Pirate Praveen 普拉文

https://social.masto.host/@praveen

Chairperson/The Prav Cooperative/https://prav.app, Indian Pirates/https://pirates.org.in, Debian Developer, Privacy Advocate, https://poddery.com, https://diasp.in, Free Software, https://fsci.in, Social Justice, Human Rights...

[matrix]: Pirate Praveen 普拉文 (npub1kx0…hnqj):poddery.com
XMPP: xmpp:[email protected]

Public Key

npub1kx0l7mpaeyfvn35wm50p4dq735zu6hfgujymhnjhwwh6uk7952mq76hnqj

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqstr8llds7ujykfc68d68s6ks0g6pwdt55wfzdmeeth8tawt0z69dsprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqyqqwwhmqk

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1kx0l7mpaeyfvn35wm50p4dq735zu6hfgujymhnjhwwh6uk7952mq76hnqj

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Last Notes

2026-07-12 20:42:45 CEST

Evening sky at Sao Paulo Airport. On the way to #DebConf26. 15 hours layover and total travel time 40 hours. Longest travel so far for me.
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/908/466/978/965/938/original/212ba46af35e3d83.jpeg

2026-06-20 17:09:03 CEST

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different communities have different rules, you need to respect them or you could create your own groups as well. It is important to listen to people when they give feedback.

2026-06-08 10:32:39 CEST

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If we have funds, we can hire system admins and they can address issues quickly.
We can't do it with just volunteers.
We run services as volunteers for 10+ years already.
durare.org poddery.com git.fosscommunity.in etc
Sometimes things remain broken for days, weeks or even months, even if the fix is as simple as updating tls certificate.
Sometimes the software never gets updated or updating is really hard.
In #Prav, we want to hire system admins to ensure timely fixes.

2026-06-08 10:12:58 CEST

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Do you see these #xmpp services replacing #WhatsApp one day? If we keep thinking we only need to make individual choices to defeat WhatsApp, we are going to lose.
Prav is a collective, coordinated effort. Our costs - hosting, SMS, events, developing features, all are real.
Someone has to pay, if you would like to sponsor the whole, we'd be happy to offer it free of cost as well :)
We just have to find the funds from somewhere, not necessary only from users directly.

2026-06-08 09:53:22 CEST

People who are new to @npub1eyk…ndu6 may be wondering why they need to give a govt id and 1000 rupees to become a member?
Even long term #FreeSoftware community members might be wonder why do we need to bother with all these?
Don't we just need #vi vs #emacs or #kde vs #gnome vs #sway fights?
Don't we just need to have #Arch vs #Debian vs #Fedora choice?
There are two additional challenges in addition to maintaining software,
1. Run the service reliably - pay bills
2. Break network effects

2026-06-08 09:22:29 CEST

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if you just want to use the app (like drinking #Amul milk), you don't need to be a member.
But if you become a member, you share the ownership of the app and can vote to elect people who will govern the app - like deciding its #privacyPolicy or hiring developers to build features in the app.
You can also get elected to the leadership. The app will be run #democratically by its members.
This may look strange to you, but made possible by #FreeSoftware.
#prav #cooperative #xmpp

2026-06-07 18:41:20 CEST

Anyone from #Maharashtra want to be an official member of the prav cooperative ?
Join at https://prav.app/become-a-member/
We had reached required 50 numbers once, but some people dropped out later.
So we only have 46 members now and need 50 to register as multi state cooperative.
Other states are welcome too, but you will have to wait longer till your state reaches 50.
#Kerala has the required minimum of 50 already, but more members makes us stronger.
#prav #cooperative #mastIndia #askFedi
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/709/814/958/203/961/original/168899de2408e7d4.jpeg

2026-05-25 12:02:27 CEST

Thanks to Sadik PK's help, I managed to automate much steps of USSD based *99# UPI Payments.
https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP#Automating_scan_to_pay_process
Now we can scan, copy, launch app, paste and pay. More automation is possible, but this reduces a manual and error prone step of extracting upi id from upi url. Also makes dialing a specific ussd code easy.
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/634/634/239/678/606/original/23ac9c2f0aecc804.png

