If they can assume I'm a teenager by default then they should also assume I don't have a job and can't pay for nitro. Seems fair to me.

If you're still using Discord, consider the wealth of alternatives:

Matrix is the federated option. Allows self-hosting with federation, has encryption (though it seems to have vulnerabilities - be mindful), supports both public and private rooms. Does not support voice or video.

Stoat, formerly Revolt, is a very close analog. It's FOSS, and is self-hostable, but does not federate - users on a private instance will not be able to interact with users on the public one. Supports voice; video not yet supported (I don't believe) but is on the roadmap.

Root is very close to Discord but is closed source. Supports voice and video.

Fluxer is another close analog. Supports voice and video (and has the highest quality streaming out of all of them). Has an optional Nitro-like subscription (cheaper than Nitro, offers more) to fund it. It's FOSS and supports self-hosting.

Nitro cost more than my mobile phone plan.

Root says in their privacy policy that they record calls, don't they?

Only mention of it I can find is:

User-generated Content

Messages, pictures, and files are stored ONLY so that recipients can receive them and users can access their message history. Voice, video, and screensharing calls are transmitted in real time. Root does not record or store these calls. User data is not sold to third parties and is not used to train AI models.

I'm pretty sure I saw some dodgy shit in their TOS or Privacy Policy, but maybe I'm hyper vigilant now with all the curbstomping of privacy.

The article is dated Feb 10, so it was right, either way a delay is not really backing down imo.

Feb 10th. That's before they announced the delay. It was written before they announced the delay.

I would like to add Movim to this list. It's developed on the XMPP standard. The developer is even adding "Spaces" to match Discord's server/community style, using existing XMPP standards to maintain compatibility.

It's not a one-to-one, but it's more secure, decentralized, self-hostable, open-source, and can fill a few bonus niches (like blogging or Facebook replacement).

If you want to dig it up, I'll add the disclaimer to that post. It's just a copy/paste post I've been using any time Discord's shitty behavior comes up, so it would be nice to have more information if it exists.

I like the way you think.

Small heads up for anyone that would like to self-host Fluxer: right now it is kinda broken

Isnt it server specific if Matrix can or can not user voice/video? There is also a jitsi plugin/extension?

Well additional its Client based, so really not to recommend until its widely adopted.

Element is one we're also looking at. Made by Matrix creators. Community Edition as well.

I'm just going to wait until one of two emerge as the favoured alternatives.

I'm not installing 4+ separate VOIP/chat apps.

Eventually larger communities will move over and I'll install the apps which has those communities my friends use.

Element is a client that uses the Matrix protocol, not a separate thing on its own.

"they should just ask the parents"

It's a Matrix distribution but they have clients named the same. Not confusing at all.

Yep!

I'm literally watching a open source project go into shambles right now.

I saw the migration from their open-source forums, to slack, to discord, all within 9 years.