Getting Myself off of Proprietary Social Networks

[DeadSuperHero]

Hi everybody.

On the internet, social networking takes many shapes and forms. There are community-based social platforms such as Facebook and Myspace. There are media-centric ones such as Last.fm and YouTube. There are niche ones, such as Twitter. And finally, there are channels of communication, such as AIM, Yahoo, and MSN.

I have decided to shed myself of all my numerous social networks over the next month or so. Think of it as a 30-day challenge or something.

The ultimate goal is for me to replace my dependancies for the sake of Free Software/Free Culture. I want to stick to my guns in the best way possible.

What I plan to do is:

Step 1. Cut off my Twitter Dependency.
-Twitter is pretty addicting. That said, I like identi.ca, and already have an account (http://identi.ca/lastguyonearth) there. So I'll just re-direct Gwibber to work with it. I already have some friends there, and people that really want to follow me from Twitter can find me.

Step 2. Cut off AIM, MSN, and Yahoo
-This will probably be the most time-consuming. I have a Jabber/XMPP account (lastguyonearth@jabber.org), and so I will have to work on telling my friends and family about how to set up one of their own to talk to me, and eventually one another.

Step 3. Quit Myspace and Facebook
-There currently is no Free alternative to either one. There is a powerful platform called Elgg (http://elgg.org/), but currently no specific FOSS social network. I'll just go without it for a while, until Project Liberadomo (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1111444) takes off.

Step 4. Get Rid of Skype
-I really don't use Skype all that much anyway, but when I do I happen to enjoy talking to old friends. I will have to find a free alternative to this such as Ekiga or Twinkle. Hmm.

Step 5. Cut Off YouTube
-YouTube sucks away a lot of my spare time, and it's a VERY corporitized, proprietary network. The dependency on Flash is ridiculous. I will look into Blip.tv (http://sellinginsanity.blip.tv/#431553), which apparently supports OGG Theora and JavaScript video playback.

I'll probably add more steps as I go along, but I think that this is a great way to support the Free Software community.

[Saint Angeles]

i used to be TOTALLY addicted to myspace (in 2004-2005)... so much so that whenever my friend count dropped a number, I would spend a lot of time figuring out who either deleted me as a friend or just canceled their account.

one day, I heard about some buy-out involving news corp (Fox) and that was the final push i needed to get me off of it. it was becoming unhealthy enough, but sometimes you just need one more reason to make quitting a little easier.

I quit both my personal profile and my music profile immediately and have not looked back since.

so i wish you luck... it can be done.

[DeadSuperHero]

I've already started working on Step 1. Identi.ca is set up for me, and I'll be removing my Twitter account by the end of the week.

I'm also re-downloading all my YouTube videos that I didn't already have saved onto my computer. I don't know if .flv can convert to theora, but I'll give it a shot. It'll all be moved over to blip.tv anyways.

[pwnst*r]

that's pretty ballsy of you. keep us posted unless you're going to be blogging about it.

[JetskiDude911]

I think I might be a litte confused. You say you want to go towards free software more, but all the services you mentioned appear to be free. Thus the confusion.

[Giant Speck]

I think I might be a litte confused. You say you want to go towards free software more, but all the services you mentioned appear to be free. Thus the confusion.

Free as in beer ≠ free as in freedom

[DeadSuperHero]

I think I might be a litte confused. You say you want to go towards free software more, but all the services you mentioned appear to be free. Thus the confusion.

Well, a good example is that I'm moving all of my videos from YouTube to Blip.tv. I'm converting all of the videos into OGG Theora, and Blip.tv doesn't require Flash player to play the OGG videos. Technically, the service itself is not Free Software, but it makes use of it.

I'm switching to identi.ca from Twitter because identi.ca supports Free Culture and is a Free Software project. I'm doing the same with switching from AIM/MSN/Yahoo to XMPP/Jabber.

[dragos240]

Hi everybody.

On the internet, social networking takes many shapes and forms. There are community-based social platforms such as Facebook and Myspace. There are media-centric ones such as Last.fm and YouTube. There are niche ones, such as Twitter. And finally, there are channels of communication, such as AIM, Yahoo, and MSN.

I have decided to shed myself of all my numerous social networks over the next month or so. Think of it as a 30-day challenge or something.

The ultimate goal is for me to replace my dependancies for the sake of Free Software/Free Culture. I want to stick to my guns in the best way possible.

