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On the other hand there is Mastodon, there is KDE, there is the Linux Kernel. All varying in their level of infrastructure but all are communitys of volunteers.

On the other hand there is Mastodon, there is KDE, there is the Linux Kernel. All varying in their level of infrastructure but all are communitys of volunteers. Most programming languages work this way too

api 6y ago
All these things are used by nerds and have little chance of breaking into the mainstream. They're too labor intensive to use and deploy and impose too much cognitive load. 10% of the work is making it work. The user experience necessary for mass adoption is the other 90%, and it's mostly work that is not fun and that people must therefore be paid to do. If the goal is just to have a for-nerds-by-nerds ecosystem that's fine, though ultimately I think without mass market penetration it's likely that the hardware ecosystem will eventually close. We are seeing the encroachment of locked boot loaders everywhere. Eventually it may be hard to get a fast modern chip that can run the open stuff if the open stuff does not have sufficient mass in the economy to demand it. That and I for one think privacy and freedom for everyone is a worthy goal. For-nerds-by-nerds is elitist.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Linux isn't mainstream? Sure, by consumers running as a desktop operating system but consumers are using Linux all the time; they just don't know it. (Android, Amazon, Chromebooks, many cars, etc.) Linux isn't like the two other things on that list.
  - api 6y ago
    Android and Chromebooks are usually pretty closed in spite if having a Linux kernel.
ghaff 6y ago
>there is the Linux Kernel The Linux kernel is most certainly not a community of volunteers. It's overwhelmingly developers doing this as their day jobs. From the 2017 Linux Kernel Development Report: : "It is worth noting that, even if one assumes that all of the “unknown” contributors are working on their own time, well over 85 percent of all kernel development is demonstrably done by developers who are being paid for their work."
- number6 6y ago
  > The Linux kernel is most certainly not a community of volunteers. This depends on the definition of community. While most of the developers are paid for their time. Someone voluntarily contributes this developer time to the kernel. Now you could argue that the companies don't do this voluntarily but are driven by market forces etc. On the other hand, these companies could just ignore the the Linux Environment; and some companies do this.

api 6y ago

All these things are used by nerds and have little chance of breaking into the mainstream. They're too labor intensive to use and deploy and impose too much cognitive load. 10% of the work is making it work. The user experience necessary for mass adoption is the other 90%, and it's mostly work that is not fun and that people must therefore be paid to do. If the goal is just to have a for-nerds-by-nerds ecosystem that's fine, though ultimately I think without mass market penetration it's likely that the hardware ecosystem will eventually close. We are seeing the encroachment of locked boot loaders everywhere. Eventually it may be hard to get a fast modern chip that can run the open stuff if the open stuff does not have sufficient mass in the economy to demand it. That and I for one think privacy and freedom for everyone is a worthy goal. For-nerds-by-nerds is elitist.

ghaff 6y ago
Linux isn't mainstream? Sure, by consumers running as a desktop operating system but consumers are using Linux all the time; they just don't know it. (Android, Amazon, Chromebooks, many cars, etc.) Linux isn't like the two other things on that list.
- api 6y ago
  Android and Chromebooks are usually pretty closed in spite if having a Linux kernel.

ghaff 6y ago

>there is the Linux Kernel The Linux kernel is most certainly not a community of volunteers. It's overwhelmingly developers doing this as their day jobs. From the 2017 Linux Kernel Development Report: : "It is worth noting that, even if one assumes that all of the “unknown” contributors are working on their own time, well over 85 percent of all kernel development is demonstrably done by developers who are being paid for their work."

number6 6y ago
> The Linux kernel is most certainly not a community of volunteers. This depends on the definition of community. While most of the developers are paid for their time. Someone voluntarily contributes this developer time to the kernel. Now you could argue that the companies don't do this voluntarily but are driven by market forces etc. On the other hand, these companies could just ignore the the Linux Environment; and some companies do this.