# What tools do FreeBSD users use to communicate and play?



## Nicushor (Feb 17, 2016)

Microsoft has @outlook, skype and xbox, Linuxoids uses irc, xmpp, some popular e-mail services (and has option to mask it under linux) and has got Steam now (xonotic, etc too), Apple has got @me, iChat (although not popular) and also Steam (+iPhone games). And what FreeBSD ppl use? In my mind, BlackBerry for communication and PlayStation falls into FBSD style.


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## Nicushor (Feb 17, 2016)

I myself use mail.com and IRC only on FreeBSD, and only open games like Wesnoth and Xonotic. If I like FreeBSD should I use also BBM and PS? How about making a XMPP server like GNU did...


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## SirDice (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Linuxoids uses irc, xmpp, some popular e-mail services


Those protocols are not depending on the OS. You can use the exact same protocols on Windows, OS-X, Linux, Solaris, AIX and FreeBSD. Although the actual application might be different, the protocols aren't.


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## Oko (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Linuxoids uses irc, xmpp, some popular e-mail services


Have you ever bother to ask where/what OS the servers for all those "Linuxoids clents" run


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## Nicushor (Feb 17, 2016)

Oko said:


> Have you ever bother to ask where/what OS the servers for all those "Linuxoids clents" run



I don't understand what you are asking. I didn't write anything about clients.



SirDice said:


> Those protocols are not depending on the OS. You can use the exact same protocols on Windows, OS-X, Linux, Solaris, AIX and FreeBSD. Although the actual application might be different, the protocols aren't.



Do you use @outlook? If not, then what? Out of curiosity.


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## SirDice (Feb 17, 2016)

Outlook.com works fine using Firefox, regardless of the OS. I mostly use webmail solutions so I don't have to worry about the client OS. If I do need a "real" client I mostly use mail/thunderbird.


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## Nicushor (Feb 17, 2016)

What webmail solutions? I just want to know what is the style of FreeBSD users... that's all.


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## tobik@ (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> What webmail solutions?


FastMail and GMail


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## Nicushor (Feb 17, 2016)

tobik said:


> FastMail and GMail



Don't you think it's kinda strange that you use GMail, Google which is backing up Android, a Linux system? I got confronted with such a dilemma, and I feel like I'm betraying BSD, although i know it's stupid. But I don't feel a kind of integrity, when using smth "out of FreeBSD world". FastMail looks better, since it's kinda neutral. :-D Well, that are my sentiments...


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## tobik@ (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Don't you think it's kinda strange that you use GMail


Not at all. If it makes you feel any better Google has also contributed to FreeBSD.  Code and money. FreeBSD has also participated in the Google Summer of Code a number of times, Take a look at the SVN log.


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## SirDice (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Don't you think it's kinda strange that you use GMail, Google which is backing up Android, a Linux system?


No. Why does it matter any way? As long as you can access your mail, who cares what the backend is running? They can use a custom OS running on a fridge (IoT anyone?) for all I care.


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## Carpetsmoker (Feb 17, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Don't you think it's kinda strange that you use GMail, Google which is backing up Android, a Linux system? I got confronted with such a dilemma, and I feel like I'm betraying BSD, although i know it's stupid. But I don't feel a kind of integrity, when using smth "out of FreeBSD world". FastMail looks better, since it's kinda neutral. :-D Well, that are my sentiments...



BSD nationalism right here people.


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## hitest (Feb 17, 2016)

SirDice said:


> If I do need a "real" client I mostly use mail/thunderbird.



I like Thunderbird for both the BSDs and Linux.  I like and use Gmail with IMAP.  I enjoy IRC.  I mostly use hexchat and occasionally Irssi.


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## ShelLuser (Feb 18, 2016)

I've become quite a fan of www/seamonkey. It's basically a Netscape-like clone build on top of the same Mozilla engine as used in Firefox and also provides an EMail and IRC client. Basically an all in one solution. The part which I like best is that I can use all the plugins which I'm accustomed to in Firefox without having to cope with an interface which, in my opinion, changes on the whim of the developers.

Other than that; www/opera.


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## SirDice (Feb 18, 2016)

getopt said:


> I do care.
> 
> For ethical reasons see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Google
> And because of privacy reasons see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmail#Automated_scanning_of_email_content
> ...


Sure, I get that. But these arguments have nothing to do with what OS Google is running on the backends.


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## roddierod (Feb 18, 2016)

I have a server through a hosting provider that run FreeBSD and use the mail server it provides for my own domain. Can access it via IMAP or POP, desktop client or web client.


