2025-10-01
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On free software

The working title of this entry was "Why we don't need more people
using open source software" -- a notion that might seem controversial
to some. Richard Stallman argued that users drawn to free software for
convenience would overlook its moral dimension [1]. Years later, we
can see what that looks like in practice: cloud dependency, the
corporate branding of "open source", and distributions packed with
proprietary components -- compromising the freedoms that free software
was meant to protect.

Using GNU/Linux in the 1990s meant exploration, independence, and a
passion for tinkering -- being involved with the principles that
motivated its existence. If one uses it today without really
understanding what it's about, then installing a proprietary or
privacy-invading application indeed becomes merely a matter of
convenience or cost -- neither of which has ever been at the core of
free software.

It's a little disappointing, and I find myself wondering what's really
gained by having more users if they don't understand the philosophy
behind it all. That said, spreading some awareness would be helpful,
so maybe that's the part worth focusing on.

References:

[1] R.M. Stallman, Viewpoint; Why "open source" misses the Point of
    Free software, Communications of the ACM, Volume 52, Issue 6,
    2009, pp. 31-33; https://doi.org/10.1145/1516046.1516058