I use almost exclusively FOSS and I have monthly/annual contributions set up for various projects.
Comment on - Buy Once Software
DigDoug@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
en.wikipedia.org/…/List_of_free_and_open-source_s…
Buy never software
lengau@midwest.social 3 weeks ago
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Those are not purchases. You are not “buying” them. They are donations. “Buying” implies the use requires payment.
atempuser23@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
[deleted]DigDoug@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
This clearly isn’t true though, otherwise there wouldn’t be so much FOSS software.
atempuser23@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Foss lives and thrives on passion and unpaid contributions. That can be fine but it’s also necessary to actually purchase software so that individuals or small groups can get paid.
How do I even compensate the random programmer who spend 30 hours fixing a bug on a foss project I use?
Especially when in the context of this post which is about software you can buy to own there should be some willingness to spend money on software.
Broken@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Correct. While there are many (good) programs available for no money, that is charity based on desire and passion.
Free in FOSS isn’t about price, it’s about freedom.
deviancy0299@lemm.ee 3 weeks ago
Act like a real man. But free and open source software because the devs deserve your money for their free work
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
FOSS is notoriously low quality and can disappear at any given time when the developer(s) lose motivation. Don’t get me wrong, I love them too, but I’ll also gladly pay for something more polished and sustainable.
pogmommy@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Right, because proprietary software is never abandoned. At least foss leaves you with the source code so you or other folk can carry on the torch in the original dev’s absence.
airglow@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Proprietary software is also notoriously low-quality and can disappear at any time when the developer loses motivation. Additionally, because the software is closed source, nobody else is able to continue the development of proprietary abandonware. On the other hand, abandoned FOSS projects can be forked and continued, which is something I see often.
Ulrich@feddit.org 3 weeks ago
Proprietary software is also notoriously low-quality and can disappear at any time
This is just a false equivalency. Do both of those things happen in both cases? Sure. Does it happen WAY more often with FOSS? Also yes. Just go through F-Droid or Flathub and look at the long list of apps that haven’t been updated in years.
Paid software is typically not something someone does in their free time to fill a resume for a real job. It’s something they are able to dedicate real time to because it pays their bills and they have obligations to their paying users. They can also hire other people who also gets their bills paid and have similar obligations.
Neither one is inherently better.
priapus@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
You can also go on the play store and find a huge list of proprietary apps that haven’t been updated.
You need some actual stats to back up this point. Plenty of proprietary software is unsuccessful because it fails to profit, so its shut down. At least FOSS software will continue as long as someone finds it useful enough to keep it going. Plus the obvious, that if you like a piece of software you can maintain it yourself.
Also saying that FOSS software is “notoriously low quality” is silly. There’s tons of great FOSS software and plenty of shit FOSS software, just like proprietary software.
airglow@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
When you look at any app store, you’ll find that the many apps that are infested with ads, spyware, malware, and dark patterns are pretty much always proprietary. Conversely, any FOSS app that tries to introduce such garbage would be forked to remove their offending attributes, which makes FOSS apps much higher-quality than proprietary apps in general.
You are using false equivalence by incorrectly implying that proprietary software is commercial while FOSS is not. Both FOSS and proprietary software can be sold and commercialized with various monetization strategies. For example, you are currently using Lemmy, a FOSS social network whose development is funded by donations. Nobody here believes that Reddit is better because it is proprietary adware.
Free and open source software licenses provide users the right to use, modify, and redistribute the software. Proprietary software does not. That difference makes FOSS inherently better for users than proprietary software.
zarenki@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
Just go through F-Droid or Flathub and look at the long list of apps that haven’t been updated in years.
“not updated in years” didn’t used to be considered a bad thing. Why is it one now?
If something works well for me as it is and runs locally in a way that doesn’t open itself up to remote exploits, I don’t necessarily need it to keep changing all the time. Even if it would be nice if it had more features, the software works fine for me as it is. I don’t need those updates now or this year.
The only true “need” is that it doesn’t stop working for me when the various platforms or compilers change. I used to use a Python2 program, and I could keep using it for about a decade after its last update, but eventually I did need to move past it because Python3 had long since replaced it and distros stopped shipping Python2. A year or two of no updates it’s nothing.
kata1yst@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Donate when you can tho
fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com 3 weeks ago
And contribute if you can’t.
For non-programmers: Yes, reporting bugs, writing docs, and answering questions is contributing.