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What was your gateway product to open source?
(www.cnet.com)
I want to talk about our gateway products to open source. You know, that one product or software that made us go, "Whoa, this is amazing!" and got us hooked on the world of open source.
What made you to jump ships? Was it the "free" side of things like qBittorrent? Did you even know that some of your programs are open source before you got into the topic?
For me those products were:
- Android
- Firefox
- VLC
- Calibre
Am thinking to order some merch and I wanna make it more accessible to people unfamilliar with open source culture. Now, am looking for fairly normalized but still underrepresented product -- maybe it could serve as a conversation starter and push some people to open source
This is true, but also, this ideology is mainly seen in Windows of macOS users - these users they just use software.
But there most certainly is a "world of open source", and you usually enter that world when you switch to an opensource OS like Linux. And the reason why it's a whole new world is because you'd predominantly use opensource software on such an OS, so you're going from a world full of mostly proprietary software, to a world full of mostly opensource software - it's a stark contrast.
So usually, at least for me, any talks of entering the "world of open source" usually begins with switching to, or trying out, an opensource OS. At least on the desktop.
On the mobile space however, particularly in the Android world, there's been a growing awareness and desire among the privacy conscious people to switch to opensource apps. More and more folks are tired of the ads and tracking and privacy issues that plague proprietary apps typically found on the Play Store, so people have been increasingly looking towards opensource apps, which are free from such annoyances, and as a result, opensource stores such as F-Droid and Droidify have been gaining in popularity.
So there's most definitely a world of open source out there, and the first step into that word usually beings with people getting fed up with corporations screwing them over, and thus looking for alternatives.
I have a bunch of asterrisks to that characterization. People on Android are on an open source OS and don't get into "the world of open source" much at all. That makes me think your narrative there is mostly true of performatively avoiding other software.
Honestly, my first time installing Linux was in a different millenium, and my personal experience is that the "world of open source" you describe comes down to sharing notes and taking pride about the rough edges and bad UX involved in the process as a badge of honor or sign of moral purity.
In my experience people using open source software that works well and integrates seamlessly cross-platform don't go to a different world. They just... you know, install Blender and do the work they need to do. Or use Android. Or set up a NAS and use it to store their files. Or have a Rapberry Pi and use it to play games. You know, they do things.
I'm cool with open source. I'll prefer an open source alternative when two options are equal in features and UX. I'll be honest, though, if there is a "world of open soruce" as you define it, it seems mostly kind of annoying.
No they're not, at least, not by default. The Android that's pre-installed on most phones is actually closed source, the only reason I mentioned Android is because it's the only mainstream mobile OS which allows you to sideload apps and even install alternative app stores. There's regular threads here and even back on Reddit showcasing opensource apps, and even people asking for opensource alternatives.
There's most certainly an opensource world, whether you acknowledge it or not, and I don't see why it's "annoying".
Could have fooled me, because I have maybe half a dozen Android installs on devices that run all the same applications and are functionally identical to any manufacturer version out there without being related to them at all.
That's my entire point, there is no major concern for most people about where their Android build is sourced as long as it runs Android apps. If the open source "world" is not dictated by being built on open source code and instead dictated by a label of purity based on the lack of proprietary, monetized or closed source portions then... yeah, that's annoying. It's computer veganism. I don't begrudge your choice to engage in it, but I do demand my own freedom to eat a salad any way I want it without arguing the merits of the lard that went into fying my croutons.
If nothing else, I'd urge for caution thinking that this slice of open source fundamentalism is who open source software is primarily serving (it's not, that'd be the users that use the software for software things) and some self-awareness about that group of users being out there.
???
And that's not my point at all. As I mentioned earlier, I only mentioned Android because it's the only mainstream mobile OS which allows sideload apps and has alternative app store. Whether Android in itself is opensource or not is irrelevant in this context, when I'm discussing specifically about Android apps, as an example. Also, I never claimed it was a concern for "most" people, and again, that's besides the point.
Actually, it isn't. It (the motivation for opensource) has nothing to do any of the things you mentioned, but more about transparency and control for end users (and faster development lifecycles for developers). As I've repeatedly mentioned, people are increasingly getting sick of their apps being filled with ads and trackers and all the corporate spying and data harvesting, and the general enshittification of services. Which is one of the factors driving end users seeking out opensource software.
No, it is not. You say that but there is zero evidence that "people" are leaving commercial software for open source software based on concerns about transparency and control. Those are positives in most people's minds, sure, but the open source software that dominates against commercial alternatives is the one that leads on features and usability. Sometimes solely on price and free access. Those factors are at best a tertiary priority, and sometimes not even that.
That's what I'm saying here. The online circle that considers that transparency and control are the primary reason to choose software at the expense of feature limitations or poor UX is a very small niche disproportionately focused on those issues. And performatively so, at least in highly visible places like social media and dedicated influencers.
I think open source is great. It's important. And yes, once monetization encroaches into the feature set (see Chrome attempting to DRM the Internet) it's crucial to have an open source alternative to bypass the loss of functionality. But the market doesn't move to alternatives based on their open source nature, they choose the most convenient software available to do the thing they need to do. Sometimes that software is commercial, sometimes it's free but closed source, sometimes it's open source. That's fine. It's not gonna change and it doesn't have to.
That is important because sometimes open source devs forget about that and don't focus enough on the things that matter to consumers. And sometimes the open source community, such as it is, will excuse this or even take pride on working around it on the basis of that performative sense of belonging and righteousness. I think that's a risk for everybody, which is the part that annoys me about it.
And what I'm saying is, why does that matter here? The argument was about whether or not the opensource world exists, and has nothing to do with how big or small this niche is.
I don't see what's wrong with that or why it should annoy you? If you disagree with the dev's philosophy, then fork the software and fix it yourself, that's the beauty of opensource - you don't need to agree with the dev or wait for them. And if you don't have the skills to fix it yourself, sponsor someone who can. Or just use a different software. No one's holding a gun against your head and forcing you here. There's no reason it should annoy you.
See, it's annoying because I do care. Like I said, I think OS is important. The culture around it determines how projects grow and are handled, and that's a much bigger problem than "disagreeing with a dev".
Regardless, the idea of forking forever based on petty disagreements and cultural drama is very much part of the problem, not a solution and an unsustainable pattern. It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that because the code is accessible there is no room for feedback or criticism. The free hand of the market will not fix all problems, whether it's with code or the economy.