this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2025
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I've seen many threads suggesting products but they often don't mention FOSS projects, which should always be preferred to corporate software. With FOSS you are already boycotting capitalism, on either side. Free and Open Source ignores borders and shouldn't be categorized in nationalist terms, no matter where some of the maintainers happen to live.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 hours ago

FOSS is not American. Foss belongs to literally everyone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago

I think there is a different problem. Many of the best FOSS products are unknown to the general public ;/

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 hours ago

Lol, first time I hear that, as European😆 what a stupid movement..

[–] [email protected] 25 points 8 hours ago

I always like to say the fruits of FOSS labour are the common heritage of mankind. It belongs to all of us as a public good, created and maintained by selfless workers. (Nevermind the fact that most FOSS projects are based out of Europe anyways).

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 hours ago

Is someone doing that? If it's FOSS it's from the internet.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 13 hours ago (6 children)

I'm the most anti-American user on here and I agree.

I'd rather use USA-linked free software than Spotify.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

There are some pretty corporate "open core" software companies tho, that's a more grey area

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Are they open or free? That's the point here.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

It's hard to say. "Open core" means that most of the software is open source (licenses vary) but some features are locked behind a paywall. Gitlab takes this approach for example, also maybe onlyoffice.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 hours ago (5 children)

I would think it depends on the project

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

Seeing people look for corporate social media alternatives is painful.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 16 hours ago (18 children)

@Irelephant

> "Hey guys, I want to leave X, should I go to Bluesky or Threads? What? Mastodon? Never heard of that. Looks very complicated, I'll pass"
> -- CEO, founder, IT wizz on LinkedIn

Every time!

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

I get it as an European that it means more to me to consume "locally" and to prioritize services that are European-based. But due to the nature of computers and FOSS, borders are redefined and it is more about ideas and politics rather than physical location. However, computers and servers are also physical and submitted to legislations of countries, we cannot ignore laws such as the Patriot act and the power that the American state can have even on FOSS projects.

For me the priority is to use software that match my needs; if I have the choice between an American and an European solution, I'll tend to choose the latter one.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I canceled ongoing donations to several projects based in the US and stated that my reasons for doing so was US policy against my country. It doesn’t matter if the dev or project lead supports those policies or not, I refuse to contribute to the US economy if I can at all help it.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 hours ago

I understand, but I am also thinking about the dev of those projects, as an individual who (probably) really despises the current US Gov, and even though they have to engage in the US economy, as they need to eat, pay bills, etc. It is a very tricky problem for those individuals and how to emancipate from. It is like with Russia where such individuals do not endorse at all the ongoing war but still live in that system 🤔

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 15 hours ago (4 children)

Agree with the main point, though disagree that FOSS is "boycotting capitalism", many for-profit companies contribute to FOSS and FOSS can be used by for-profit companies too, much of today's capitalism runs on FOSS.

The point of free software is that it does not have owners, so what exactly are you "boycotting"?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago
[–] thericofactor 61 points 19 hours ago (3 children)

From a purely "vote with your wallet" standpoint it doesn't make sense, because there's no money paid. However, one might worry about data/information getting in the hands of a fascist/compromised government. So I think people should judge this themselves case by case.

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[–] [email protected] 77 points 20 hours ago (5 children)

lol who is suggesting boycotting foss projects?

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