82 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
82 lines
3.9 KiB
Markdown
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# I am NOT an open source enthusiast
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2023-07-13
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Alright, just a short blog post for today. I am NOT an open source enthusiast.
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Every time someone calls me a "open source" enthusiast, I want to shoot someone.
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I do not support the open source movement and I do not support open source
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software, or as a lot of people will say "FOSS".
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## Goal of open source software
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The goal of open source is to provide the source code for ease of collaboration
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and for vulnerabilities to be discovered. Big companies can then take that project,
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which is almost always licenced under a [cuck license](https://speedie.site/blog/Swedish+man+rants+about+licenses+again),
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and release it in the form of nonfree software with additional spyware added on.
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The most notable example of this is the Google Chrome web browser, where Chromium
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is the "open source" variant of the software, only without the spyware and with
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the freedom to modify and distribute copies of the software.
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## Goal of free software
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The goal of free/libre software on the other hand is freedom for all users of the
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software. These are:
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0. The freedom to run the program
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1. The freedom to study the program
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2. The freedom to distribute the program to help others
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3. The freedom to modify and distribute copies of the program
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While free software is often copyleft, meaning you cannot fork the project
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and relicense it under a nonfree license, stripping away the freedom from
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the users of that fork, free software is not always copyleft. Therefore
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open source software is almost always compatible with free software. If you
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are using open source software you are most likely using free software.
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## Ethics
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Open source software that meets the free software freedom criteria is just
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as ethical as free software. The main problem is you're sending the wrong
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message to people. But the software is still free as in freedom.
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To be clear, I *do* believe nonfree software (software that doesn't meet the
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four essential freedoms) is unethical. But I do not dislike anyone for using
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nonfree software. It's kind of difficult to avoid using nonfree software in
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this day and age. Respect to those who are able to use 100% free software
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(going as far as using a libre kernel and free BIOS) though.
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You are not unethical for using nonfree software. The unethical practice
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is actually licensing that software under a nonfree license and releasing
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the software to people.
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## Same thing?
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A lot of people will say "what's the difference" or "who cares" when I
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mention I don't care for open source software. The reason it matters
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is because when you talk to people who may or may not care about freedom,
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you should be telling them that you care about freedom, not price.
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FOSS stands for "Free and Open Source software" but I cannot stand this term,
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because it implies that the software is open source *and* free as in price,
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meaning you don't have to pay any money for it. Most people when they hear
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this term, both tech enthusiasts and normies think it means you get it for
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free. This is the problem. The message we should send is that the software
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is free as in freedom, not that it doesn't cost any money.
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## Conclusion
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I am not for the open source movement. I do not support open source software
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for the sake of collaboration or for security vulnerabilities to be discovered.
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I support free software because free software respects users' four essential
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freedoms. Everything open source provides free software also provides.
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The main difference is the goal of the movement. I do not care for the
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open source movement and their motives. I care about the FSF's definition
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of free software and freedom for all users.
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The reason "open source" is more popular now is because it's more corporate-
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friendly. Companies do not care about your freedom, but they certainly do
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care about unpaid work and security audits. Companies are against free
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software because they are against user freedom.
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That's it for today. Have a good rest of your day!
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