
Ask HN: Free Software Proponents, was there a moment that converted you? - parallel_item
Could you share the moment or set of experiences that pushed you over the edge and made you want to commit heavily to free software?
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ralmidani
I don't remember having an epiphany; it was sort of a gradual process. I guess
the closest thing to a "moment of conversion" was installing and using Ubuntu,
and soon realizing I no longer had to be abused by Windows. That was around
2010.

These days, I am much less fanatical than I used to be about free software. I
still want to release any code I have control over as free software (probably
AGPL to maximize freedom for downstream users), but I don't refuse to use non-
free software. I am on Ubuntu right now (after more than a year of insisting
Debian was better for me), but may end up buying a Mac so I can build and
distribute apps for iOS.

Some reasons for my loss of zeal:

1) No modern devices can run on 100% free, de-blobbed software all the way
down to the BIOS, like the FSF insists we all should be using. What happens
when the supply of old Thinkpads is depleted? Will the FSF's annual ethical
giving guides continue to push people to buy them for themselves and their
loved ones?

2) Sometimes for work or school I need to use Slack, Zoom, or Keynote. Yes,
there are free alternatives, but my colleagues or professors are not going to
go out of their way to accommodate my refusal to use non-free software. I'm
not as popular as RMS is, and probably never will be.

3) I'm a developer, not a sysadmin!

