F00F's Adventures in Free Software

Ever since I first installed Linux Mint in 2015, I've been enthusiastic about free software, or open-source software – that is, software whose source code which is free to share and modify without restriction, not exploiting its users through secrecy and artificial restrictions. There are tens of thousands of free software projects, with tens of thousands of contributors. Some of them are wonderful, and some are deeply frustrating. Some I couldn't live without, and some just aren't for me.

One of my pastimes is to browse the software repositories of Linux distributions, looking for interesting programs to try out. I've also followed the blogs of contributors to free software, and seen inside the development process. By those means I have found many projects I enjoy using, many of which are hobby projects of single developers of small groups, and virtually unknown outside of a their circle. At the same time, I've seen developers express a feeling of not being appreciated for their work, and I've seen users express frustration in finding software for their needs. I want to show appreciation for everyone who makes software for the public interest, and help users find that software.

As someone who navigates this world just for fun, I thought I could do my part to help other people navigate the free software world by writing accessible articles about it. Sure, there are plenty of articles about Linux and all the other software in the world, but so much of it has a robotic flavor, as if written by an AI or using a copy-pasted script. Alternatively, so many blogs have a toxic, critical, discourse-y flavor, containing not so many recommendations as scathing condemnations of everything the author doesn't personally enjoy using. My goal with this blog is to be a kind, human voice in the world of free software, and share my passion for the software I use daily.

Another issue I have with other free software writers is that they tend to focus on the big, popular projects: Linux distributions, desktop environments, and enterprise software. Here, I'm just reviewing whatever software I'm interested in. That's going to include a lot of video games, simplistic single-purpose apps, and hobby projects that are more funny than useful. And yes, it will include some of those popular projects, wherever I think I have a unique take about them.

I know that pretty much everyone who encounters this blog will be highly exposed to free software already, and at least half of you will already run Linux as a daily driver, but I hope this blog will help even the most dedicated GNU fanatic find more software to enjoy, and transition further away from proprietary software

Expectation management

For the time being, this blog will be hosted on a WriteFreely instance. WriteFreely is full of SEO spam and the exact sort of robotic writing I criticize, and it limits my ability to create a unique identity for my blog, but it's free software and costs nothing to use. I have a tendency to impulsively start projects and then never finish them – it's my autism at work, or maybe ADHD – and I'd rather not pay for something I know I won't keep up; I've made that mistake before, and now I'm paying $30/month for a website I haven't updated since 2019 and am afraid to take down. If this blog lasts a while, gains an audience, and I'm still interested in it, I may give it a proper home. I've also been thinking of adding on a PeerTube channel, but I've never been confident in front of a microphone, so I think blogs will be a better start.

My goal will be to post as frequently as I can, up to once a day. I have lots of other interests, as well as university and a job, so if I fail to keep this blog up or fall short on quality sometimes, that's just to be expected. There's a possibility that I'll never post to this blog again, and in that case, I'm sorry.

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not the first person to call a blog “Adventures in Free Software.” Better name ideas would be appreciated. I thought of “FOSS Program of the Day” or “Package of the Day”, but that would imply an obligation to post daily, and I don't do well with schedules.

Ending thoughts

Personal problems aside, this is the sort of project I've been wanting to do for a while. Something to share my enthusiasm for Linux and free software, and help other people find their way through this wonderfully confusing space. I've already done some work on this with my previous blogs and my fediverse accounts, but I hope this particularly has the potential I've imagined. See you soon with my first proper review!

Feel free to suggest apps and services to review, and I might review them.

My main Fediverse presence is at the handle (at)f00fc7c8(at)0w0.is. You can also contact me on XMPP at c16deeptread(at)hookipa.net. Feel free to ask for other socials, but know that I'm not on the majority of large proprietary platforms.