What I plan to do is:

Step 1. Cut off my Twitter Dependency.
-Twitter is pretty addicting. That said, I like identi.ca, and already have an account (http://identi.ca/lastguyonearth) there. So I'll just re-direct Gwibber to work with it. I already have some friends there, and people that really want to follow me from Twitter can find me.

Step 2. Cut off AIM, MSN, and Yahoo
-This will probably be the most time-consuming. I have a Jabber/XMPP account (lastguyonearth@jabber.org), and so I will have to work on telling my friends and family about how to set up one of their own to talk to me, and eventually one another.

Step 3. Quit Myspace and Facebook
-There currently is no Free alternative to either one. There is a powerful platform called Elgg (http://elgg.org/), but currently no specific FOSS social network. I'll just go without it for a while, until Project Liberadomo (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1111444) takes off.

Step 4. Get Rid of Skype
-I really don't use Skype all that much anyway, but when I do I happen to enjoy talking to old friends. I will have to find a free alternative to this such as Ekiga or Twinkle. Hmm.

Step 5. Cut Off YouTube
-YouTube sucks away a lot of my spare time, and it's a VERY corporitized, proprietary network. The dependency on Flash is ridiculous. I will look into Blip.tv (http://sellinginsanity.blip.tv/#431553), which apparently supports OGG Theora and JavaScript video playback.

I'll probably add more steps as I go along, but I think that this is a great way to support the Free Software community.

*clap clap*

[Namtabmai]

Free as in beer ≠ free as in freedom

Doesn't that rule out 99% of network services then? Are we all supposed to run our own Jabber servers now?

[DeadSuperHero]

Doesn't that rule out 99% of network services then? Are we all supposed to run our own Jabber servers now?

No, and no. :)

[Namtabmai]

No, and no. :)

I'll agree with you on the second one, but how so on the first one? Name me one network service like facebook where my data isn't under the possible influence and disruption of a third party.

[DeadSuperHero]

I'll agree with you on the second one, but how so on the first one? Name me one network service like facebook where my data isn't under the possible influence and disruption of a third party.

identi.ca

EDIT: I know you meant "Like Facebook", but let's face it, there is no Facebook-like network for the time being to serve that purpose. There is only the Twitter-like one.

[Namtabmai]

identi.ca

EDIT: I know you meant "Like Facebook", but let's face it, there is no Facebook-like network for the time being to serve that purpose. There is only the Twitter-like one.

No that's a fine example, but unless I'm mistaken I have to agree to license any non-private information ( email etc ) under Creative Commons. Where do I have the freedom to decline this clause?

[PacSci]

Are we all supposed to run our own Jabber servers now?

I'm going to run my own Jabber server anyway. With lots of bots.

[forrestcupp]

Well, Ubuntu Forums is becoming more and more like Facebook with the profile pages and friends, etc. That and it is run on a non-free software.

So, I guess we'll see ya around. :)

[karellen]

good luck with that! you'll need it

[Giant Speck]

Well, Ubuntu Forums is becoming more and more like Facebook with the profile pages and friends, etc. That and it is run on a non-free software.

So, I guess we'll see ya around. :)

Ooooooh... sick burn....!

[DeadSuperHero]

Well, Ubuntu Forums is becoming more and more like Facebook with the profile pages and friends, etc. That and it is run on a non-free software.

So, I guess we'll see ya around. :)

All in good time.

[dragos240]

If only the ubuntuforums ran on SMF then he could stay.

[DeadSuperHero]

If only the ubuntuforums ran on SMF then he could stay.

I didn't think SMF was under a GPL-compatible license yet! If so, great! If not, oh well!

[Luggy]

No that's a fine example, but unless I'm mistaken I have to agree to license any non-private information ( email etc ) under Creative Commons. Where do I have the freedom to decline this clause?

That was actually a little beef that I had with identi.ca. I'm cool with creative-commons, but being forced into using it seems to go against the free as in freedom idea.

I'll give you props for trying to get off the proprietary social networks, but why should the average person switch from Twitter to Identi.ca?

[DeadSuperHero]

I'll give you props for trying to get off the proprietary social networks, but why should the average person switch from Twitter to Identi.ca?

I'm not really saying anyone else should, I just am because I like it.

In other news, I managed to get all of my videos for ONE of my YouTube accounts completely converted to OGG Theora and uploaded to Blip.tv. Yes, technically the service still uses proprietary technology, but the end user has the ability to watch all the videos on the site without using Adobe Flash Player, in the native OGG container.

