Comment on Leaving GitHub. Music server alternatives?
FarraigePlaisteach@lemmy.world 4 days agoEven using their free stuff is supporting Microsoft. As long as they provide sophisticated facilities for genocide, I’m out.
As a wiser person than me once said “be the change you want to see in the world”.
communism@lemmy.ml 4 days ago
I’m also opposed to “using [Microsoft’s] free stuff”; I’m arguing that using software that happens to use GH isn’t using MS’s stuff at all.
FarraigePlaisteach@lemmy.world 4 days ago
h, I see what you mean now. The thing is, the massive numbers of users we collectively provide to Microsoft (even non-paying) is a huge benefit to them. They wouldn’t offer free stuff otherwise. It gives them all kinds of leverage in negotiations. I’ve elaborated a bit more on it in another reply in case you’re interested.
communism@lemmy.ml 4 days ago
No, I’m not arguing that we should be users of Microsoft. You’re still not understanding what I’m saying. I don’t use Microsoft’s services, including their free ones. Software that happens to be hosted on GitHub is not Microsoft’s software.
You can do whatever you want as an individual. But as a political actor, you should be participating in organised boycotts, such as BDS’s boycott of Microsoft. BDS’s boycott is already fairly wide-sweeping, going as far as to ask people to e.g. stop playing Minecraft and Skyrim, even if they already own the game. Avoiding using Microsoft’s products like this is effective because, even if you’ve already bought the game, you lend Microsoft more cultural capital by proliferating their products.
BDS has not, on the other hand, called for a boycott of all software that happens to have a GitHub repo. If you think they should do that, take it up with BDS. If BDS called for such a boycott, it would get much more momentum behind it.
As it currently stands, you are boycotting all software that has a GitHub repo on your own. This is not going to have any effect. You are going to be hard-pressed to get people to join your boycott. What kernel do you use? The Linux kernel has a GitHub mirror. The majority of FOSS projects where collaboration occurs off of GitHub still have a read-only GitHub mirror. Is your boycott suggesting that everybody should be using OpenBSD? That’s going to be a very hard sell.
BDS has achieved huge victories because it offers targeted boycotts that the average consumer is perfectly capable of doing, and it has a mass movement behind it. There are also grassroots boycotts that have been organised outside of BDS, such as the Starbucks and McDonald’s boycotts, but again, these caught on because they had the backing of people active in the movement and were willing to organise said boycotts. You’re a random Lemmy user who, if you are serious about organising a boycott, you’re in the entirely wrong place to do so. You won’t achieve anything doing what you’re currently doing.
You’re welcome to make whatever consumer decisions you want, but don’t confuse that for political organising.
FarraigePlaisteach@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Okay. I think we agree on more than we disagree.I also appreciate your input on effective strategy on serious issues like this - I 100% agree. I think you’ve misinterpreted me a little, so let me clarify:
So, yes, strategy is important. But personal efforts count too. Among other things, I am challenging the widely held apathy (and empathy deficit) held by tech enthusiasts that such a move is pointless or too difficult. And along the way I am finding likeminded people I didn’t know were out there.