2026-05-24 11:43:08 CEST

സ്ത്രീ യാത്രകള്‍ പൊതുവഴിയില്‍: തൊഴിലിടങ്ങളിലെ ചോര്‍ച്ച നികത്തുന്ന കെ.എസ്.ആര്‍.ടി.സിയിലെ സൗജന്യ യാത്രകള്‍.
ആഗോളതലത്തിലും പ്രാദേശികമായും നിലനില്‍ക്കുന്ന വലിയൊരു യാഥാര്‍ത്ഥ്യമാണ് ലിംഗഭേദ വേതന വ്യത്യാസം. ഇതിനൊപ്പം വീട്ടുജോലിയും കുട്ടികളെ വളര്‍ത്തലുമടങ്ങുന്ന വേതനമില്ലാത്ത അധ്വാനവും സ്ത്രീകള്‍ ചെയ്യുന്നുണ്ട്.
ഇത് സ്ത്രീകള്‍ക്ക് ഒരു ശമ്പള വര്‍ധനവായി കണക്കാകാം സ്ത്രീകള്‍ക്ക് ലഭിക്കാതിരിക്കുന്ന തൊഴിലിടങ്ങളിലെ കൂലി കൂട്ടി കൊടുക്കുന്നതായി നടപ്പിലാക്കപ്പെടേണ്ടതാണ്.
https://www.doolnews.com/amit-prasad-writes-about-free-travel-for-women-in-ksrtc-66-114.html

2026-05-11 21:06:33 CEST

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我也是印度人。晚安。明天见。

2026-05-11 12:32:29 CEST

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加油 ! 作天我们吃了粥 (we ate porridge yesterday).

2026-05-09 18:47:39 CEST

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what do you do if the govt don't care about your rights at all? They publicly argued there was no fundamental right to privacy in Supreme Court. Constitution is only as good as the institutions that are meant to uphold rights works in neutral ways. If Supreme Court cannot stand up against goverment or Election Commission sides with the ruling party, what good is just the words printed in the constitution?

2026-05-09 18:43:26 CEST

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you cannot change reality by ignoring it. Not understanding reality is a big failure. Assuming constitution as written on paper is safe by itself is a big fallacy.

2026-05-09 18:36:23 CEST

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if you see this is the only problem with the goverment, that itself is a problem. It is part of the plan on making India a single party country. If we are shocked only by private data collection, we can't stop it. The only way is to stop BJP fully, I don't expect we can win on privacy in isolation from BJP.

2026-05-09 17:56:42 CEST

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these are bad, but there are so much more bad about the current govt, we can't just look at aadhaar or biometrics in isolation. It part of a larger bad politics. We cannot stop it by just focusing on biometrix/privacy or aadhaar alone. That would have been sufficient if it was an exception from the norm, but when everything is bad, there is no point in looking just at this. We can't stop it by looking at it in isolation. We have to fix the whole mess together.

2026-05-09 16:53:14 CEST

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Add 'English' and 'Pinyin' from Input Methods

2026-05-09 16:46:19 CEST

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Did you install fcitx5 ? You can open the app from the icon on homescreen, which will allow you to configure it.

2026-05-09 16:28:03 CEST

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also don't try to remember to write everything at first, try the words, meanings and pinyin to type, hanzi strokes can be learned slowly. If you start with the strokes, that can be a lot more challenging. Start with identifying common words and how to type them.

2026-05-09 16:26:32 CEST

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https://strokeorder.com helps greatly, we can draw approximately (use the pen icon in search) and it will show similar characters to choose from and then we can see the stroke order animations.

2026-05-09 14:36:57 CEST

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listening can help even if you cannot type. I use fcitx to type in Android and it is pretty good. You can type in English and it will convert to Chinese. For example nihao becomes 你好 May be start with https://duolingo.com Chinese course as well?

2026-05-09 12:08:26 CEST

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj__X2BRhyo&list=PL6xVgUZ4UP2MTlX8nv9yPdX2zlTMSYgV9&index=1&pp=iAQB this is my favorite cdrama. 我已经看了三次. You can watch with English subtitles and try to catch some words.

2026-05-09 09:57:32 CEST

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If you are interested we can learn together. 一起学习把.

2026-05-08 13:37:44 CEST

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I watch Chinese drama with English subtitles (and recently started watching the dramas again with only Chinese subtitles as I know the story/context already, but I can still catch only a few words most of the time, sometimes the whole sentence). I also use https://context.reverso.net ictionary/translation, https://strokeorder.com draw characters, https://libretranslate.com cross check translations, https://publicai.co/chat I chat with a few friends in Chinese.

