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shrugal@lemm.ee 2 months agoThe thing is, we are talking about the Beeper service here. Yes Matrix is good, yes Beeper bridges are good, but a closed source Beeper app is bad. That’s what the criticism is about, and it doesn’t help if you deflect that by arguing about all the other things they are doing.
derin@lemmy.beru.co 2 months ago
Fair point, if you’re just against the fact that they wrote a closed source client.
It’s frustrating that closed source software exists, but in this context I’m (personally) okay with it as it funds the development of free software.
shrugal@lemm.ee 2 months ago
You’re definitely right that people are a bit too doom-and-gloom about it, they did do a lot of good over the last few years!
But I also find it a bit odd that Beeper talks so much about the importance of open source in messaging, and then releases a closed source client without at least adressing the topic. Add the fact that they’ve been aquired by another company on the same day, and it starts to smell like another instance of openwashing.
Idk, we’ll have to see how it plays out I guess.
derin@lemmy.beru.co 2 months ago
I am worried about that acquisition, to be honest.
I’ve been supporting them via Github sponsors for about a year, now - as I only use their open source software; I’ve no intention of touching the service or closed source client.
As a result, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was anxious about their new owners basically telling them “hey, why are you releasing all your bridges for free, anyway?”
Really hope that doesn’t happen, as their bridges have been my primary communication channels for a long time, now. I love not having to keep WhatsApp or Discord installed on my phone.