You can view my Blip.tv channels here (http://sellinginsanity.blip.tv/) and here (http://loserslikeus.blip.tv/).

[sertse]

The hardest part I think, is convince that he is important enough to all his friends so that they'll switch to jabber etc.

[Polygon]

i support freedom and all, but its a fact that the proprietary websites far exceed their open source counterparts (except for maybe identi.ca and jabber)

none of my friends use jabber, and i cant exactly force them to switch, youtube still owns every other site in terms of its sheer number of content, and honestly, theora really kinda sucks as a video format. I can get much lower file sizes at the same quality with xvid, and i'm sure with x264 as well. And again, with facebook, i cant just force my family and friends to use a (non existent) free and open source social networking site. They just don't care.

[nmccrina]

And again, with facebook, i cant just force my family and friends to use a (non existent) free and open source social networking site. They just don't care.

Same here! I quit my Facebook for a few months, but found that the only thing it accomplished was turning me into an isolated hermit! :( (I live in a different state than all my university friends). So I went back.

[DeadSuperHero]

You could always...you know...talk to them on the phone and see them in person.

[nandemonai]

You could always...you know...talk to them on the phone and see them in person.

Don't the phone companies own those phone lines though? :P

[Polygon]

You could always...you know...talk to them on the phone and see them in person.

a lot of the people i chat with don't live in the same town, or state, or in some cases, country as me.

and i hate talking on the phone. Why talk on the phone when you are already at your computer and its much to type?

[DeadSuperHero]

Don't the phone companies own those phone lines though? :P

To me, that's irrelevant. Now, enough teasing.

[-grubby]

Um, what? How will not using proprietary social networks help open source? That makes no sense.

[DeadSuperHero]

Um, what? How will not using proprietary social networks help open source? That makes no sense.


It means that I'll be supporting Free Software networks and technologies instead.

If that doesn't make sense, why on earth are you using Linux anyways?

[nandemonai]

To me, that's irrelevant. Now, enough teasing.

Kidding bud :)

It's not like we have any alternatives. Unless you count tin cans and string or perhaps UHF. Neither being real viable.

[DeadSuperHero]

I personally believe that the technology is there, it's just that there's no one really setting up Free Social networks.

As for message board services, there seems to be a plethora of GPL'ed forum suites out there.

[.Maleficus.]

I personally believe that the technology is there, it's just that there's no one really setting up Free Social networks.

As for message board services, there seems to be a plethora of GPL'ed forum suites out there.
None that are going to handle the 10k+ users that UF gets on a daily basis.

If that doesn't make sense, why on earth are you using Linux anyways?
I sure don't use it because of the GPL...

Good luck with your adventure, but I'm quite content using my proprietary websites (and software/codecs/hardware for that matter).

[benj1]

email

open source, don't have to give data away to third parties, everybody uses it.

you never know it might catch on :)

[Sublime Porte]

Are we all supposed to run our own Jabber servers now?

That's akin to saying that in order to use email, we all need to run our own email servers....

The merits of an XMPP style IM service is that it's structured much like email is (the comparison is probably much more relevant than you realise), in that anyone can CHOOSE to run a server if they like, and all servers can communicate with one another, and route messages between one another. MSN, Skype, Yahoo, ICQ etc. are not like this. They are much like an email service that would only allow you to send emails to users on the same domain, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

So using XMPP doesn't mean running your own server in the least.

[Dr Small]

I already do all of this (although I have my own personal twitter account and an undercover agent account on Facebook). But otherwise, I already use Jabber, Identi.ca and don't use YouTube :)

[Dr Small]

That's akin to saying that in order to use email, we all need to run our own email servers....

The merits of an XMPP style IM service is that it's structured much like email is (the comparison is probably much more relevant than you realise), in that anyone can CHOOSE to run a server if they like, and all servers can communicate with one another, and route messages between one another. MSN, Skype, Yahoo, ICQ etc. are not like this. They are much like an email service that would only allow you to send emails to users on the same domain, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

So using XMPP doesn't mean running your own server in the least.
I run my own Email server and Jabber server.

[LightB]

Did you know that Firefox 3.5 will support native ogg/theora/vorbis? No need for flash.

Btw, would the googletalk service be free since it's XMPP?

[Mateo]

Did you know that Firefox 3.5 will support native ogg/theora/vorbis? No need for flash.

