I’m a Free Software vegetarian, meaning I don’t use proprietary software. In the same way a vegetarian won’t eat meat, even when it is really good. My day job is to further forge federation, to allow forges to communicate with each other. To enable a developer to file a bug from the comfort of their forge even when the software project is located in another forge. I write software daily, run online services, fix problems sent my way by the monitoring service watching over services running in production, answer support requests, take an active role in the well being team and try my best to create an inclusive environment where diversity is cherished.
As can be expected, I’m often in a difficult position when trying to communicate or work with other developers because the easiest path requires the use of proprietary software. For instance I may have to send a patch via email to contribute to a project hosted on GitHub, and it will take a lot longer to be merged.
I’m however very happy to live in a universe where only Free Software exists. I can do things that would not be possible if proprietary software was around and I think every Free Software project deserves the same amicable environment. A universe made of a constellation of Free Software forges, each populated by hundreds of projects where thousands of developers work together. Everything there is grown locally and organically, in a way that would not be possible in a gigantic forge populated by millions of projects and tenths of millions of people.
Continue reading “Hostea: a seed to create a constellation of Free Software forges”