2026-05-08 09:37:22 CEST

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我在学习中文. I'm learning Chinese. Duolingua level 15.

2026-05-07 18:53:30 CEST

印度不再有共产政府
我的洲是最后一个
这是五十年来的第一次
#印度 #共产主义
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/4/india-loses-its-last-left-wing-government-after-five-decades

2026-05-02 08:08:10 CEST

One of the best vegetarian food I ever had was at #Kanpur. Their veg platter was so good, I went back to eat there again before I left.
#菜
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/503/409/086/250/857/original/5d08b35b98049ab8.jpeg

2026-04-25 17:12:41 CEST

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I am fully occupied with @npub1eyk…ndu6 so I can't get involved in any community hosting at the moment. Hosting services require long time commitment, only if new people step in, this will be sustainable.

2026-04-25 09:17:14 CEST

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different people makes different distros, so testing / quality differs between distributions. I don't know how good MX linux is, but I'm directly involved in #Debian and know about it quality, so I can help more if it is Debian.

2026-04-25 06:39:38 CEST

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are you following any guides? Try Debian too.

2026-04-23 15:17:07 CEST

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Single candidate elections happened in the past too. Plus there was a nota option to defeat.

2026-04-23 12:22:43 CEST

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First step would be to install and start using it. Give it a try, it is not very hard.

2026-04-22 19:47:36 CEST

Free software enthusiast from Kerala elected Debian Project Leader
One of the oldest and widely used Linux-based operating systems, Debian has been developed by a community of volunteers from around the world
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/free-software-enthusiast-from-kerala-elected-debian-project-leader/article70892810.ece
https://ostechnix.com/sruthi-chandran-debian-project-leader-dpl-2026/
#FreeSoftware #Debian #OpenSource #FOSS @npub1jzg…4ms0

2026-04-17 15:59:25 CEST

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We are just offering some hand holding to get started with #xmpp. #Prav is ready for iOS too, but #Apple won't accept it in App Store, so people have to take the longer route of #SideStore. We have started the process of involving the users to prioritize missing pieces in #XMPP apps.

2026-04-17 15:14:50 CEST

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it is very close to #quicksy in current state as we started from quicksy. It offers a choice to users - they can choose either Quicksy or #Prav without considering what their friends are using and users of either app can talk to users of the other app. We made small changes already like changing SMS provider so it works in countries like Nepal and Brazil where Quicksy SMS don't get delivered. We hope to offer custom username option and may eventually get other features.

2026-04-15 09:02:51 CEST

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The bottom one is actually foldable and you can sit on it normally.
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/407/436/343/827/079/original/c5f2a59b22f90692.jpeg

2026-04-15 08:55:30 CEST

Two recent coconut grating machines. Both offers convenience over the traditional one. #coconut
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/407/404/251/447/770/original/f9691257a6a56f03.jpeg

2026-04-06 13:56:07 CEST

I can use #UPI again after a month of breakage. Switching linked bank account to ICICI helped, though Federal bank also started working when I switched back to it again from ICICI later.
So not sure what broke in between. I had to add a non mobile number upi id after switching banks each time.
This is the 100% #FreeSoftware was of using #UPI. No need to install any apps and works on everyphone if you have #Airtel sim.
Learn more at https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP #nuup #ussd
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/357/626/482/707/754/original/88f7092d2b9f2341.png

2026-04-06 13:47:35 CEST

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should have many folks using #FreeSoftware Likely @npub1eyh…ae7d too.

2026-04-05 16:48:21 CEST

#MiniDebCamp #kochi https://deb.li/i4DDI .
Registration is open https://my.liberaforms.org/minidebcamp-kochi-2026
#Debian #DebCamp #DebConf #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/352/641/621/888/698/original/bbaa8b621ef8dd91.png

2026-04-02 08:11:03 CEST

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#SideStore seems like a better option that does not require installing AltServer https://docs.sidestore.io/docs/installation/prerequisites Can anyone with an #iPhone try this ? #Apple #iOS #FreeSoftware #Prav