Btw, would the googletalk service be free since it's XMPP?

Great! This will save me much time from having to download a plugin when visiting these 4 sites that use theora for video.... :P

[LightB]

Great! This will save me much time from having to download a plugin when visiting these 4 sites that use theora for video.... :P

You can already try it out with 3.5 beta 4

[Sublime Porte]

Btw, would the googletalk service be free since it's XMPP?

This begs the question, is Google Talk actually a service? Or is it just a Jabber server that's released it's own client?

The XMPP protocols are open protocols, Google follows them, sort of (there's some non-standard stuff in there I think, and some stuff missing) so what we could say is that Google is implementing an open/free IM protocol, yes.

[DeadSuperHero]

Well, time for an update, I guess! I'm plowing through this.

I got rid of my Twitter account today. I now am strictly using identi.ca (http://identi.ca/lastguyonearth). I'm also working on taking down my YouTube account after letting everyone know about the big move to Blip.tv (http://sellinginsanity.blip.tv)


I also am still working on informing everyone of my big switch to Jabber/XMPP (lastguyonearth@jabber.org). I'm even helping out some of my friends on getting them signed up with a compatible client.

I have yet to pull down Myspace and Facebook, as those will be difficult ones to hurdle. But, I'm getting there! =]

[pwnst*r]

nice one! :)

[DeadSuperHero]

Been going through more changes. Within a few days, I will close off my YouTube account completely. My videos are now circling on Blip.tv and TheoraSea.

I have been modifying my laptop to support Free Software as much as I possibly can right now. I have the linux-libre kernel installed on here, but am not currently running it at the moment. (Reason being that I currently have a Netgear wireless card in, and am saving up for a FOSS-friendly Atheros once I can afford it.)

I have removed as many proprietary packages as possible. No more nvidia drivers, Nouveau actually has very rough support for 3D on this computer. (Neverball actually ran and played, but it was really choppy. Videos also sometimes are the wrong colors).

I am telling my more technical friends about Jabber, and have set up identi.ca to sync with my facebook until I can ween myself off of that.

My vrms output:


linux-generic Complete Generic Linux kernel
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.28 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
linux-wlan-ng-firmware firmware files used by the linux-wlan-ng driver
madwifi-tools tools for the Multiband Atheros Driver for WiFi

5 packages! Five! That means once I get a libre-kernel-compatible Atheros card, I'll have NO proprietary packages on my system. I can survive without decent 3D support.

[forrestcupp]

I bought a Dynex wireless card with an Atheros chipset from Best Buy for less than $20.

While I generally preach usability over philosophy, I admire what you're trying to do.

[DeadSuperHero]

I bought a Dynex wireless card with an Atheros chipset from Best Buy for less than $20.

Really? Would you happen to have a link in their store for a compatible model? It would really save me some time.

[monsterstack]

This is a pretty interesting idea. For a free alternative to last.fm, have a look at libre.fm (http://libre.fm/). It is also possible to migrate your last.fm listening history over to it as well by following some instructions here (http://danlynch.org/blog/2009/05/libre-followup/). [danlynch.org]

[DeadSuperHero]

This is a pretty interesting idea. For a free alternative to last.fm, have a look at libre.fm (http://libre.fm/). It is also possible to migrate your last.fm listening history over to it as well by following some instructions here (http://danlynch.org/blog/2009/05/libre-followup/). [danlynch.org]
I've actually been checking that out. Works out wonderfully in Firefox 3.5b

I've posted a blog (http://seanrtilley.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-refactoring-for-me.html) entry to help people follow what I'm doing in its entirety.

I also have put it on FSDaily (http://www.fsdaily.com/EndUser/Free_Software_A_New_Refactoring_For_Me) if anyone wants to help me gain a following to inspire anyone interested in switching to a totally Free user experience.

[forrestcupp]

Really? Would you happen to have a link in their store for a compatible model? It would really save me some time.

Well, I actually went to the store and bought one there. But I just checked their web site, and it seems that if you buy one off the site, they're $34.99 now. But they do have one that's USB and one that is a laptop card both for that price.

Here's the link (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&ks=960&st=dynex+wireless&sc=Global&cp=1&sp=%2Bcurrentprice+skuid&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1%7E%7Eq64796e657820776972656c657373%7E%7Enf349%7C %7C44796e657826233137343b&list=y&usc=All+Categories&nrp=15&iht=n) for the list of Dynex stuff. I bought mine a while back, so I'm assuming that they still use the Atheros chipset.

