My two favorite Lemmy apps aren't FOSS. 😬

(Sync and Connect)

The hate for Sync just reminds me of how NHL fans always complain about how hockey isn't as popular as it should be, and then when new teams are added they complain about new fans.

Can we just celebrate good apps instead of go all out "too indie for you"?

My take is; it just works. It just happen to be a pleasure to browse with the app that I paid for an ad-free experience. Yay for small devs making great products.

FOSS is great, but I love to pay for a good experience.

I don't understand the issue here?

You want open source and free software. You get that with a developer trying to make a living to improve upon a product like Jerboa. Jerboa works but by comparison to Sync it is rough. By rough I mean the UI is not the best, it needs way more time and polish not only looks nice but has extra features and functions to make it stand out.

With something like Jerboa you would donate money by choice but if your argument is free and open source you need to donate more money to support that.

Sync is popular because its closed source makes it harder to break the security aspect if you don't have all the access to source code. It is popular because it was a great app for Reddit and had that advantage. You know what people did to help the developer make a living and put more time into it? They supported it willingly by paying for extra features to help the dev and get more out of the money they were willing to spend.

I understand free and open source APIs being available and wanting more free and open source software to stay that way to make all things free and open. So support the apps you appreciate being free by willingly providing money which in return makes them not free.

If you want things to get better somewhat you invest in them. If they go belly up well then it was a bad investment. Sync is a fantastic app and it has the edge because it has a good developer and has had a good community who pays for it and supports it because things you love you will support. If you are a good developer you give more for that money provided.

The PS Mini literally used an emulator to play games. A free open source emulator that you could find. People still paid for a console that charged to use that open source software. Why? Because they loved gaming at home and the product.

I will pay for Sync because it makes a product better. A product that makes a newcomer leave Reddit and find Lemmy. An app that provides familiar and easy to use features. An app that has the edge that can make Lemmy a smoother experience. Just because something charges money, which by the way is an optional choice, and just because something is close sourced which by the way tends to be more secure doesn't make the product bad. It can bring more into the community.

If your issue with Lemmy isn't that it's FOSS but your issue with other platforms is that they run poorly or they need more polish well then you are arguing against yourself.

This is all everyone is going to talk about for a while huh? As if most of the active posts being about Reddit wasn't bad enough.

If we want Lemmy to succeed we have to do more than whine about this kind of thing 24/7.

Everyone should use whatever their heart desires, and for me the voyager app is beyond perfect (Android, PWA.) I havent used Sync so it might be better in some aspects but I am content with voyager.

P.S. If you really like a client you should donate any amount to the developer(s) to help them keep their app awesome!

I will support any indie developer if the product is worth it and the price is right. I’m currently paying Ivory for Mastodon (iOS) and the experience is top notch. The fact that paid apps for the fediverse are popping up is actually a great sign of interest and critical mass of active users.

On a side note, what are you guys using on iOS? There’s a LOT of options currently, but the four that I’ve been enjoying the most are Memmy, Bean, Lemmios and Avelon. I’m sure in a couple of months we’ll see amazing progress and clearer differentiation from each other.

I'm so happy to see Infinity for Lemmy in a meme. This made my day. Thank you.

And here I am, after testing every Lemmy App, waiting for Boost...

Edit: It's coming soon.

Sure, if Jerboa worked well.

This one is more controversial than intended. Since it's my "fault," I want to clear things up:

I fully support the "use whatever you want" faction. This meme wasn't intended to be a trigger against Sync. I just want to reflect the difference between Sync and all other apps. (I missed Connect, but my abilities to create a second Teletubby aren't the best.)

The controversy between FOSS and closed source reminds me of discussions on Reddit. It looks like we are separated into two (or more) groups: the privacy-focused FOSS nerds and the "shut up about the license, code, or ads and take my money because your product is the best working of all" group. Both groups have understandable reasons, and both can have their place in the fediverse. But don't forget, it's the FOSS group who started all this and early adopted (if you don't believe me, check the age of my profile). And this group is a little bit confused why everyone can't wait for a closed source app.

There's nobody who starts an unexpected feature or starts selling your data. Lemmy is FOSS and decentralized. A closed-source app can add whatever they want. If the ad-free pro version costs 20 bucks, then all non-pro users sell with their data, and I bet it's 20 bucks worth. Because free closed source is always free, because you are the product.

PS. I don't want to paint worse scenarios, but remember, WhatsApp was just a closed-source wrapper of XMPP, and Chrome is based on Chromium. FOSS will always attract people who try to monetize it. Some would say: "I don't care." But what if the monetizers start to claim control over the development, because there are "needed features" to get more money out of it?

sync has consistently worked for me (so far) whereas jerboa and voyager have had issues connecting to lemmy servers

I'm a big fan of FOSS, BUT I also have absolutely no problem paying folks for their time and work. Sync was the absolute best way for me to access reddit, and even though it's a beta, it's been such an easy transition over to lemmy with it.

I like the experience with sync, have for years, I don't mind if it's not free or open source, it works better for me, so I happily pay the developer for their time working on it.

This judging people for how they choose to browse is so juvenile. Let people enjoy things.

I didn't know INFINITY for Lemmy existed!!! I don't mind SYNC, although I prefer the FOSS alternatives

The developer works full time for the app, even when it was a Reddit client. If you guys can't view an ad every once in a while to support something you use daily, then delete your Lemmy account. Nobody eats for free.

This meme got a chuckle out of me. I think people shouldn't take this too seriously. It is a meme after all.

Sent from voyager

Everyone is getting bent out of shape. Just use whatever app you like best. I have 5 apps installed that I'm testing including Sync.

That being said, my 2 cents regarding Sync: I don't mind paying for a great app like Sync, but I'm not crazy about subscription models. I know there is a one time option but $100 for a mobile app is beyond nuts.

EDIT: $100 is for the lifetime "ultra" plan. It's $20 to remove ads.

First comment from Infinity, glad it's there again

Glad to see the lemmy community welcoming new users and their choice of app to engage with the fediverse.

From the perspective of someone who isn't currently in the "Bad If Not FOSS" mindset, this image really gets the impression backwards. To the average user who doesn't appreciate the user-unfriendly klunk and jank that is inherent to FOSS interfaces, it really feels like the image should depict a bunch of FOSS Teletubbies being intruded upon by a competent Power Ranger.

I used to be a FOSS guy. And then I realized I valued my time and sanity way too much to spend more time troubleshooting and nudging my software into just working normally than I did actually using it.

FOSS software as the underpinning of the platform that is then accessed by a closed-source client is, ultimately, the best circumstance we could ask for. Clients are what the user actually interacts with. If that experience is more engaging and approachable, you get many more users on the platform overall, without threatening the sanctity of the freedom of the FOSS platform it all runs on. There is no one authority to make unilateral decisions to derail the platform, while still offering a more welcoming public face. If you can't understand that, or don't care to recognize it, that you're content to let the platform wallow in obscurity.

I'm not tempted by it myself despite using it for reddit for years, but there's a weird amount of open source zealotry on Lemmy.

I've seen people complaining that the Nintendo Switch is closed source. Like, no shit.