4d ago

Linux is too hard

The indoctrination of windows is extreme. Windows is just as hard as linux, harder even with all the layers of obscurity.

And yet... linux is hard, and users decry RTFM as "not growing the userbase"

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245 comments

Feels like this implies that software is broadly maintained by its general user base when that's simply not how it is outside of really niche projects. Most FOSS software is maintained by a dedicated few who are but a tiny fraction of the user base and are far from being your "average user".
- FOSS software needs to be maintained by the user base to survive. Not enough people contributing is a big problem for many, if not most, open source projects, including the big names. If not enough people care enough to learn, the project dies out and disappears.
  
  contributions are all time high and it will only get more. While we are in a war for foss software remember that open source didn't really even exist 40+ years ago
  
  My distro struggles despite being one of the more widely-used and known. There are never enough people to do everything that needs to be done. And I see constantly that projects I care about don't have enough help to fix bugs, test, or continue development. FOSS is a community effort. Not every user needs to be a professional, but everyone should learn enough about how a computer works to be able to contribute in some way. Everything being done by a few frustrated, overworked people isn't healthy or sustainable.
  
  A lot of stuff you use now took decades to get there. User base may go 100x but the developers maybe goes 2x. It still gets done and still at relatively the same pace. You don't actually even need more people though. all of you users just need to donate so the devs doing this on their free time can quit work and do it full time, they'd probably love that.
  
  everyone should learn enough about how a computer works to be able to contribute in some way
  Every user should give back either in the form of labor or with money. All of the problems you list are problems that could be solved with money.
  Many FOSS projects don't focus on getting a lot of donations or selling services. Non profits need revenue too. Even the sale of merch like stickers or mugs with the project logo could be used more effectively.
  Contributing with labor is also not easily accessible or even always well received. Active outreach from the project to recruit users is also not practiced much. All of that is of course organizational and managerial work as well as media work and community management. If the volunteers are already overloaded, it won't be done well of course.
  Everything being done by a few frustrated, overworked people isn’t healthy or sustainable
  Very much so. Voluntary work should only be done, if the work itself is enough reward or simply fun or as a learning experience. A project can be sustainable even if it's carried by overworked frustrated people. It just needs a way to recruit new contributors at the rate people quit from burnout.

245 comments