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## Nicushor (Feb 18, 2016)

Do you think it's safe to say most important people in FreeBSD community use some kind of own e-mail hosting?


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## SirDice (Feb 18, 2016)

Nicushor said:


> Do you think it's safe to say most important people in FreeBSD community use some kind of own e-mail hosting?


Maybe a little too broad but I'm sure the percentages are quite high


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## NewGuy (Feb 19, 2016)

I host my own e-mail on a FreeBSD powered server. Which is probably more trouble than it's worth, but self-hosted e-mail was on my list of things to try.


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## sidetone (Jun 7, 2017)

For XMPP:
net-im/psi
net-im/xmpp-client - is a BSD console client (written in Go)
net-im/pidgin - to use various chat protocols

Other XMPP related tools:
net-im/libmesode, net-im/libstrophe, and net-im/proxy65


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## robroy (Jun 7, 2017)

Nicushor, I use talk(1) and occasionally write(1) to chat, and mail/alpine for mail (with my own mail/opensmtpd service).  

And I don't use computers for play at all, unless swapping e-mail with a few long-time friends counts as play.


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## sidetone (Jun 7, 2017)

talk(1) and write(1) aren't encrypted, but for many purposes that's fine. I ended up removing talk, in addition to blocking firewall ports for what I didn't need. I also don't have local computers to communicate with to use it.


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## dch (Sep 14, 2017)

Is there any text/terminal based version of signal messenger for FreeBSD? I see there's net-im/telegram available, maybe thats a good substitute?


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## jb_fvwm2 (Sep 14, 2017)

telegram has both an android and web-client avail, FWIW. Haven't tried the BSD port yet.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Sep 15, 2017)

Nicushor said:


> for communication and



I have no idea what the OP's post is talking about. However, I _do_ understand the title. My answer to that is IRC and email. I use both of those for communication and play.


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## ralphbsz (Sep 15, 2017)

Communicate?  Mostly E-mail.  I used to run my own mail server at home (initially Linux, then OpenBSD), and then gave up.  The amount of maintenance necessary is just too much: you need a rather complex sendmail (multiple domains), an imap server like dovecot, these days you need secure DNS, and so on.  Another nail in the coffin was that some of the transport mechanisms we've used for connecting the server at home have blocked port 25 (unfortunately, due to living in a remote location, we haven't always had the choice of picking good last mile access service providers).  The extra few hours per week of maintenance were just not worth it.  So today the e-mail is done by a very good ISP, whom we fully trust (sonic.net).

E-mail clients?  Whatever is convenient.  I used to use Thunderbird and Eudora.  These days I've switched to using MacOS mail; it does the job with no hassle.  My wife uses Outlook.  We occasionally switch to a web-based e-mail client (our ISP provides one), which works better in remote and low-bandwidth situations, or when you don't have your own laptop with you.  I haven't even asked what my son uses.  On the android cellphone, I use the standard e-mail client (it calls itself "gmail", but it can connect to any ISB that supports imap).  Works fine too.

IM?  A whole variety.  MacOS iMessage, Facebook messenger, the native SMS of the cell phone, WhatsApp (both cellphone and laptop), Google hangouts, and probaby a few others I forgot.  Unfortunately, not all people are reachable on one single such network.

I have to occasionally use IP-based telephony, such as Skype or Facebook calls.  On average, my experience with those is bad; landline service works best (and even that only has a reliability of 2-3 nines at our house), and cell phones have reached the point where they mostly work (but nowhere near 100%).

I don't use FreeBSD (or any *BSD or Linux) as the desktop in production any longer; personally I just use multiple Macs and an Android phone, but there are other devices in our household; so none of the apps above are FreeBSD specific.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Sep 15, 2017)

ralphbsz said:


> I have to occasionally use IP-based telephony, such as Skype or Facebook calls. On average, my experience with those is bad; landline service works best (and even that only has a reliability of 2-3 nines at our house), and cell phones have reached the point where they mostly work (but nowhere near 100%).



I use VoIP but leave the software to my ATAs. Like most rural places all we have is wireless here, but even with the jitter I get great quality. More reliable than the land line has been. There's no cell service here though. 



> I don't use FreeBSD (or any *BSD or Linux) as the desktop in production any longer; personally I just use multiple Macs and an Android phone, but there are other devices in our household; so none of the apps above are FreeBSD specific.



I wouldn't expect that the tools that FreeBSD users use to communicate would be specific to their OS. However the ones that I do use are running on my FreeBSD desktop system. Specifically, Hexchat, DXirc, and Clawsmail.


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