Signal Boost

When I said I was going to not be writing essays, I think I said this more as a reassurance to myself that I was going to be moving away from essays and going back to prose. I want to “write stuff,” not “write essays.” However, here I am, writing another essay.

One of the most common conversations I’ve been having with people–beyond “what are you doing these days?”–is about why people use FLOSS. Usually the conversation is based around software, since that seems to be one of the most common uses of free/libre/open source. If you google “reasons to use open source,” you’ll get about 15-thousand hits. Some of these seem pretty worthwhile.

FLOSS users, in my experiences, fall into several categories.

The Theresa
Usually the Theresa is a scientist. My Theresa is a statistician, but the same principle applies. People like Theresa use FLOSS because it’s necessary for their profession. People who need computers to process data find it extremely important to be able to see not just the end result, but also every step along the way. They need to be able to manipulate, change, and understand these steps. Theresa needs to see the equations that are used and find where things are rounded. There’s a story I was told about an engineer who noticed he got the correct result on one computer and an incorrect result on another because the second computer–using different software–dropped numbers. It was a big problem.

The Steven
Steven thinks FLOSS is cool. He’s nerdy like that. We like him for it. Steven actually has a wonderful somewhat philosophical explanation about why FLOSS is cool. I’ll dig that up soon.

Steven’s Mom
Steven’s mom uses FLOSS because he installed it on her computer. She plays solitaire or something, checks her email, and does whatever it is moms do on computers. Mine chats with me and changers her user icon to be cute pictures of animals.

The X
I say X here because I don’t actually know anyone who identifies with this category. X is a placeholding variable until I get a good name. Some people use FLOSS not just because they think it’s cool, but because they like the nerd prestige that goes along with it. I’m told these people exist.

The MJ
That’s me! I use FLOSS because I want to be a kickass hacker chick.(1) That’s not true at all–well, okay, it’s a little true. I use FLOSS because it’s the right thing to do. I spend a lot of time talking about how important it is for people to open their source up. I talk about transparency and copyrights and owning what you use. I’m awesome at parties. It’d be pretty hypocritical of me to go off on this at inopportune times (feel free to ask the last boy I met at a party about how I responded when he said he uses a mac) and keep running proprietary software. I also love that I can really try out new software without worrying about limited features or lame free trials. When I needed a video editor, I opened up the internet–also easily searchable through Synaptic Package Manager–and tooled around websites for a while. I tried out five video editors before settling on kdenlive. That brings me to the final type of FLOSS user.

The Y
I also don’t know anyone who fits into this category. If you do, please say so and then I can drop a name in here. Some people use FLOSS because the F doesn’t just stand for free as in freedom, it can also stand for free as in beer. It’s pretty nice when you need something new and you can just get it off the internet for free. It’s convenient to have free software not cost anything. I mean, how many people would use Microsoft Office if they had to buy it after they got their new computer when there was a free alternative?

So, those are the six reasons people I know use FLOSS.

(1) Hollywood tells me it’s now okay to say “kickass.”