Open Source

My views on free software

I believe in the spirit of collective engagement, mutual collaboration and sharing that the free software movement envisions. Almost none of my work would be possible without contributions by countless programmers much smarter than me.

I did not consider myself to be a hardcore GNU/Linux traditionalist for a long time as I had too much of a soft spot for the macOS design language and the polished user interfaces in the Apple ecosystem.

However, after years of trying to develop for the platform with constant developer-hostile changes, the unbearable bickering with the EU over the right to install software on your own devices and the overall ongoing AI slopification forced me to reconsider. I aim to find a similar level of polish in the GNOME community instead.

Learnings from my experience as a user

As I have been using software and technology for far longer than I have been writing it, I have come to experience a lot of the pain points that plague the modern tech landscape:

  • General tendencies to take away user agency (locked down mobile operating systems, restrictions on what users can do with their devices)
  • Focus on hostile monetisation like subscription models
  • Planned obsolescence
  • Intentional vendor lock-in effects
  • Ruthless tracking and data collection mechanisms
  • General superficial viewpoints on free software as inferior/unfit for serious business

Guiding principles for my own work

What I try to achieve for my own personal projects (i.e. aside from my day job) to counter these tendencies is the following (even though as a relative beginner I am obviously not yet in a position where my work is useful for anyone else):

  • Publish my work under open source licenses and make them publicly available
  • Use GPL v3 and AGPL license to keep everything I build free as in freedom
  • Never use user-hostile tracking mechanisms (no fingerprinting and other PII stuff)
  • Aim for cross-platform solutions where possible/feasible
  • Contribute to existing FOSS projects once my skills allow for that

Don't be evil - like, for real this time.

- me