2026-04-02 06:36:28 CEST

Anyone used #AltStore Classic to sideload apps on #iPhone ? #AskFedi
https://faq.altstore.io/altstore-classic/your-altstore
#Apple #FreeSoftware #iOS #prav
@npub1eyk…ndu6 was rejected by #Apple from app store saying it is similar to #Quicksy and #Monal. So we are exploring our options to make Prav available to iPhone users. Ideas and help welcome.
We are also looking at #aptoid and also filing a complaint with Competition Commission. Why should we allow Apple to gatekeep apps on iPhone?
@npub1eyh…ae7d @npub1fhv…m889 @npub10dc…ul8g
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/333/235/934/718/962/original/502bc233a8fdfbb7.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/333/236/867/281/815/original/363df837a55f5b58.jpeg

2026-03-12 18:08:16 CET

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*99# stopped working for me with my Federal Bank + Airtel combo. ICICI + Vi is still working though with limited features (send to phone numbers and accept payment requests) . I have filed an issue with Federal Bank, if they cannot fix it, I will have to change my phone number linked to ICICI account or open another bank account with my Airtel number.

2026-02-16 03:35:14 CET

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this was not bought online, but from a shop in Kurla. We were joking that we could at least go there and shout, apparently we actually needed to use that option. They took more than a week even after someone visited us and confirmed it was broken. As a consolation, the product itself seems to be fine. It can get to 250°C in 10 minutes and keep it.

2026-02-15 19:03:29 CET

Never ever buy anything from #Tata #Croma
We bought a 48L OTG last month. It was delivered with glass door broken on the side.
It took them 3 weeks and many many phone calls to finally replace it. Their customer support is absolutely pathetic. They kept on creating new tickets whenever we called instead of following up.
Their shop support number is switched off most of the time. Finally we had to visit store again to get things moving.
#India #MastIndia

2026-02-02 19:20:59 CET

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I suppose you have Vi, the phone number restriction is only on Vi. On airtel I can scan and pay anyone. Never failed so far. We have to manually copy the UPI id from the scanned text though. You can also use a short cut like *99*1*3# to directly open the UPI id screen.

2026-02-02 14:09:44 CET

Do you have a #Twitter / X.com account ? Can you send a feedback about http://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP to https://twitter.com/NPCI_BHIM ?
#BHIM provides a USSD interface to #UPI which lets you scan and pay without needing and #android or iphone. But it works only in some cities and some telecom providers only support it partially.
BHIM support team refuse to acknowledge the option saying it is some other app even though they highlight *99# in their website main menu. #MastIndia #FreeSoftware
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/116/001/191/529/289/183/original/b12f58fa1a7899dd.png

2026-01-26 13:49:24 CET

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Recently some businesses ( Elastic Search, #Grafana) have also adopted strong copyleft (AGPL) with aim of stopping the likes of AWS from providing competing service.
They still call it #OpenSource.
https://www.elastic.co/blog/elasticsearch-is-open-source-again
#ElasticSearch #FreeSoftware

2026-01-25 10:10:05 CET

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你好 I completely agree with you about the feeling, I like to call it Free Software too.
My point is, the software remains the same whether you call it #FreeSoftware or #OpenSource. Many people think they can say a software is Free Software or Open Source looking at license.
The choice of words determines what is more important to you or what is more comfortable for you. Not everyone is comfortable talking about ethics, so Open Source is more comfortable to many people.

2026-01-23 19:28:46 CET

I usually use this story of blind men describing an elephant to explain difference between #FreeSoftware and #OpenSource.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
A very widespread understanding equates #copyleft with #FreeSoftware and permissive licenses with #OpenSource.
In almost all practical cases you are referring to the same software.
The difference is what you focus on and this focus difference gives you different conclusions. So I focus on 4 freedoms for every user ie, copyleft Free Software.

2026-01-19 14:38:18 CET

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This way, in #Prav everyone interested gets a chance to influence which features gets implemented first. You are also invited to be a part of this process.
Just contact the community through any of our communication channels seen on our website https://prav.app
Though Prav for iOS is available in test flight, #Apple has rejected its inclusion in App Store. We have filed an appeal and looking to distribute it via alternate market places, though only limited to Europe.

