Saddening me time and again is seeing individualism and fragmentation in #FOSS.
#Collaboration between projects that's so often low-hanging fruit, yet never happens. More anticipation of needs, helping each other, be stronger together. Yet it hardly shapes up to the extent that it could.
We seem to lack time to become sustainable, let alone 'win' from #Hypercapitalism. No time to seek collab as we prod on alone.
There are exceptions of course, and better collab tools are becoming available.
This makes no difference if new projects actively choose to go for proprietary platforms instead, and then make up excuses afterwards as to why this choice is supposedly valid.
The #FOSS community needs to understand that they need to actually use free software where possible, or collaboration will be never work out.
"Welcome in the #commons sweat shop, my dear friend. Slave away with us until the whip of #Hypercapitalism wears you out. Here's a set of FSF quality approval labels to plaster on your work of hard labour."
"Thank you! Let's change the world then. I'll start burning myself out, right away.. 😍"
Can us humble peasants move to a furtile #PostGrowth system when #HyperCapitalism rabidly feeds from the bleak industrial farmlands of #Distrust?
In the huge Fields of the Majority where us wilfully oppressed forced laborers daily sow Seeds of Doubt for our masters. We see pellets hit the hardened soil, and pray in vain that something healthy will sprout this time. While we eat the bile that's served.
In our dogmatic way of life can we discern patches of #Faith and #Trust to grow Humble Deeds?
“The moment you put people into big institutions the goal shifts from knowledge discovery to moneymaking.” —Sabine Hossenfelder, My dream died, and now I'm here
#Hypercapitalism involves the devious practice of passing people 💩 turd sandwiches wrapped in glossy paper, and have the recipient be happy and surprised when opening them.
Because only outward packaging is all that matters, the superficial layer. Hypercapitalism aggressively teaches to look no further. To not see deeper value and meaning. For its practioners, which we all are to an extent, superficiality is thus the "Return on Lack of Investment" we get in return.
Thinking about how this works and in the context of #SX, I introduced #SocialEssence to ponder deeper meaning in the design of social experiences.
It can be a best-practice in a toolbox of #MindfulDesign.
Using an example of a #FediFantasyCard created with the fabulous tool by @nash and @hexephre I described some thoughts on the general idea of "valuing existential essence" in the design of social networking applictions.
However, it is still a puzzle in a 1,000 little pieces waiting to be laid out correctly. And whomever starts to connect larger chunks of the greater picture, will meet the toxic bully that is always somewhere around: The festering Beast of #Hypercapitalism. Storming in, scattering pieces, shattering #Dreams.
Why is the bully there, I ask myself? Something that puzzles me. Maybe because we leave the door wide open for this foul beast? 🤔
I think too that to work together we have to be aware of the value of the other board.
And usually #FOSS are not so well known by business world and by government…
But I feel that it's going to change a bit.
Like for the German Train Organization : https://opensource.deutschebahn.com/opensource-en with Cornelius Schumacher ( he worked at #kde ) and Max Mehl ( he worked at #FSFE ).
I like it!!! 🤩
At least #Meta didn't manage to take over the "related searches" yet. There's still a couple of entries on "what meta means" should people be still interested in that.
@smallcircles I should add that I see no solution to this problem for search engines other than to provide a checkbox or mode: 1) Facts/Academic Mode 2) Popular Crap Mode.
The Dutch finally fell from near top to rock bottom among other EU countries in teaching kids proper reading and writing skills.
Now prepare to go much further down the drain as the remaining 6 corporations that keep a tight Education oligopoly still see a lotta 🤑 📈 potential, and neoliberal 'regulators' will remain conveniently ineffective, complicit.
We need both #OpenSource education content and software.
4 publishers create ALL books + related material as 'education methods' prescribed for schools, 2 corporations do the distribution.
Their incentive is simple. An education method must be outdated asap, be as elaborate as possible for extra profits.
Whether these methods work? No one knows. No one checks. Sometimes we know they don't work but no one regulates. This problem exists decades, is not acted upon by anyone.
While billionaires are bad, billionaire media moguls are way worse. Controlling the narrative and steering public opinon in their machinations towards more power and influence. Where country leaders feel a need to give these oligarchs an audience and who knows what other promises, in return for some favorable news bites. The Ukrainian leader is doing his duty here, in what's probably best for the country and efforts to end the brutal Russian invasion. #HyperCapitalism
@smallcircles I was out for a shop yesterday here in France. We've not done well with importing Black Friday. We've gone full throttle and declared Black November. It is confusing because some shops are decorated with moustaches for Movember, and others with black and yellow balloons. They are all filled to the brim with people spending away, and Mariah Carey is blaring over the soundsystem.