[windows-killer]

Hi everybody.

On the internet, social networking takes many shapes and forms. There are community-based social platforms such as Facebook and Myspace. There are media-centric ones such as Last.fm and YouTube. There are niche ones, such as Twitter. And finally, there are channels of communication, such as AIM, Yahoo, and MSN.

I have decided to shed myself of all my numerous social networks over the next month or so. Think of it as a 30-day challenge or something.

The ultimate goal is for me to replace my dependancies for the sake of Free Software/Free Culture. I want to stick to my guns in the best way possible.

What I plan to do is:

Step 1. Cut off my Twitter Dependency.
-Twitter is pretty addicting. That said, I like identi.ca, and already have an account (http://identi.ca/lastguyonearth) there. So I'll just re-direct Gwibber to work with it. I already have some friends there, and people that really want to follow me from Twitter can find me.

Step 2. Cut off AIM, MSN, and Yahoo
-This will probably be the most time-consuming. I have a Jabber/XMPP account (lastguyonearth@jabber.org), and so I will have to work on telling my friends and family about how to set up one of their own to talk to me, and eventually one another.

Step 3. Quit Myspace and Facebook
-There currently is no Free alternative to either one. There is a powerful platform called Elgg (http://elgg.org/), but currently no specific FOSS social network. I'll just go without it for a while, until Project Liberadomo (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1111444) takes off.

Step 4. Get Rid of Skype
-I really don't use Skype all that much anyway, but when I do I happen to enjoy talking to old friends. I will have to find a free alternative to this such as Ekiga or Twinkle. Hmm.

Step 5. Cut Off YouTube
-YouTube sucks away a lot of my spare time, and it's a VERY corporitized, proprietary network. The dependency on Flash is ridiculous. I will look into Blip.tv (http://sellinginsanity.blip.tv/#431553), which apparently supports OGG Theora and JavaScript video playback.

I'll probably add more steps as I go along, but I think that this is a great way to support the Free Software community.


I seriously dont see anything wrong with using software that is proprietary.
and remember software is just software made from 1s and 0s... its not a religion.

I get mad when I see people like you, avoiding to use closed source/non-free software. This is just abnormal. I think you should OPEN your mind a little and see what these services offer.

btw is there a decent and easy to use IM that supports webcam and mic for MSN on ubuntu?
No! so closed source software just works.
prove me wrong!

[windows-killer]

Been going through more changes. Within a few days, I will close off my YouTube account completely. My videos are now circling on Blip.tv and TheoraSea.

I have been modifying my laptop to support Free Software as much as I possibly can right now. I have the linux-libre kernel installed on here, but am not currently running it at the moment. (Reason being that I currently have a Netgear wireless card in, and am saving up for a FOSS-friendly Atheros once I can afford it.)

I have removed as many proprietary packages as possible. No more nvidia drivers, Nouveau actually has very rough support for 3D on this computer. (Neverball actually ran and played, but it was really choppy. Videos also sometimes are the wrong colors).

I am telling my more technical friends about Jabber, and have set up identi.ca to sync with my facebook until I can ween myself off of that.

My vrms output:


5 packages! Five! That means once I get a libre-kernel-compatible Atheros card, I'll have NO proprietary packages on my system. I can survive without decent 3D support.

this is just silly. you are limiting yourself. Dont see a good point of doing that?

[Delever]

First of all, who cares?




... damn, why have I posted in this thread?




Secondly, who cares? I mean... besides those who responded to this thread and people you loose communication with?

By this logic, Internet is also proprietary, because some of your data may go over proprietary routers...

However, I can't argue much with religion on this forum :P

[DeadSuperHero]

First of all, who cares?
... damn, why have I posted in this thread?
P

It's people like you that make me contemplate suicide on a regular basis.

[Delever]

It's people like you that make me contemplate suicide on a regular basis.

I am sorry, this was my typical failure to make a joke - and I apologize for that.

[glotz]

Um, what? How will not using proprietary social networks help open source? That makes no sense.Think again.

[Giant Speck]

Think again.

That'll show him! :rolleyes:

[benj1]

this is just silly. you are limiting yourself. Dont see a good point of doing that?

although i wouldn't go to this extreme of getting rid of all proprietary stuff, i can see the point. After all very few open source projects start off better than existing closed source counterparts, where would we be if a young fin and a few other hackers back in the early 90s didn't decide to use and improve a new probably unstable, unix workalike, that was inferior to other OS's of the time?

