Funtutu
Have you tried one of these providers? https://providers.xmpp.net/
I didn't have an issue with registration on macaw.me or monocles.de, but I haven't used those accounts yet.
I will be honest, I haven't came around to using XMPP myself yet, but I am pretty sure you are able to do all of those things, at least with the help of extensions. Here's the XMPP standards that are currently stable or experimental:
Files/Images:
- XEP-0363: HTTP File Upload [Stable]
- XEP-0446: File metadata element [Experimental]
- XEP-0447: Stateless file sharing [Experimental]
- XEP-0448: Encryption for stateless file sharing [Experimental]
Emojis/Stickers:
- XEP-0444: Message Reactions [Experimental]
- XEP-0449: Stickers [Experimental]
Looking at clients, I see various ones that have at least some of the features you are looking for (especially file and image sharing, I haven't found a client that has explicitly implemented the stickers specification yet, but Movim seems to have them):
I would give it some more time. It seems those features are in development, but this is essentially an alternative to Matrix that is more standardized. It's a widely adopted and integrated protocol, so I don't doubt the features you are looking for will become more fleshed out some day.
XMPP it is, then.
I would probably suggest Mint. When I first started Linux, I was adept with computers, but I still struggled using Linux for the first time. I tried Fedora around 2015 as my first distro, and I really struggled to install it. So I started with Ubuntu. I spent time doing some courses for Linux, and it was quite a journey for me to figure out this new environment. Then I would distro hop so much because I was dissatisfied with missing packages and issues with my new laptop (which wasn't running well on many distributions because it required a newer kernel), and then I landed on Kubuntu for a little while. Then Manjaro, which I don't recommend anymore for these reasons (plus I had to reinstall Manjaro a few times when it broke, especially due to NVIDIA driver issues, but today that shouldn't be as much of a problem, I believe). I was able to install Manjaro with Manjaro Architect at one point, which made it easier for me to figure out how to install Arch Linux. I was breaking my Linux machine so much when I was using Ubuntu because I didn't understand what I was doing, thus it is difficult for me to recommend a Linux distro to a new user with full 100% certainty they would not break their system if they wanted to do some tinkering or try to do any niche thing like gaming. I know you want to leave Windows ASAP, but it may be easier to first run Linux in a virtual machine. It's going to take a while to figure it out, and a virtual machine will help make the journey less painful so you don't risk wiping your drive or having periods where you are stuck without a machine when you need to get work done and you are sitting in front of your computer for hours trying to install and configure Linux or figure out why you are booting into emergency mode. For a tip, I really recommend not installing everything you want under the sun. This was the reason for 90% of the time I broke my Linux installations. Install only a few packages at a time, and backup your data.
There is a new Arch-based distro in town that is meant to be user friendly, which is Crystal Linux, but I haven't used it myself nor do I know if this is good to recommend to absolutely new users. The reason why I mention it is because I have had a lot of trouble with other distributions, and while Arch would break on me once in a while (which at that point in my Linux journey, I could fix Arch without needing to reinstall the entire OS)--usually for a specific package or two--as a noobish user it was a better experience for me working with the pacman package manager and having access to the Arch User Repository. I also had a better time working with rolling release distributions. With Crystal Linux, it gives you the option to install the Nix package manager and comes with a nice pacman wrapper called Amethyst, but I would consider yay the best pacman/AUR wrapper, imo. I haven't tried Amethyst, though.
Here's a video on Crystal Linux by DistroTube: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=Q_CXNtbsy74
Crystal Linux also has documentation on using a NVIDIA GPU with Wayland here: https://getcryst.al/site/docs/crystal-linux/nvidiawayland
Crystal Linux also uses the BTRFS filesystem utilizing snapshots with Timeshift, which if I had used this when I was first learning Linux, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.
Also, one last tip: when installing Linux or working with something you are unfamiliar with, take notes. It really helps to have something to look back at when you have to do the same task again and forgot the reason you did certain things.
I have done so (git clone) with Gentoo and it works.
Then again, after learning about the crappy things the Raspberry Pi Foundation has done, I'm probably better off getting a used Lenovo ThinkCentre or HP EliteDesk Mini (which I already have) for a much lower cost. I was just excited about Raspberry Pi's finally being powerful enough to handle 4K, but that may be a stretch, too.
I am not sure if you meant to reply to the other person's comment or refer to them in mine, but I think this video does a pretty good job at explaining socialism/communism to people wanting to understand it: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=fpKsygbNLT4
I'll try to give my own explanations later.
Whistles casually
https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy#instant-messaging
https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy#teamworking-tools
https://github.com/pluja/awesome-privacy#video-and-audio-conferencing
https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted#communication---irc
https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted#communication---video-conferencing
https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted#communication---xmpp---servers
https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted#communication---xmpp---web-clients
https://github.com/redecentralize/alternative-internet#messaging
Referencing my buried comment with suggestions:
I don't remember and can't find a post I saw in the past recommending better video chat applications for more than two users. I believe one was Jitsi and another Wire. I just found another video conferencing application someone recommended online: MiroTalk. Different open source software excel in different areas.
Sorry, I just realized this post is about instant messaging platforms and not specifically their video chat features.
I like Element better because of its Markdown capabilities (though still very limited) and the ability to edit messages. I used element for my team coding projects in college, which worked very well and integrated nicely with our GitHub updates, but it sucked for video conferences. Signal barely holds up for two-user video chats, though that could be my internet or someone else's.
I also want to self host my own XMPP server someday.
There is Revolt. Maybe younger people will like that more.
I don't remember and can't find a post I saw in the past recommending better video chat applications for more than two users. I believe one was Jitsi and another Wire. I just found another video conferencing application someone recommended online: MiroTalk. Different open source software excel in different areas.
Sorry, I just realized this post is about instant messaging platforms and not specifically their video chat features.
I like Element better because of its Markdown capabilities (though still very limited) and the ability to edit messages. I used element for my team coding projects in college, which worked very well and integrated nicely with our GitHub updates, but it sucked for video conferences. Signal barely holds up for two-user video chats, though that could be my internet or someone else's.
I also want to self host my own XMPP server someday.
There is Revolt. Maybe younger people will like that more.