025-09-30 07:18:41 GMT

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Both #Prav and #Quicksy apps already makes the choice of servers as well. It also finds your existing contacts on these apps. So we just have to tell them to use Prav or Quicksy and they will at least have one contact when they start - us. The more people in our circle are in it, the more contacts they will have to start with. But all of that is a social struggle, not technical. So Prav focus on campaigns and promotions as well, as just an easy app is not enough.

2025-09-29 12:58:52 GMT

Would you volunteer to organize a national #FreeSoftware conference in India?
Many of us in #FSCI who attended #IndiaFOSS or looked at the accepted vs rejected talks felt the focus is more on Open Source / products rather than philosophy or communities. So we want to organize something that is explicitly focused on Free Software and communities.
https://codema.in/p/1iLrn6EJ/would-you-like-to-volunteer-for-confcommittee-
I still appreciate @npub10dc…ul8g for organizing it as I think booths are still a great opportunity for projects like @npub1eyk…ndu6

2025-09-28 19:57:19 GMT

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I brought my friends and family to #XMPP. Yes, I could not bring all of them. We still use calls to be in touch. I agree, it is a much harder task than using an app, but I think it is an important task, so I choose to still do it, even though it is harder. We cannot always expect to make easier choices only if we want to make big changes. Hopefully if enough people take the hard choice now, it could become easier choice eventually when more people are on #XMPP.

2025-09-28 19:47:51 GMT

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For GNU/Linux or LibreOffice becoming user is easier and kind of an end in itself. But for #XMPP being a user is a start, you also need to be an activist to bring users and community organizer to build platforms. So choosing XMPP is inherently exponentially challenging than just using GNU/Linux. Peopld tends to choose easier options over challenging options, so that explains why many Free Software users don't use decentralized platforms. We have to understand the reasons too.

2025-09-28 19:43:03 GMT

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Since RMS is still focused on Operating System and software that runs on your devices (his excessive focus in non free javascript, but missing the big picture of proprietary platforms). That line of philosophy focus on individual sacrifice and fall flat on its face when it faces challenges that cannot be solved by individual choices alone - like netwok effect or cost of running a service. This needs more cultural / philosophical ground work.

2025-09-28 19:36:19 GMT

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I think for at least some being elitist feel drives their use of GNU/Linux, they can feel they are superior to their peers, it could also help them get a job. Many people just discovered #FreeSoftware or #OSM by chance from friends and they might be using it just out of curiosity and peer pressure. Many people like to follow and not really push for changes. I noticed many people look at RMS like a guru and follow his advice to use GNU/Linux.

2025-09-28 18:59:18 GMT

diasp.in and fosscommunity.in domains were renewed for 1 year today. 1020 rupees (11.5 USD) per domain. Anyone willing to sponsor the cost? You can sponsor partial amount as well. Any contribution helps keeping these services up and running in a good condition.
https://diasp.in provides a public #xmpp service and https://git.fosscommunity.in provides a public #gitlab CE (100% #FreeSoftware) service. These services are maintained by volunteers and I'm part of the team for both these services.

2025-09-25 19:45:46 GMT

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eventually I reached 22 hours late, so 45 hours overall. On the bright side this opened up a chance for people to talk to more people. People were forced to ask others for updates and share what they gatheted. There was one guy going to Pune for his engagement, luckily he reached before time. He observed me talking on phone in Malayalam and said hi to me. Got a cold just before boarding so that added to the frustration.

2025-09-25 19:40:03 GMT

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it was ok, except for getting food on time and bit of frustration when they stop us, but let other trains pass. This train did not have a pantry car and this route via Bidar only had small stations. I had to just have peanuts and chikki for breakfast. But lukily dinner and lunch was fine. Apparently if your train is late, you get the last priority as they want to keep all other trains on time. [@abhijith](https://social.cowcornerfeeds.co.in/users/abhijith ) did you reach on time?

2025-09-25 05:30:45 GMT

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return journey turned out to be much longer, train diverted due to floods and it is 23+19 hours late and still on the way! So I have longer train than @npub1u03…9p0k now!

2025-09-16 19:28:05 GMT

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see you soon!

2025-09-16 19:24:27 GMT

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I'm starting a 24 hour train to Bangalore soon #IndiaFOSS

2025-09-16 11:53:04 GMT

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if those opinions trigger actions from others, you can't be naive. Someone directing others to do action does not make them innocent. Other people are not obligated to listen to your opinions.