this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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libre
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Welcome to libre
A comm dedicated to the fight for free software with an anti-capitalist perspective.
The struggle for libre computing cannot be disentangled from other forms of socialist reform. One must be willing to reject proprietary software as fiercely as they would reject capitalism. Luckily, we are not alone.
Resources
- Free Software, Free Society provides an excellent primer in the origins and theory around free software and the GNU Project, the pioneers of the Free Software Movement.
- Switch to GNU/Linux! If you're still using Windows in
$CURRENT_YEAR, take Linux Mint for a spin. If you're ready to take the plunge, flock to Debian and design your dream system!
- Those on Apple Silicon Macs can consult Asahi Linux for available options.
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- Be on topic: Posts should be about free software and other hacktivst struggles. Topics about general tech news should be in the technology comm or programming comm. That doesn't mean all posts have to be serious though, memes are welcome!
- Avoid using misleading terms/speading misinformation: Here's a great article about what those words are. In short, try to avoid parroting common Techbro lingo and topics.
- Avoid being confrontational: People are in different stages of liberating their computing, focus on informing rather than accusing. Debatebro nonsense is not tolerated.
- All site-wide rules still apply
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- Xenia was meant to be an alternative to Tux and was created (licensed under CC0) by Alan Mackey in 1996.
- Comm icon (of Xenia the Linux mascot) was originally created by @ioletsgo
- Comm banner is a close up of "Dorlotons Degooglisons" by David Revoy (CC-BY 4.0) for Framasoft
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The alternative is the classic .exe fiasco that exists on Windows, with manual updating off sketchy sites.
the alternative is flathub
just kill internet access with flatseal to any apps that dont need it, done
Flatpak next is going to have even more fine grained network sandboxing (per-app DNS, VPN portal, apps can't talk to each other in the same network).
But then we have to deal with permissions?!?! And the bloat! Oh god, the bloat!
price to pay to not have some 1337t dprk haxor in your computer
Every developer targeting Windows learning that having a self-update mechanism in your app is required because A: users don't update when prompted and B: getting onto the Microsoft Store is a PITA.
I haven't dealt with package management on Windows through exes because that sounds like a nightmare.
If you look at the Python PEP history, there's like 10 just for Windows installer bullshit and like every other month there's some IT guy coming in and screaming about how they want the installer to be a specific way which is usually met with "if you want that you should do that then" since literally no one wants to deal with the installer since it currently functions and 90% of people are just using venv now anyways.
Honestly most software shouldn't require regular updates to begin with.
How else do you handle security vulnerabilities and bugs?
Just make better software to start with. Adding networking and software deployment to everything is a significant attack surface.
Updating software doesnt require networking or software deployment.
does
Your comment was definitely a broader scope than the rest of the conversation. Most software isnt self-updating.