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Although I seriously doubt this would mean a damned thing to a person like you, I'll post it anyway.

SECURITY RISKS AND OTHER PROBLEMS WITH DISCORD

1. Poor product management
2. Could it be that Discord is a piece of spyware?
3. Trustworthiness of the service
4. Legal precedent
5. Things for ROBLOX players to worry about
6. Malware hosting and distribution service
7. Discord permissions

Read about it here:
https://cybernews.com/privacy/discord-privacy-tips-that-you-should-use/


"Discord has a massive number of users that have ill-natured intentions, to say the least. Hackers, spammers, scammers — there’s a bit of everything on a platform that’s open to users aged 13 and above, which makes us wonder, is Discord safe?"

"Discord’s ease of use is one of the best things about the platform. At the same time, it’s also the worst thing, because it allows users with malicious intent to join servers as well. Discord servers are privately run, with Discord having little oversight over what is going on — that’s left to the servers’ moderators."

Read that here:

https://www.cloudwards.net/is-discord-safe/


"Social networks do not have a great reputation when it comes to security and privacy (to put it mildly)"

Read it here:

https://www.makeuseof.com/is-discord-safe/


"Using Discord? Don’t play down its privacy and security risks"

"Imagine a place…where your privacy is at risk"

Click here for more:

https://www.welivesecurity.com/2023/05/03/using-discord-privacy-security-risks/


"5 Reasons You Shouldn't Use Discord"

"When using social media, security should be your primary concern. Unfortunately, though, Discord has failed its users in this respect on more than one occasion."

"Discord has been linked with several security issues in the past. Several incidences of phishing and ransomware, for example, have taken place on the platform."

"Because of cybersecurity threats, many users have deleted their accounts and moved onto platforms they feel are more secure."

And you can check that here:

https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-to-not-use-discord/




Now, I'd like to know how a group of individuals promoting a LINUX DISTRIBUTION could possibly have the gall to promote a HUGE security risk to EVERY ONE of their current and prospective users. What kind of imbecile would recommend that? Why don't you all just go load up the latest version of Windows without an antivirus and go play on a bunch of porno sites? You wouldn't be at any more risk than spending your time on Discord. What a complete and total shame. I thought Linux gurus were supposed to be security conscious and halfway smart. I can hardly wait to see what lame excuse you give EVERYONE. What? Do you think social disease sites AREN'T security risks? Or do you think your users just aren't worth the protection? Wait, I know. You know more than every one of the security experts at all the websites and organizations in the world. They are all wrong and you guys are exponentially wiser and more experienced than all those highly paid, and superbly trained, security experts.  Maybe you just don't care and go running along, completely oblivious to REAL SECURITY CONCERNS!!!! What kind of fool would do this?
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Hell, just look. How many comments or new threads have been posted on this forum since February, other than ME?

I'm fairly certain I have said this before. A phone is used to make phone calls. A computer is used to access websites and other interests on the web. I have to wonder why a person would use a phone to access a forum, that is actually a website, that provides assistance to users of a COMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM. Why the hell would anybody be screwing around with a phone? As for my browser, I use Firefox and, ONLY WHEN NECESSARY, Chromium. If the Discord site isn't Firefox friendly, that would just be one more reason for me to stay the hell away from it.

As for your instructions to "supposedly" allow me to login without the damned phone number, I have done EXACTLY what you stated and the result is that when I try to login, I am still required to enter a phone number to access the site. I know I am NOT the only person that has had this problem. There are other references to this problem right here on this forum. You guys are turning potential users of WattOS away by insisting on using that damned Discord crap. The fact that SOME people can access Discord and get help with WattOS, but others can't is a HUGE flag that tells me I'll never be able to get the assistance I might potentially need. Case in point: I posted a thread titled, "Well, this doesn't look good" on August 5th. As of today, August 17th, there are NO replies at all and it has only been read 26 times since I posted it. At least 4 of those 26 are from me when I clicked to see if there were any replies. The uncertainty of the releases, along with ZERO support on a "supposed" helpful forum tells me I should simply stay the hell away from this distro. It's sad that a Linux distribution I once highly recommended and used has deteriorated into what you have now.

EDIT: One additional note on the Discord problem. I have, in fact, attempted to login using both Firefox AND Chromium, with the same result - a demand for my phone number.

