IMPORTANT NOTE: Although Chumdroid can be used to connect to the Pesterchum servers, we highly discourage users from utilizing this app - it was made for a much older version of Android, it causes everyone - this being the user, anyone they contact, and the moderation team - a lot of trouble, and is generally just a pain in the ass to manage. Read the second headline to learn more about Pesterchum Mobile.
Hello, good people of r/homestuck. This is Mal, your everyday Pesterchum moderator speaking. If this is the first you've heard of me, I hope that by the end of this thread, I'll have convinced you to make sure that it won't be the last!
Remember Pesterchum? Yeah, the silly goofy platform from that silly goofy webcomic. That one. Cool concept, right? What if there was a version of that made for roleplayers into said silly goofy webcomic? Sounds like an interesting pitch, right? Well, I'd be lying if I said this is a cool and new concept. It's not. Matter fact? We're about thirteen years late to the party.
But the party goes on! And we intend to keep it going, so in this thread, you'll find all the information you need to get started!
There's a lot of new stuff that I'm excited to share with you, but to start it off, let's talk about Pesterchum's meat and bones.
PESTERCHUM DESKTOP
What's old, what's new, and what's to come
For those who missed it, forgot about it, or just haven't been around for a while, let's go over the current state of the platform.
- It's still up! Of course, not with the numbers ghostDunk's server had, but still a relatively large user population! In periods of lower activity, you're still guaranteed to have ~100 users ready to immerse you in the universe of MSPA's most creative, insightful, and comedic platform! And the bots work! No more scratching your head in a cartoonish manner, confused about why the Random Encounter button is greyed out.
- Active development & moderation, with the repository openly hosted on GitHub, allowing anyone to contribute to the client. The last release was December 2022, and a new update is nearby, which will bring...
- Global support for user-made themes! We're super excited about this one, it'll include a section in the "themes" panel with all the user-made themes currently stored in the Theme Repository! And I know what you're thinking. If there's a place to host one's theme, which will also be readily available on the platform... what about making said themes?
- Pesterchum Theme Editor, created by our valued community member Mocha, as a way to lower the entry-level in theme-making, allowing anyone to be the master of their own customized layout! The repository is available here and hosts more recent themes made within the last year, and ye olden themes that we were able to scavenge for and gather, along with their respective authors' permission and credit.
Things may be looking grim for the livelihood of the fandom, but we're gonna keep trying our best to proportionate newcomers with the same feeling that readers had in ghostDunk's server
Now for some big, wonderful news.
PESTERCHUM GODOT (MOBILE & MORE)
Again, from the incredibly resourceful Mocha, a version of Pesterchum for mobile devices has been made - and in a game engine, nonetheless!
It's just getting out of alpha, and the current features are:
- Moods, Chumhandles, & colored text;
- Memos with time controls;
- Metadata protocol support;
- Multiple profiles;
- Highly customizable automatic text quirks;
- Web browser, android, & desktop versions, for anyone looking for a different flavor of Pesterchum;
- Different themes - the only two currently available are Pesterchum and Trollian;
- Global user & memo list;
- Custom servers!
- Emotes!
- Chumrolls,
- IRC mode, in case you'd like to use Pesterchum Godot to connect to a standard IRC server, and connections over WebSocket, TCP, & TLS (if you don't understand this technical jargon, don't worry, it ain't for you)
The latest version of Pesterchum Godot was released at the time of writing this post, accessible here and the patch notes for this version are available here.
Now, I wish I could tell you that we've developed an iOS version, but due to how complicated (and expensive) it is to get it done, it's very unlikely it'll ever happen.
but mal, i dont have a windows/linux personal computer or an android phone. all i was given is this 2019 hand-me-down chromebook.
Well, lucky for you, there's one last platform for the ones who are completely barred from the other platforms, and it comes in the shape of
PESTERCHUM ONLINE
If the only electronic device you're allowed to have at home is a Samsung SmartToaster, so long as it can access the internet, there's a platform for you!
Pesterchum Online (accessible at https://pesterchum.online) is a... skeleton, for lack of a better word, but it contains the bare minimum to engage with everyone else.
In Pesterchum Online, you pick a handle, pick a color, and you're ready to go. Users will be automatically connected to the #pesterchum.online memo, which serves as a hub for all users of this platform. However, they are still able to chat with anyone online and join all public memos at their discretion.
It's important to note, that due to the rather accessible nature of Pesterchum Online, its memo has its own respective set of rules. They're there for a reason, so please keep it safe and calm for all.
That's about it. If you'd like to learn more about Pesterchum, I will reply to any questions regarding the platform, to the best of my capacities. Additionally, there are two discord servers - Pesterchum Republic and Pesterchum Support - which are, respectively, the more active and social side and the more technical and development-oriented corner.
That's all I have to say about this matter. Any questions, queries, or dramas, feel free to place them here or on either of the Discord servers!
We hope to see you in the platform soon!
Sincerely,
The Pesterchum Mod Team