Social Media - Instant Messaging (Telegram, Matrix, Threema)

    Hi Cassius,

    Thank you for including me on the thread.

    My technical knowledge is perhaps not high enough for me to really chip in, but I like Kalosyni's idea of compiling email addresses for everyone who would like to be included in the emergency network, simply because everyone could easily take part without having to learn another platform and would be something everyone would have access to. I do have Signal on my cell phone, as many people do, and I think that would be a relatively practical option, too.

    Proton Mail offers free encrypted email accounts that I would think would be accessible to everyone, so that could be an option, too.

    Based on recent discussions I think we are probably moving to the idea that the best option is a mix of approaches, with one of them being having an opt-in email list so they of the forum does happen to go down for an extended period that we have a way to reach out to regulars with an explanation and ETA for fixing any problems that do arise. Thankfully there has not proved to be a pressing need for this, but over time it makes sense to harden the backup systems.

    For the moment the most likely event would be a technical mishap with our host that keeps the forum offline for a period, and for that we now have in place backup.epicureanfriends.com as a first line place people can check for updates.

    Today we opened a new Telegram channel for use in making announcements about the Forum.

    Users of Telegram can find it at:

    EpicureanFriends
    Official Telegram channel for EpicureanFriends.com
    t.me

    At this point I don't see much reason to plan to use it other than for announcements such as "A new episode of Lucretius Today is now available," or "The forum is down but will be back up soon," etc.

    The channel should *not* reveal to other users who is a member, but it is "public' so that anyone on Telegram searching for Epicurean should be able to find it.

    If any users of Telegram decide to join it and have any suggestions on how best to set it up or use it, please feel free to offer ideas! No doubt like anything else it is subject to hacking and misuse, so if anyone sees issues with it please let me know and I will add those considerations to the "pinned" post at the top, which currently points out that the same posting policies applicable at EpicureanFriends.com also applies on the Telegram channel.