2026-01-19 14:18:27 CET

I'd like to talk about how we built #Prav iOS app to demonstrate #FreeSoftware development need not be restricted to programmers.
A common misunderstanding people have is about their inability to modify software beyond asking/demanding or just donating to projects.
In Prav, community prioritized building an iOS app through a feature poll. We then raised funds to hire an iOS developer.
Finding a developer was the hardest part, but it does not involve any technical skills. #OpenSource

2026-01-16 15:46:51 CET

Do you love #XMPP and have some time to dedicate to it? and you don't mind Google paying you a few thousand US dollars while doing it, consider implementing cross signing in @npub1eyk…ndu6 as part of Google Summer of Code.
See https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/edit/V6nDcrMy6b+2+cIIFXZUF5pO/
If you are an #android/#java developer consider joining as a co-mentor as well.
It is very frustrating when people can't decrypt some messages when people in a group adds new devices. It is one of the top priority features of #prav community.

2026-01-11 12:45:23 CET

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404 Not Found when ?

2026-01-09 22:23:49 CET

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印度也有

2026-01-09 15:52:52 CET

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yes, only #prav and #quicksy. We are trying to explore ways to make this optional by offering custom username or using phone number only for password recovery. But we are not really sure about if those are sufficient .

2026-01-09 13:04:02 CET

@npub1eyk…ndu6 hopes to challenge the sim binding order with help from @npub1fhv…m889
https://prav.app/blog/prav-and-sim-binding/
Though we will still have to comply since the court may take its own time to stay or even hear it.
Our last challenge against IT rules is still pending.
#prav #xmpp #simbinding #WhatsApp #Signal

2026-01-08 12:36:43 CET

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I have been using android apps on my FLX1 without much issues. There are still some rough edges with audio and video. I have to restart android container to get audio calls working on monocles chat. NewPipe had some issues but FreeTube works natively. I use this phone as my daily driver (no android backup phone). The second phone I have is Librem 5.
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/859/267/699/740/253/original/63132bb003117a96.png

2026-01-03 11:20:38 CET

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thanks for the update, try again in another city. In Kerala, it did not work in Palakkad, but worked in Kochi.

2026-01-02 15:07:14 CET

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this is basically mobile banking, so hopefully RBI and banks have taken care of security.

2026-01-02 14:58:46 CET

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https://nirdpr.org.in/nird_docs/cle/cle-ussd241216-english.pdf this mentions the requests are sent directly to the bank server.

2026-01-02 14:50:13 CET

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someone on fsci xmpp group answered this "Afaik, nope. It is relayed as a hash number, instead of plain text."

2026-01-02 11:40:42 CET

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I'm not sure how exactly this is implemented, but the ussd service itself is run by BHIM.

2026-01-02 08:58:46 CET

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Only Airtel works well in some cities, with Vi, you can only send money by phone number, so no scan and pay. If many Vi users port to Airtel and tell them broken *99# as reason, they might fix it. One way to support #FreeSoftware. If you dont have a specific reason to stick with Vi, I recommend you do it.
#UPI #MastIndia #Vi #Airtel #bhim

2026-01-02 07:27:58 CET

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if it works, it works well. But it works only with certain combinations of City, Service Provider and Bank so only a really motivated and determined person with some luck can use it. I had to port my number to airtel (BSNL don't work and Vi only partly - you can send only to phone numbers, not by upi id) and update my phone number in my bank (because I had two accounts linked to a single number) .

2026-01-01 19:31:39 CET

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thanks, I updated the wiki page.

2026-01-01 19:18:53 CET

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Which bank did you try? Airtel or Vi ?

2026-01-01 19:15:58 CET

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thanks for testing and reporting.

2026-01-01 15:00:32 CET

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then the camera app should expose some APIs to avoid duplicating that part again in the UPI app. Same for USSD implementation, need an API to avoid duplication.

2026-01-01 14:19:57 CET

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so with this the camera app itself could add a pay option and dial *99*1*3# and fill the UPI id, so we can emulate the scan and pay - then people will only have to enter pin manually!

2026-01-01 14:12:04 CET

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yes, it should be possible, as we can send choices directly as well. *99*1# will directly open the send money screen. *99*1*3# will directly open the screen to enter UPI id.

2026-01-01 11:07:57 CET

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Since it only works well in some cities, more people testing and updating the information in this wiki page would be good.
All you need to do is dial *99# on your phone linked to your bank account and update this page https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP (DM me if you need an account).

