Software as a cult, and Ai is making us crazy

#ai #internetculture

There was a really good post earlier in the week on the internet by a blogger someone over on Bluesky that has since been deleted, but it was something that really resonated with me and that I wanted to share.

Let me explain….this person had a blog post that was a really powerful rant about the free open source software (FOSS) and FOSS-adjacent communities. Essentially, this person pointed out that these communities are often very homogenous (primarily white men), not particularly inviting, and are often not understanding of people who don’t want to use software that lacks a polished UI and welcoming community.

The post had a vibe that…just resonated with me. Because it captured a vibe I feel a lot lately, not just in the free open source software (FOSS) space, but also elsewhere on the internet and in real life. This feeling that “tech culture bros” and Discord vibes are taking over the world.

A few gems from this article that I happened to share that really resonated with me:

Yes, this is a lot of communities on the internet, but it is particularly found in the FOSS and productivity communities. This culture can make it feel very odd when you’re the lone woman who enjoys chatting about these things but are sometimes met with outright hostility for sharing an opinion or experience or asking a question. Yes, I have had this happen and while it hasn’t happened a ton, the few times it has occurred has left me reluctant to engage in the future.

There is definitely a vibe in the FOSS and FOSS-adjacent communities (like Obsidian, because, yes, I know Obsidian is not FOSS) where user experience is seen as superfluous. I don’t think I am an outlier when I say that when software looks pretty and is easy to use, I am more likely to use it. And I recognize that this can only generally happy with a company behind it.

Compare Bear Notes to Obsidian, two apps with which I have extensive experience. Bear Notes is beautiful and using it out of the box is practically effortless. Obsidian, on the other hand, looks like a computer terminal from the early 2000s. I did use Obsidian and I loved it for a time, but when I recently contemplated using it again, it took me 30 minutes to set up sync and then an hour trying to get the damn app to export notes in different formats. Yes, there is a plugin for that, but that plugin only worked with another plugin and that other plugin hadn’t been updated in 3 years. Bear, however, could do this function right away, no set up required.

So yeah. Software as a cult is a good way to put it because that is often what these software communities feel like. And it’s not even always a bad thing if people are homogenous but inviting and welcoming. But when they are not welcoming, even if it happens rarely, that can leave a mark.

Not related but equally as impressive this week was this YouTube Video titled “Open AI Wants You To Go Insane” by comedian https://www.youtube.com/@TheAdamConover.
OpenAI Wants You To Go Insane

I don’t think anything I could write about it would do it justice so just watch it. It’s funny and accurate.

OpenAI Wants You To Go Insane

youtu.be