this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Because it's important to call people out for their bullshit and not tacitly approve of it by keeping quiet?
IMHO calling people out for everything easily turns into vicious witch haunts and doesn't really change anything. They weren't nice to you? Don't use their software. The whole world really doesn't need to know about each alleged asshole. Not shouting at every person I disagree with is not approving of anything.
I generally agree that it's not necessary to bring unrelated problems into a space.
But this post reads like "this software is good but the community is not welcoming, I don't recommend getting into either". I think that's valid.
I don't think it's valid. Using some software does not actually mean I support or agree with its creators. It's FOSS, the devs invest their time and give it out for free. By using this software I don't make it easier for them to spread their word. There's a lot of cases where I would say it's valid like. let's say Elon Musk is giving me a free Tesla. He lost money on it but me driving around in his car is still a form of promotion so I'm helping him sell his cars, make money and promote his opinions so I would not take it. But here using this software is totally personal matter. By installing it I don't promote it or provide founds to the authors. If they are assholes every person offended by them is free to decide no to use it. Posting all over the internet that they were not nice to you is just petty. All it does is create silly shitstorms and angry posts.
You're still giving them a platform by installing their code though?
If you use software coming from someone you inherently disagree with, especially a desktop environment/compositor, you depend on that person for your computer's day-to-day functionality. Isn't one of the key points of the FOSS community that we disagree with large controlling companies like Google and Microsoft? That, even when they make FOSS contributions, it should be taken with a huge grain of salt?
Imo, this is the exact same thing. Even if it's good software, not wanting to rely on code from someone you don't agree with or trust (even if those concerns are unrelated to the given codebase) is completely reasonable and valid
'Giving them platform'? What is that supposed to mean? It's not like they gaining anything from my CPU cycles. No one knows what software I'm running on my computer.
I'm not depending on any software as long as there are alternatives. And no, the point is not to disagree with large companies. Big corporations make contributions to Linux kernel all the time. As long as it's truly FOSS and they don't control it it's not an issue. If the company controls it it's not really FOSS (like Chrome or Android).
Also, not using their code is not the same as telling everyone else they should not use it. You can use whatever you like. Complaining online that some community was not nice to you is IMHO silly.
Depending on something isn't necessarily tied to how many alternatives there are.
For example: I use a heavily configured qtile setup on my desktop. I'm depending on that setup working every time I turn my computer on. Sure, I could switch to i3 or sway or Hyprland, but that would take a considerable amount of time and effort. In this case, I'm depending on qtile working for me, so I can get work done instead of messing with a bunch of config files. The only time this wouldn't happen is when one solution can be a completely (or almost completely) drop-in replacement for the other, e.g. how sway claims to be with i3.
This is especially true with tiling window managers, where people spend many hours configuring setups to behave how they want. Moving to a different alternative isn't exactly simple.
To your point about FOSS: chrome and android may not be FOSS, but as much as I dislike it AOSP and Chromium definitely are, even if Google controls the repos for both. Your definition is a slippery slope because by that definition software like Ubuntu, Manjaro, etc. also aren't FOSS because the repos are controlled by a single company.
To your last point: telling someone else they shouldn't use a piece of code for the same reason you don't is also perfectly valid. It's not like it's an order, they don't have to follow it. People can choose to agree or disagree with you if they want. Ultimately, the decision to install software in Linux lies with the user, and the most any online opinion can do is give a persuading or dissuading argument. Just like I could say, "don't use this software, it's built on some old deprecated library that will probably break in a month", I could also say "don't use this software, the main dev is a bad person because xyz..." and it would still be up to the user to make a decision. If you don't mind disagreeing with the author of software you use, that's fine, but not everyone is like that, and that's also fine.