Edit: link to post (thanks @als@lemmy.blahaj.zone)
this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
654 points (99.1% liked)
196
5455 readers
2442 users here now
Community Rules
You must post before you leave
Be nice. Assume others have good intent (within reason).
Block or ignore posts, comments, and users that irritate you in some way rather than engaging. Report if they are actually breaking community rules.
Use content warnings and/or mark as NSFW when appropriate. Most posts with content warnings likely need to be marked NSFW.
Most 196 posts are memes, shitposts, cute images, or even just recent things that happened, etc. There is no real theme, but try to avoid posts that are very inflammatory, offensive, very low quality, or very "off topic".
Bigotry is not allowed, this includes (but is not limited to): Homophobia, Transphobia, Racism, Sexism, Abelism, Classism, or discrimination based on things like Ethnicity, Nationality, Language, or Religion.
Avoid shilling for corporations, posting advertisements, or promoting exploitation of workers.
Proselytization, support, or defense of authoritarianism is not welcome. This includes but is not limited to: imperialism, nationalism, genocide denial, ethnic or racial supremacy, fascism, Nazism, Marxism-Leninism, Maoism, etc.
Avoid AI generated content.
Avoid misinformation.
Avoid incomprehensible posts.
No threats or personal attacks.
No spam.
Moderator Guidelines
Moderator Guidelines
- Don’t be mean to users. Be gentle or neutral.
- Most moderator actions which have a modlog message should include your username.
- When in doubt about whether or not a user is problematic, send them a DM.
- Don’t waste time debating/arguing with problematic users.
- Assume the best, but don’t tolerate sealioning/just asking questions/concern trolling.
- Ask another mod to take over cases you struggle with, if you get tired, or when things get personal.
- Ask the other mods for advice when things get complicated.
- Share everything you do in the mod matrix, both so several mods aren't unknowingly handling the same issues, but also so you can receive feedback on what you intend to do.
- Don't rush mod actions. If a case doesn't need to be handled right away, consider taking a short break before getting to it. This is to say, cool down and make room for feedback.
- Don’t perform too much moderation in the comments, except if you want a verdict to be public or to ask people to dial a convo down/stop. Single comment warnings are okay.
- Send users concise DMs about verdicts about them, such as bans etc, except in cases where it is clear we don’t want them at all, such as obvious transphobes. No need to notify someone they haven’t been banned of course.
- Explain to a user why their behavior is problematic and how it is distressing others rather than engage with whatever they are saying. Ask them to avoid this in the future and send them packing if they do not comply.
- First warn users, then temp ban them, then finally perma ban them when they break the rules or act inappropriately. Skip steps if necessary.
- Use neutral statements like “this statement can be considered transphobic” rather than “you are being transphobic”.
- No large decisions or actions without community input (polls or meta posts f.ex.).
- Large internal decisions (such as ousting a mod) might require a vote, needing more than 50% of the votes to pass. Also consider asking the community for feedback.
- Remember you are a voluntary moderator. You don’t get paid. Take a break when you need one. Perhaps ask another moderator to step in if necessary.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
As an android ROM hacking and foss enthusiast, this meme is dumb as hell.
It's not called side-loading because it's not from the play store or whatever. it's called side loading because the installation is not triggered from within the on-board software.
If you're using Graphene OS and install software from F-Droid, that's not sideloading. If you take the Play Store version of an APK and install it via ADB from your PC such that it functions just like it was installed from the store, full authorization included, that IS sideloading.
Don't take the technical language we've been using for decades and reinterpret it to push some agenda in a meme.
Call the situation what it is: taking away product ownership rights.
Yes, but google calls it sideloading when I install from f-droid
no they don't. installing f-droid is the sideload. once f-droid is installed you do not need to have allow unknown sources enabled anymore. it has permission to install as a known source.
It's still just installing software
I'm not sideloading an app onto my desktop when I download an appx file from GitHub to install something instead of using the windows store, having a special term for installing an apk file outside the play store just obscures what's happening
Exactly. I'm not "sideloading" anything when I use brew on the Mac or when I use docker on Linux.
The term sideloading started being used with the first iPhones, when people used to jailbreak them and "side-loaded" apps.
This term has existed since the 90s. It never had anything to do with stores and you'll notice my actual definition didn't mention the store.
That distinction is completely valid, but I think it ultimately misses the point of the "sideloading" discussion.
I think no one would disagree that installing apps on mobile devices via ADB (Android) or Xcode (iOS) is sideloading. But if I toggle the "Allow installing from unknown sources" setting on Android and install APKs through F-droid and other means, is that sideloading? You say no, the Wikipedia article about sideloading says yes. That also circumvents security features of the OS to install software. The difference comes down to whether or not a mobile OS provides an easily accessible setting for developer tools that facilitates the installation of software from other sources to the point where it becomes possible to automate it in a store-like fashion. It's not a hard distinction and more like a continuum of how many hoops a user has to jump through to install and maintain software from other sources.
I think it's useful to think of the "sideloading" discussion mainly from this user-oriented perspective. The technical distinction of needing versus not needing a separate device is technically valid, but it misses the point IMO.
This is all very good to know for someone unfamiliar with the topic. Good discussion
I respect where you're coming from but what about downloading an app from your browser and installing it separate from any app store? Do you consider that "sideloading"? If not I have bad news.
I'm not arguing over what things are and aren't being allowed. I'm saying the meme is butchering the term sideloading and its meaning.
No, but my point is langage and meaning evolves and the process I referred to above is now commonly known as sideloading. Whether that makes sense or follows a historical precedent doesn't matter to most people.
I'm unclear: did this term come from language evolving, or is it a corporate move like the meme says? It can't be both.
And that's my problem with the meme. I don't disagree that language evolves but the meme is trying to say it was crafted with purpose by Google et al and it's just not
Sideloading absolutely has not been used for decades in any context relevant to the android app store conversation.
The term has had a specific meaning for decades. It was coined by i-drive in the 90s. It is the same concept now as it was then, but "the i-drive platform" was replaced by "stores"
I'm a bit of a dumbfuck, but I find this extremely hard to believe. Please elaborate and prove me wrong
I mean, for etymology Wikipedia is about as good as the next source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideloading
The term was coined in the 90s by i-drive, and roughly means "use an alternative transfer method than established norms". If I make software that has a standard transfer method (in the case of mobile devices that's the rule "installed apps should have a known source, e.g. a store") and I transfer stuff from another source (an unknown source in this case), that's a sideload.
I don't understand how that's different than fdroid though. And in most cases, fdroid had to be side loaded for a long time after and when it was introduced
as I said elsewhere, the installation of f-droid is sideloading but based on my understanding of the term, installations by f-droid are not because f-droid is the "known source" granted permission to install software
But the origin of F-droid is me choosing a trusted source, no different from when I choose to use a store.
Ah I see
You download a file to your computer to then sideload to your companion device. Side loading is not the applicable term in the android context (unless you download some files and you push it via Bluetooth/wlan/cable to your mp3 player)
People use the term casually and incorrectly to refer to any software not installed from the Play Store, which ultimately reinforces Play store as a sort of default which undermines the open landscape of Android in the public consciousness.
Nowadays most people are only literate enough to spread misinformation
I just thought it was kinda funny. This community felt right
Being called illiterate because someone disagrees with your definition of "sideloading" is a thing you can only experience on Lemmy.
Did reddit suddenly get better?