2026-01-01 10:33:17 CET

Good way to start new year, I could do a #UPI scan and pay on my #librem5 with 100% #FreeSoftware.
Camera app millipixels suddenly started working and it supports detecting QR codes too!
Earlier I had to type the address manually and it used to time out (I was also switching to 2G only mode to make sure USSD goes through earlier, but noticed I don't need to do that manually) .
Now last 4 payments worked on first try!
Though you need a lot of effort to get this far https://wiki.fsci.in/NUUP
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/819/145/404/373/900/original/f1d467b883b9bd73.png

2025-12-29 11:43:22 CET

#MiniDebConf is going to Kanpur after Navi Mumbai!
#debian #debconf
Stay tuned to https://mini.debconf.org
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/802/433/718/845/407/original/5ec32184ff363e22.png

2025-12-26 18:53:46 CET

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we use hcaptcha at lists.fsci.in - it has django integration. @npub1zwm…m083

2025-12-26 10:49:47 CET

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it was better physically - as I feel sleepy when eating lots of carbs. But psychologically without eating rice, I did not feel satisfied :)

2025-12-25 17:25:53 CET

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I once did keto and lost 15kgs, now millets based diet. My body adjusted to burning fat directly.

2025-12-25 14:43:56 CET

圣诞快乐! shèng dàn kuài lè! 🎅

2025-12-25 08:20:17 CET

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I think I just had one McDonald's this year - I eat subway more often and it is always their tuna. I rarely have break fast, usually it is only two meals a day.

2025-12-20 13:29:53 CET

#diaspora service at poddery.com will be shut down after we ran it for 12 years. Joe Bivins ran it before we took over maintenance in 2013. It was one of the earliest diaspora pods.
https://codema.in/d/Cg3RqOWk/shutting-down-poddery-s-diaspora-service-on-15th-jan-2026
Both #xmpp and #matrix services, which shared the diaspora accounts will continue operating for now.
Thanks to everyone who helped maintain it till now. Even though diaspora failed to get the adoption we hoped for, #mastodon is continuing the fight for #federated social media.

2025-12-13 12:16:30 CET

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Organize one near you : ) Next one is in Kanpur.

2025-12-13 06:26:59 CET

#MiniDebConf Navi Mumbai
#Debian #FreeSoftware #OpenSource
Some photos from the event ( adding alt text with tuba seems broken )
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/590/026/725/808/original/a8dcf92289f7cec8.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/591/036/386/897/original/317937cabec34b72.jpeg
https://cdn.masto.host/socialmh/media_attachments/files/115/710/592/163/081/153/original/c9e484ba8e7f8c49.jpeg

2025-12-12 11:25:29 CET

durare. org is now listed in #XMPP providers website!
https://providers.xmpp.net/provider/durare.org/
We are currently in class B since creating accounts is a manual process to prevent spam sign up.
My wishlist is adding email verification to automate sign ups.
Thanks to the entire team behind #Durare
This public service is supported by your donations and maintained by volunteers with love! Consider donating today https://durare.org/#donate

2025-12-06 20:59:17 CET

Interesting post around #AWS and #AGPL looking at #ElasticSearch vs #OpenSearch
https://socket.dev/blog/developers-burned-by-elasticsearch-license-change-arent-going-back
Reminded about this issue in a recent discussion around new challenges to #FreeSoftware like #AWS in #FSCI
#OpenSource

2025-12-05 14:49:44 CET

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I don't think we can take it for granted. AAP is already out of India block. There is no place for complacency . Things will be totally different by next election.

2025-12-05 00:10:03 CET

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Lets at the least not give up in the war of perception and marketing. BJP and media want people to believe they cannot be stopped. Do you want to give them an easy win ?

2025-12-05 00:08:20 CET

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Just stating the problems or pointing fingers at different people or institutions is not going to help us fix it. Are you willing to seek a possible solution and make an effort to change things together ? minimum we can do is stop spreading depression, that can only help BJP. What we need is create hope, only when there is hope we can do something. If you look back, emergency in 1984 was much more direct and brutal, we did come out of it. @npub188m…kczn @npub1fw5…p4dp

2025-12-04 15:00:21 CET

#FreeSoftware versions of Vagrant is no longer maintained. Vagrant was one of the methods we suggested when people are learning #debian #packaging. I liked the way of sharing a Vagrantfile when doing a workshop for many people.
As I was preparing for another packaging workshop for #MiniDebConf at Navi Mumbai, I gave Incant a try. It is a replacement for Vagrantfile like declaration of machines and uses #Incus as its backend.
https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging/Pre-Requisites/Virtual-Machine#Incant
Join us at https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEvents/in/2025/MiniDebConfNaviMumbai

2025-12-04 14:42:51 CET

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your idea about physical spaces and discussions can help in the long term. But that is not enough if we want to defeat BJP, they have large and strong grass root network across the country. We need focused and coordinated effort from a large number of organizations and individuals.

