FOSS is not the only way to make ethical software. Entities like Google could choose to not be evil, it’s really not that hard, evil is a choice.
Mapquest seems to be different, but the bar is on the floor so that’s not saying much.
But the idea that a pay-for-ad-free subscription is so offensive is a ridiculous purity test; the devs need to be paid somehow. Frankly I never even noticed as I have a system adblocker and Mapquest has never complained about it.
If a business chose to not be evil, it would be outcompeted by the businesses that are evil. Most of the evil we see business committing is a result of maximizing profit, and in a system where profit is the primary motive (capitalism), evil will always win. It’s an illusion of choice because the non-evil business tend to stay small at best, or go out of business at worst.
FOSS is a different system where a project’s existence isn’t contingent on profit; the developers just want to make good software. So sure, it isn’t necessarily the only way to make ethical software, but it seems to be the most consistent way, and I have a good feeling that it’ll continue to catch on as enshittification continues to rear its ugly head.
FOSS is not the only way to make ethical software. Entities like Google could choose to not be evil, it’s really not that hard, evil is a choice.
Mapquest seems to be different, but the bar is on the floor so that’s not saying much.
But the idea that a pay-for-ad-free subscription is so offensive is a ridiculous purity test; the devs need to be paid somehow. Frankly I never even noticed as I have a system adblocker and Mapquest has never complained about it.
If a business chose to not be evil, it would be outcompeted by the businesses that are evil. Most of the evil we see business committing is a result of maximizing profit, and in a system where profit is the primary motive (capitalism), evil will always win. It’s an illusion of choice because the non-evil business tend to stay small at best, or go out of business at worst.
FOSS is a different system where a project’s existence isn’t contingent on profit; the developers just want to make good software. So sure, it isn’t necessarily the only way to make ethical software, but it seems to be the most consistent way, and I have a good feeling that it’ll continue to catch on as enshittification continues to rear its ugly head.
I agree with all of that, but FOSS is never going to eliminate paid software.
I preference FOSS whenever possible but I don’t write off software simply because it’s not FOSS.