Open source evangelists should not forget that users pick solutions based upon what works for them, not politics.
Reading the recent comments of several prominent open source evangelists I felt like I was attending a Tea Party rally. Whether they are talking about Microsoft being the evil empire or the “anti-features” that proprietary software companies are wasting money and time on, the vitriol that they spew turns me off quicker than a negative political ad.
They would do well to remember why many of us use open source software. For most of us, we use open source software because it is a solution to a problem we are trying to solve in the most efficient matter possible. The majority of you don’t necessarily get a warm and fuzzy knowing that by choosing the open source solution we have struck a blow for freedom and justice and the Stallman way. When MIT’s Benjamin Mako Hill says “the world of proprietary software is a world full of software that people hate”, that is not true. People like their software that does the job. If it works to their expectations they don’t hate it.
Also the lines are being blurred between the good guys and the supposed bad guys. The company with “do no evil” as its motto has become the leading threat to become the ultimate “big brother”. In the meantime Microsoft is sponsoring several open source projects. Open source or not, everyone likes to make money. When open source zealots talk about the “closed source” guys offering crippled software that you need to pay to unlock, isn’t that the new open source? How many open source based companies offer crippleware versions of their software as open and then a premium version that costs money?
Like in most things there are no absolute rights or wrongs. Life is seldom black or white. Extremism in politics, religion or software usually denigrates to hate. Open source will win the hearts and minds of users because the open source software and projects work. At the end of the day, positive experiences and messaging will trump hate and negativity every time.