OK. I'm back. I had a couple of serious health issues knock me out for a long while. I won't bore anyone with the specifics. I will say that right now I'm off my feet for a while. I've got a knee that has decided to go out on me. I'm waiting right now to go see an orthopedic specialist to determine what the problem is. Being confined to bed, the couch, and my recliner, I found I had the time to get back to trying to get R12 running for me. Oh, and I just tried logging into Discord. As soon as I did, I got that stupid "Enter a Phone Number crap I got last December. I obviously will NOT be trying that social disease site again. Hopefully a few people still use this forum. I'd sure hate to find out that no one logins in here because you're all over on Discord. leenie had asked if I use a browser or app to try to access the forum on Discord. I can answer that quickly and easily. A phone is used to make or receive phone calls. A desktop or laptop computer is used to access a website.

I have WattOS R12 loaded on this laptop I'm using right now. I haven't tried applying any of the tweaks I usually apply. I have installed all the packages I need or want. I have also changed the default appearance of the install. So far, so good.

I do have a couple of questions. First, is there an easy to use updater like Mint Update that will work on R12? I can easily update my laptop, but I'd like an updater to put on my wife's laptop and on the laptop I use as a file server in my office. Using Mint Update allows me to set the updater to automatically apply updates. That way I don't have to check the other laptops and manually update them. If there is no such package for R12, I can make a point of hitting each laptop once a month and updating them. That's not a big problem, but thought I'd ask if there was anything available.

One other really minor glitch for me is that there doesn't seem to be a way to change the number of rows that the Desktop Pager uses. Other distros I have used with XFCE have had the ability to set 2 rows for the Pager. It takes less space on the Taskbar that way. Again, this isn't a biggie at all. Just wondering if that is an option somehow.

Finally, I see that Timeshift is available for installation. Is that the best method of backing up the system, or is something Like Foxclone better. I'm not too concerned with backing up my /Home directory. I have 3 partitions on my hard drive, a linux-swap partition, a / partition for the system, and a /Home partition. I regularly back up all my files to a second, spare laptop and also to my server laptop. So, my personal data files are secured. I just need to know what anybody else is using to backup the system files.

Once I get the system backed up, I'll try just a few of my favorite system tweaks to improve performance. I won't be attempting them all due to previous experience of Borking my own R12 system.

No, I'm going to have to agree with JBHoren. As soon as I click on the "Start Verification" button, I immediately get the "Enter a Phone Number" screen you see below. There is no other option given. It's either a phone number or nothing. I guess I'll choose nothing. That's exactly why I won't proceed with Discord. It's just like every other social disease website out there. Nothing but grief can be had by visiting any such social disease site.

As for making WattOS work for me, I gave up about 2 hours ago. I'm completely unable to apply certain tweaks I insist on having on any system I run. I've proceeded with another distro that uses slightly more resources than R12, but allows me to apply every one of my tweaks. I gave it a whirl, but to no avail.







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OK. Thanks for letting Biff know. I keep running that name through my head. Was he ever in charge of a different distro? Every time I run his name through my head I get a little twinge of familiarity.

As for R12, I spent a couple hours this afternoon installing it and tweaking it. I screwed up really badly in some of my tweaking and managed to Bork my own system. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. i can take it. I screwed up and I'm certainly not too big to admit it. I'm preparing to try it a second time. I'll definitely NOT do a couple of tweaks I am used to doing on Mint. There is obviously just enough difference between the two distros that a few of my tweaks are no longer useful. LOL! Oh, well,,,,,

I'll post up as soon as I get it installed, tweaked, and running the way I want it to. Believe it or not, one of the things I seem to be having problems with is the color or other appearance of the taskbar. I guess what I need are a few images that can be used for taskbar appearance. I tried using just a color and I could never find the right shade to compliment the rest of the desktop.

So, would anyone know where I can download images that can be used for the taskbar?
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I used WattOS years ago on computers that were just a little old for the latest and greatest mainstream distros. I really liked it. It seems I was using R4. Does that sound about right? After that WattOS kind of disappeared. I happened to catch mention of R12 being released while I was nosing around Distrowatch. I downloaded it and it looks like I might be interested.

My questions regard the status of the OS and the future. Can someone offer at least a brief explanation of where it's at and where it's going? I don't want to load my 4 laptops up just to find out that software updates aren't available or, even worse, finding out that R12 is the end of the line.