I’m a FOSS (free and open source software) contributor and enthusiast. So I prefer to use such products (Lemmy instead of Reddit, Linux instead of Windows, Firefox instead of Chrome, Signal instead of WhatsApp, you get the idea). Was just thinking that if everyone moved to such solutions, the tech and ad industry would lose billions of dollars. That would translate to governments losing billions of dollars in tax revenue. Would such a move ever be encouraged then by the governments?

  • circuitfarmer
    1•1 year ago

    Well, it won’t be supported by governments – the tax dollars they lose are nothing compared to the communication they no longer control.

    That aside, most regular folks want something easy and established before they’ll use it. I think that’s the main issue to entry of FOSS stuff for people who aren’t otherwise engaged in the ecosystem. Lemmy got an unusual leg up from the implosion of reddit.