[RiceMonster]

I use facebook a little, but I hate it. Also, I use pidgin to chat on msn and aim. No way I'll be switching protocols because they're proprietary. Everyone around here uses msn (only a small amount of my contacts are aim), so I can't see any benefit to switching to jabber or something. Nobody is going to switch just so they can talk to me. They wouldn't even install something like pidgin so they can use jabber and msn at the same time. Plus, I don't want to push them to do it anyway.

Also, quiting youtube because it uses flash? I don't see the problem. There's more content on youtube than anywhere else, so feel free to miss out.

[windows-killer]

First of all, who cares?




... damn, why have I posted in this thread?




Secondly, who cares? I mean... besides those who responded to this thread and people you loose communication with?

By this logic, Internet is also proprietary, because some of your data may go over proprietary routers...

However, I can't argue much with religion on this forum :P

if Internet is also proprietary, then I guess some open source fans have to cancel their Internet service.

I imagine this::popcorn::p

you call your ISP and they ask you: why are you canceling your service sir/ ma'am?

you: umm, well because Internet is proprietary and I use only open source related things.

CSR: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. it appears that you are experiencing some difficulties!:p):P:D


alternate scene:

you: hello I would like to cancel my internet service!

CSR: may I know the reason for the cancellation?

you: because I use only open source software and internet etc.

CSR: what! are you threatening me? Sir! this call is being recorded for security and quality insurance purposes, am gonna have to call the police on you!




I try to bring some humor in here, because you guys are taking open source too serious. man! its just software.

to all open source fans. !!!DANGER!!! food and water are proprietary!

[windows-killer]

many linux users are closed minded! because they limit themselves from anything that is either closed source or something that you have to pay for. if the reason is financial for not using closed source/ proprietary software thats fine!
but if the reason is because you hate closed source software because you wanna know the source code etc, thats very immature!
by doing this you are making companies lay off employees because you make them lose their jobs. theses guys have families too. And the company has the right to keep their work private.

As I said in the beginning, linux users are closed minded because when they try a closed source software and when it doesint work for them for the first time (it brought an error). they start bashing it moistly because of its closed sourced nature. however in the next release of the same software they used, the bug was eliminated, and they continue bashing it.


Dont get me wrong, I love ubuntu but when I see people acting immaturely i feel like opening their eyes. I also dont like seeing people making it a big deal for software. I like open source, but I also like closed source/ non-free, nothing wrong with it.

):P

[Murrquan]

to all open source fans. !!!DANGER!!! food and water are proprietary!

You think you're joking, but the large agribusiness firms are patenting genetically modified crop genomes as we speak. ^.^

People, srsly! What is this, high school? You're surrounding this guy and taunting him like he came in with the wrong hairstyle or clothes or something! On the Ubuntu Forums! He didn't even diss proprietary anything, he said that he was switching to Open-Source alternatives. That's not being closed-minded, that's acting based on his preferences / conscience. I clicked on the link because I wanted to know about these alternatives, because I'd been contemplating such a move myself. And now I see you all making fun of him. What gives?

To the original poster: LiveJournal is a social networking service that runs off of Free / Open-Source Software, and is also a part of the OpenID initiative. And their network is a service they run, but other people have created their own implementations of the LiveJournal network using its Free / Open-Source code.

They're kind of a like-it-or-hate-it deal, but my friends are all on it so it's what I use. ^.^; I'd like to get them to switch to XMPP from MSN / AIM / YIM, but I still haven't found how to do a group chat in XMPP on Pidgin ...

[RiceMonster]

many linux users are closed minded! because they limit themselves from anything that is either closed source or something that you have to pay for. if the reason is financial for not using closed source/ proprietary software thats fine!
but if the reason is because you hate closed source software because you wanna know the source code etc, thats very immature!
by doing this you are making companies lay off employees because you make them lose their jobs. theses guys have families too. And the company has the right to keep their work private.

As I said in the beginning, linux users are closed minded because when they try a closed source software and when it doesint work for them for the first time (it brought an error). they start bashing it moistly because of its closed sourced nature. however in the next release of the same software they used, the bug was eliminated, and they continue bashing it.