2025-12-04 14:40:22 CET

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if we don't find people for second, it is not much useful. If we can find even 5-10 people who can agree with spending at least 2 hours to do something, then we can give it a try.
3. Now this part, what do we do with the 2 hours, there could be different ideas. My idea is this, we need to tell people that without their involvement and commitment it cannot be done. Then we need a unified campaign that tell organizations and parties to work together.

2025-12-04 14:35:08 CET

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I think we need to separate these things and focus on each. 1. Crucial question is if people agree the current system needs change. This needs more outreach. We will easily find a lot of people who agree with it. We might not even have to try and convince people at this stage.
2. But the second part is even more crucial. Of the people who agree we need change, how many are willing to dedicate time and effort to fix it. This is harder than first part.

2025-12-04 13:37:20 CET

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so the question really is,
1. Do you just wish/pray this gets fixed?
2. Or are you willing to take the efforts necessary to get it fixed?
Willingness alone don't guarantee success, but at least it has a non-zero chance. For option 1, it is waiting for a miracle. Trying and failing (> 0 probability) is different from not even trying (0 probability).

2025-12-04 13:34:03 CET

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I do have a plan and path, though longer term and hard - pirates.org.in. I tried it too - I went on the ground too, but it is hard for people to join. Many expect to do only simple things like posting on social media and signing petitions. If we diagnose someone with cancer, then if we really intent to cure it, we have to use appropriate measures like surgery, just wishing drinking lime juice - since that is what I know to make - will cure it is not going to work.

2025-12-04 13:30:37 CET

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there are different layers here, conferences are not only about outreach. We also need to work together and build things so we not only need people to know about Free Software. So we need events like IndiaFOSS to share experinces and learn from each other. Similarly politics is not just theory that we tell others, we have to practice it on every day level too. So there are things we can share and learn from each other too.

2025-12-04 11:16:36 CET

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Most of the time BJP wins because those oppose it are fighting among themselves on smaller differences and cannot think about a unified fight. Even though bringing people and organizations are harder because of people's egos and attitudes, but that is crucial to winning this fight.

2025-12-04 11:15:23 CET

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You don't need to be an expert in everything to understand the big picture, also we can depend on other experts when going deeper. But the picture is about whose interests, who is going to benefit etc. In specific case, we might need expertise, but the general case is about choosing sides and picking interests. Also the more effort we need is not finding solutions but organizing people and bringing people who already agree together.

2025-12-04 11:12:26 CET

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Individual efforts are needed, but they have to match a larger goal/plan of action. Just having individual actions that does not fit into a larger goal does not help. Also a larger goal cannot be realized by a single individual either. So we have to remove our personal restrictions when thinking about the solution. We have to actively organize and increase our strength if we have to solve big problems.

2025-12-04 11:10:41 CET

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the two things you are trying to mix up. 1. Looking at the big picture and having a big plan 2. What we can do at individual levels.
If you limit even your thinking to individual levels, we can't really win big battles at all.
Everyone has limited ability/time/constrainsts what they can personally do. But that should not be a blocker to thinking about the real problems and solutions. Because big problems cannot be solved at individual efforts.

2025-12-04 10:58:33 CET

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If people expect just posting on social media or signing a petition will solve fundamental issues, we cannot win this fight at all. I'm not saying the fight is easy, but we have no chance if only want to take the easy path.

2025-12-04 10:57:20 CET

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the core point I am making is this - "If we only chose the easy path/option, it does not guarantee the results we want to see". If we really care about the results, we have to include the harder/long term efforts on the table as well. When we know others are not doing a good job, just naively expecting they will continue to do good or repeatedly asking them to do good job don't work.

2025-12-04 10:52:51 CET

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and how do you imaging that will happen? There has to be a plan and a path. Just stating the expectations won't make things happen. What role do you see yourself playing in that scheme?