zlacker

>>Imusta+(OP)
Might sound elitist but the average person isn’t curious enough to figure this stuff out, and above all else they’re lazy. If it’s not a one click install and does something better than what they’re using, why would they switch?

The average person is fine giving up their data and time in exchange for entertainment and convenience. Free software is good but it comes at the cost of time, you have to learn and be at least semi-competent with a terminal and/or Linux to truly use most FOSS stuff and it’s just beyond the average person. They either don’t have the interest, or don’t have the capability to learn it and for all intents and purposes those are fundamentally equivalent.

Honestly, nothing “bad” has happened to most people as a result of data harvesting. The Equifax breach got a ton of people, including hardcore privacy nerds. There’s just some stuff you can’t turn off to participate in modern society.

>>flound+s2
There are millions of things in the world today that I’m not “curious” about. I’m sure a car mechanic could wonder why people aren’t interested in rebuilding a motor or a construction worker would wonder why people aren’t interested in doing their own major renovations - actually no they wouldn’t.

Only geeks seem to elevate a computer to some type of religious thing that should be more than just a tool. This is coming from someone who started coding in assembly in the 6th grade in 1986.

But in the year of our lord 2025 at 51, the computer and technology is just an enablement tool for me to accomplish something else or a means for me to trade my labor for money to support my addiction to food and shelter. I have a dozen things I would rather be doing after I get off of work than futz around with technology.

>>raw_an+CG2
Sure, but what if the only mechanic you could take your car to was the dealership? What if household repairs couldn't be done by anyone but the original builder? This is the situation most software is in.

>>bigfis+tQ3
And if I have a problem with my software am I going to hire a developer to fix a bug I find in the Linux kernel? An I going to use my own fork and then every time the main fork is changed ask the developer to merge it?

>>raw_an+KV3
Sure, or you can have the developer you hired submit your patches upstream so others can benefit from them too. Or you can wait around for someone else to do it. But to demand support for free from volunteers isn't it; don't expect something for nothing.