Pretty cool projects. I played around with the Mandarin one a little. What plans do you have for these going forward?

More languages, custom vocab lists seem like they’d be good additions, but mainly I’m interested in how you plan to improve the game aspects?

You’re right that it isn’t, and doesn’t need to be, the most complicated thing in the world.

But there’s a bit more to it than it sounds like. Deck management, customizing flashcards (html/CSS templates), spaced repetition algorithms (including many user-customizable settings), statistics and visualizations.

Most importantly probably are the things they host online. Right now you can freely sync your data between devices, and they have a community portal where people upload decks to share. I’m imagining these will be among the first targets for paywalls (but could always be replaced by the community).

Just read through.

AnikiHub’s page is a little concerning on its own, with ‘we offer AI features!’ blatantly front and center.

More worrying is that in their post they go out of their way to say “Anki’s core code will remain open source” (emphasis mine).

Otherwise, idk, sounds like at a base level they have the right ideals in mind.

Yeah, I saw. Really good! Also saw that F-Droid should be soon, and that sign ups have spiked. The content on there has already improved slighly in the last handful of days. There’s hope for it!

Thanks, good to know.

More interesting, they at least address the decentralization question:

Why isn’t UpScrolled a decentralized platform?

Because it doesn’t work for what we’re trying to build.

UpScrolled isn’t decentralized (yet) because today’s open protocols (e.g., ActivityPub, AT Protocol) don’t reliably deliver what we need for a mainstream, video-forward app: fast global discovery, stable search/ranking, and smooth media. In practice, these stacks still lean on centralized indexing to work well, so we’re shipping the experience that works now—not a theory.

We keep things open and simple with lightweight, common-sense protections—spam/bot filtering, straightforward reporting, and consistent deletes when people remove their own content. We’re building interoperable by design (clean exports, stable APIs) and will add optional bridges to open protocols as they mature, so you can reach more people without sacrificing speed or simplicity.

Which, honestly, fair. Federation does have some issues.

I’m not seeing anything on open source tho, which I have a harder time seeing the justification for not doing. But it is what it is.

Yes! It’s completely silly. A ‘poll’ designed exactly for the people that want a noai option, to be shared in places like this so those people (like me) can get the tiny satisfaction of hitting No.

They were never wondering what the result would be, they were never trying to gauge their userbase’s preferences. It’s just a page they thought people would share to spread awareness of DDG.

Is it? That got my interest, but I can’t find mention of it on their site or FAQ

(I know Loops is, maybe I wasn’t clear but I was meaning to ask about the other one.)

I heard briefly about this on Loops actually, lol. I wonder what’s the story with it? Is it some big tech company’s new product, a stand-alone startup? American or some other origin? Decentralized? Open source or proprietary?

Not deadset on any of these as deal breakers, but would be nice if some aspects inspired confidence.

I think they’ve really dropped the ball not having Loops do some kind of soft re-launch this week. We’ve known the changeover was coming, there probably won’t be a better moment than this to tell anyone “Hey, Loops is an alternative if you’re leaving”.

Not having a ready to download app in any store, even F-Droid, is such a shame. IMO, short form video makes more sense on worse platforms like a mobile phone. (I’m observing, not complaining too much - it’s not like I rolled up my sleeves and contributed.)

For anyone that wants to make videos, every category is wide open. If you’re making anything compelling (outside maybe Linux and politics), there’s not much competition. Claim your spotlights now.

If anyone that makes videos on Loops reads this: I’m begging you, please put captions on your videos. Most of my ‘doomscrolling on the phone’ time doesn’t happen in situations where turning the volume up is convenient/appropriate.

It can be convenient. You’re going to launch the games somehow, whether that’s clicking files in a folder or running a command. If you have a bunch of games it’s nice to see them neatly organized in one place with nice visual representation. Non-launcher options tend to either get unwieldy or require more customization work.

The Steam launcher does a whole bunch of other useful things, like managing saves, setting up Proton, tracking play time and achievements, connecting to friends, integrating the store. It’s not hard to see why people like the convenience.

It is annoying when it goes too far… like individual games that insist on having their own launcher.

Heroic is a nice middle ground. GoG gives you simple downloads, that you can then choose to access through Heroic.

Oof, this still isn’t up on F-Droid or either main app store. That’s a shame, I thought this moment would be a great time for Loops to get some user base, but it seems like it’s still not ready for wider adoption.

That said, it does look a lot better now than it did a few months ago when I last tried it. Here’s hoping it picks up some momentum. I finally tried TikTok last year, and was really impressed by the breadth of videos and how quickly it was able to start showing me things I enjoyed. With the recent change in ownership, I don’t know that I’ll revisit it much if at all. Would take quite a lot to replicate even a little bit of the zeitgeist TikTok had going. But like with Lemmy and Mastodon/Bsky, I’m hoping I can do my little part by choosing where to put my attention. Just don’t know that I’m going to find much there I care to see, for now.

Took me a sec to find it on first scan of the article, so highlighting this bit for those curious about the other games:

. . . Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake has been cancelled, as well as four unannounced titles, including three new IPs and a mobile title. The identity of the sixth game has not been clarified.

and the delayed games have not been clarified yet either. From the related article:

In addition, Ubisoft said it’s delayed seven games to ensure they meet quality expectations. It did not say which games had slipped, but confirmed that the seven titles include one title that was planned for release before April 2026, which will now be released before April 2027.