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> On the desktop 90% of the projects are second rate clones of commercial software with a weird GUI, poorer features, and added user hostility.

A lot of free/open-source software is created by a single developer in their spare time, because they want an open & functional version of their favourite commercial app.

The weird GUI is what you get when you can't devote unlimited man-hours and millions of $ to the project.

A lot of good has come from the Linux and open-source movement, let's not pretend otherwise.



> The weird GUI is what you get when you can't devote unlimited man-hours and millions of $ to the project.

I will take weird or unpolished GUI over polished, dark patterns, thank you very much.

Because that's the choice that we really make.


I didn’t know the opposite of terrible UI is dark pattern.


It isn't, just like opposite of free software is not great UI. Despite that, free software and terrible UI gets conflated; so what's just one more conflation, right?


"Despite that, free software and terrible UI gets conflated"

I wonder why people would conflate those two things? Sure, not all free desktop software is bad, but enough of it is that people prefer the commercial alternatives.


Replace free with proprietary, commercial with free, bad with dark patterns and that will be just as true as your version.


“Replace free with proprietary, commercial with free, bad with dark patterns and that will be just as true as your version.”

So more people use free desktop software? Hmmm

Also, that is the most confusing statement I have ever read.




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