Dont get me wrong, I love ubuntu but when I see people acting immaturely i feel like opening their eyes. I also dont like seeing people making it a big deal for software. I like open source, but I also like closed source/ non-free, nothing wrong with it.

):P

I think you get too worked up about this. I remember you ranting about it in another thread.

[windows-killer]

I think you get too worked up about this. I remember you ranting about it in another thread.


its obvious. I get pissed off seeing people acting so immaturely.
My posts are not only directed to the original poster, but the're also directed to those who act like this (you know who you are)

and btw am not ranting, am just opening your eyes.

[DeadSuperHero]

and btw am not ranting, am just opening your eyes.

You're just being self-righteous. As one of the lead writers of Linsux.org, I can tell. You're not all that different from the radical Free Software elitists that want EVERYONE to see things your way. To you, absolutes are meaningless unless you're the one who said it.

[RiceMonster]

and btw am not ranting, am just opening your eyes.

Ahahahaha, oh man.

[monsterstack]

Wow, thanks guys. I used to believe that software freedom meant choice, and that choice meant power. I used to think avoiding proprietary tools, vendor lock-in and monopolies was a good thing. How wrong I was! Now I see that to think that makes you a zealot and a Luddite, and more than that, it makes you horribly immature. The more you know, huh.

[windows-killer]

You're just being self-righteous. As one of the lead writers of Linsux.org, I can tell. You're not all that different from the radical Free Software elitists that want EVERYONE to see things your way. To you, absolutes are meaningless unless you're the one who said it.

and you think your way is the right way?
fine, then answerthe following questions are maturely as possible.

* Why do most linux users treat open source as a religion?
most Linux users want everything to be open source?

* why Linux users discourage the use of closed source software, regardless of the price/ agreement?

* why linux users scare away software vendors by asking for their source code?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

now here is my solution that it will make ubuntu better.

we want our favorite os to be globally supported similar to other platforms. I know a way (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1133396&page=7) we just have to convince canonical to consider it.

the other solution is, for developers to start merging with other projects and make one or two projects that are stable and easy to use.for example, we have the 5+ movie editors for ubuntu. they all do the same job but there is always something missing from each project. why not merge them and create one project that has features from all the other projects. this applies to all forked software. you guys dont realize this, but thats one of the biggest usability issues for ubuntu out there. I know you gonna tell me that we have a choice, but if you have to choose from 10+ applications that do the same thing, i think its very misleading. open source software needs to be organized. If I was a dev I would merge all these projects and I would restrict froking them. But I would allow to view the source code and donate code to my project. I think thats the way it should be.

Now you guys might start arguing again but you have to realize the benefits of the ideas above. I know you gonna tell me to post them on ubuntu brainstorm, but ubuntu brainstorm is completely useless.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

now back to the original topic. when the original poster mentioned that he will stop using Proprietary networks, I know you are discriminating against that type of software because you are mentioning the word "Proprietary"

To me software is software and I dont care about its license, I care if it works, and I think you should do the same thing.


all the best):P:KS

[monsterstack]

* Why do most linux users treat open source as a religion?
most Linux users want everything to be open source?

Linux owes its existence to open-source and community-driven projects. Its future depends on the same thing. That should be enough.


* why Linux users discourage the use of closed source software, regardless of the price/ agreement?
If everything were open source, we'd have no more vendor lock-in, greater choice, more freedom, and no monopolies.


* why linux users scare away software vendors by asking for their source code?
If vendors are scared to release their source code, then scaring them by asking for it doesn't mean anything. I don't understand what the problem here is.



To me software is software and I dont care about its license, I care if it works, and I think you should do the same thing.


Why?

[windows-killer]

Linux owes its existence to open-source and community-driven projects. Its future depends on the same thing. That should be enough.

If everything were open source, we'd have no more vendor lock-in, greater choice, more freedom, and no monopolies.

If vendors are scared to release their source code, then scaring them by asking for it doesn't mean anything. I don't understand what the problem here is.



Why?


I want something that WORKS and I dont care if I have to pay for it. you know the devs have a family so my money is for a good cause... you see now with the recession, they need more help.

[red_Marvin]

btw is there a decent and easy to use IM that supports webcam and mic for MSN on ubuntu?
No! so closed source software just works.
prove me wrong!
Are you serious or just going for a [s]troll!? Protocols being closed is what makes it so hard to make compatible alternatives in the first place! And where is the closed source MSN client with webcam and implemented "just works" tech anyway!?