I'm a lurker, not a poster for the most part. And as you can see from our blog, we don't write that often. We don't really do content marketing. Any revenue we make as a result of this post certainly won't cover the time I've spent writing it. Hiri is a bit specialist.
Would be happy to tag the posts - think it's pretty clear this is a company blog though. Your point is well taken/made all the same.
- (probably) team upvote boost to trigger front page
Nope - the HN algo would murder us for this. Don't risk it.
- 50% off promotion ending in ~4 hours with the tagline "you'll never see this offer again".
You'll see this if it's your first visit to the site, been that way for a while. But that's another article...
We stripped every feature that made our product different and put them in an 'app store'. This was a huge change (a lot of work and a big risk), and not something I've seen others do as an on-boarding strategy. Thus, novel. I believe this approach could be repeated by others. It's a far cry from the usual walkthroughs, carousels and prompts.
> They will always tell you if one of their recipe contains a particular ingredient (of which you might be allergic), and whether there are vegan options.
I authored the article. People ask us about our software all the time. We answer their questions. We have a post on our views on privacy, how we collect and use data etc. We give people the option to opt-out of data collection. Our email list is strictly opt-in. It seems that you are fine trusting the people that provide your food, but not your software.
>However, I'd rather not have the Linux community "embrace proprietary software with open arms", thank you very much.
Why? What possible harm could it do?
>Why are you defending yourself and exactly what against?
I didn't write the article as a defence. I wrote it as food for thought. I would like to see Linux usage increase. I believe those that reject proprietary software outright are preventing this from happening. A vocal minority give the impression that proprietary software is not welcome. This has not been our experience.
I make an important distinction in the article. The FOSS community is not one 'type' of person. There are plenty in the FOSS community who use proprietary software. I have yet to hear a compelling argument on this thread for using FOSS software exclusively.
I'm founder of the company and I wrote the post. I wrote it because despite a lot of negative comments our experience going to Linux has been a good one. Yet the 'fundamentalists' I mention tend to make proprietary vendors feel unwelcome. I believe this is bad for Linux. IMO a vocal minority are actively preventing Linux from expanding.
Perhaps I failed to make my point.
I believe the fundamentalist brigade are doing Linux a disservice by scaring off proprietary vendors, who mostly believe they will not be welcome (This has not been our experience). I believe this is bad for Linux as it prevents people from adopting Linux as their daily driver.
> ultimately backed by violent force, to ensure compliance with this belief
This is true of all laws. This is how society works. If you don't like it, in a democracy you can campaign for change.
You seem to believe you have a fundamental right to copy someone else's works. If the author of those works grants you permission (open source) - then fine. You seem to suggest that people shouldn't profit from their work. I just don't think FOSS software alone is tenable.
>have suffered from proprietary software companies not supporting their OS/distros (Adobe, Microsoft, just to pick a few)
And here lies the main point - they believe that many users will simply reject their proprietary software on principle. If the community was seen to embrace proprietary, which is what I'm calling for in the article, they might just support Linux.
Also worth noting that the largest contributor to the Linux kernel is... Microsoft.
Interesting point, but I think it's a fallacy.
Taking this line of argument and applying it to the social sphere - you would be arguing that there is a place for nazi's in this world (I'm just making a point - not saying you support nazis!)
Totally agree with your "good citizen" argument though. Something we should consider.
> Now imagine living in a world where food makers sneakily put nuts in their products
Sure, this would be morally wrong (and also illegal). But you are basically saying that everyone is putting peanuts in their software, which is simply false. Quite insulting to those of us that do work on proprietary software.
If FOSS is important to you, it should absolutely be a factor in your decision. And of course, people can choose whatever they want. I'm OK with that (although I don't agree with it) as long as it only affects you. If your decision affects others and inhibits their ability to work efficiently, then I think you can justifiably be criticised.
Would be happy to tag the posts - think it's pretty clear this is a company blog though. Your point is well taken/made all the same.