Remember to share positive posts, memes, etc. about open source things you use and like. A simple “I like this” or “thanks for working on this” can go a long way!
Happy people carry on using things quietly while negativity gets shared, memed, and shoved in front of folks who work on your favorite projects. One negative comment too often outweighs ten positive ones, because human brains are dumb.
We’re seeking input from #FOSS maintainers as we design a fellowship program pilot. We want to test a support mechanism that addresses structural issues in the FOSS ecosystem, and support maintainers who work on open digital infrastructure in the public interest.
240 million functioning PCs/laptops will be chucked into landfills.
Because #Microsoft has managed to convince consumers that computers cannot exist without #Windows.
Hi Fediverse! We're a collective of international workers at Red Hat organizing for fair working conditions.
We'll be using this platform to discuss a range of issues in our industry, strengthen solidarity between tech workers, and dispel myths when it comes to unionizing.
Stop treating open source projects and foundations like consumer-facing businesses.
Unless you've got a paid support contract that's being neglected, or there's a grave concern, it's inappropriate to escalate issues to massively public forums.
Maintainers and the staffers and volunteers at foundations are already overworked.
Don't make it harder for them to address your issue by ALSO making them waste time firefighting in public.
If you're looking for a free, open-source alternative to the Font Awesome icon library you should check the MIT-licensed Phosphor icon library. Clean designs, over 7k icons 🤯
"The German government has launched a new Open Source software project called openDesk, which aims to reduce the country’s dependency on proprietary software vendors and support transparency and interoperability.
openDesk is a collection of #OpenSource software modules that are important for day-to-day work in the public sector, such as text creation, file collaboration, project management, email, calendar and messaging."
Your periodic reminder that Stellarium is an amazing planetarium tool. Free, #OpenSource and very easy to use. There are desktop apps, mobile apps and a web version.
TIL about another community on Slack who is now being asked to pay thousands to preserve basic functionality 😬
Proprietary tools that offer a lot for free, without fail, will squeeze you. And unfortunately, because of their nature, a lot gets left behind when you inevitably migrate.
When we select tools for our communities, we need to think over longer time horizons.
FOSS options like Matrix for chat and Discourse for forums are the better bet.
A student can't afford to pay the $8 per month for #Obsidian sync, so builds a #FOSS alternative. Then posts to HN and says "I probably violate ToS, so will take down the repo if asked".
Then the Obsidian CEO replies. Explains they aren't VC-funded and the $8 bucks subscription keeps the light on. Applauds the work of the student, points to other open ways that content sync can be handled and gives advice "if you rename, there's no ToS problem". 👍
University-hosted instance social.uibk.ac.at: We are continuing to increase our presence here on Mastodon for science communication. By establishing our own instance, we aim to contribute to a positive development of the #Fediverse.
We are thus (further) limiting our involvement on X.
Organizational units of the University of Innsbruck are welcome to use the instance social.uibk.ac.at!
In my talks and discussions about the role of Open Source maintainers, I usually list a number of reasons why maintainers might quit or otherwise reduce their involvement.
"The Russian army destroyed my house" hasn't been on that list yet 😐 🇺🇦
When anyone spends their resources making something and then gives it away for free they should be greeted firstly with gratitude. They should be greeted secondly with gratitude. They should be greeted lastly with gratitude.
Too much #FOSS#OpenSource community rage and contributor burnout stems from a strange forgetfulness that no one has to contribute anything this way. It's always a wonder. Let's chill out and be a little more kind and a lot more grateful.
OC Creatives of all kinds: check out this delightful list with dozens of FOSS creative tools for artists, photographers, film makers, game devs, musicians, and more! (codeberg.org)
A curated list of delightful tools for digital creatives in a variety of mediums.
Mozilla's petition against in-browser censorship law (foundation.mozilla.org)
The French government is considering a law that would require web browsers – like Mozilla's Firefox – to block websites chosen by the government.