Why
"BuT aLl mY fRiEnDs UsE iT" is actually a valid argument
[link—standalone]
As we chill in our heavily patched Suckless DWM build, or
QTile, or whatever, with a nice anime girl wallpaper and some
r/unixporn-style transparency effects, gaps between windows
and neofetches, there's plenty of people out there shouting
at their phones because Spotify is playing an ad once again,
and complaining to their friends about it on the
ProtzApp.
These people need to be helped, but where could we
start? Well, first things first we have to have some quick
way of communicating with this people.
Since normies
don't understand these kinda things, IRC might not be a good
option. Maybe we should make them
install Signal, Element or something? Of
course, since we're trying to convert them to the Man of
Culture Cult, next thing we're gonna do is tell them that
things like the Instapound and the Snapcrap aren't
good.
Now, I am 100% sure that you, Redditor, Discord Mod,
GNU/Linux/FOSS Enthusiast or /g/entooman, that are reading
this, have experienced such a situation, and Normie's answer
was something like "WeLl, bUt wHy cAn'T i UsE the WhAtzApp?"
(2 to 4 seconds pause) "AlL mY fRiEnDs UsE iT! Ow'd I cHat
wiTh ThEm?".
This excuse is ridiculous, because Normie can just
make his friends can over to Signal as well, right? Well,
it's not that easy.
I've been through all of this in first person, and trust me,
it's really not.
When I was trying to make my friends
switch to another messaging apps, I often didn't know how to
convince them: it's really a mess. Commonly, people do not
understand the concept behind Free Software and Open Sauce,
unless you literally spend hours trying to explain
those things to them. And even then, you'll hear things like
"But if I publish free software I won't be able to make
money!", or "But won't open sourcing my program make it more
vulnerable?".
As you and me already know, both of these
statements are incorrect and false, because it really doesn't
work like that. That's what people, mostly boomers, don't
get. It's not always like they think it is.
So yeah, people who say "BuT aLl mY fRIeNdS uSe It" really
got a point, and I understand them. The solution? Make them
privacy-caring and Free and Open Source Software
enthusiast.
I'm sorry, but that's really the only way.
You can force them as much as you want to uninstall WhatsApp,
but that won't work. You have to inspire Normie, and,
although it's really not tough, it is not
impossible.
This really is the only way to make them
understand that what they are using is defective by design
and insecure, all all of their private conversations are not
private at all.
This is the only way to get them to use
more privacy-friendly software and make them, in
turn, convert their friends, too.
To make the long story short, I think that "But all my
friends use it" is really not an excuse if said by a normie
when trying to make them use some better, healthier, FOSSer
and privacy-friendlier alternative to some app they
use.
I understand people who say this, since, if
people use some app, they will be convinced that they can't
use anything else or even get rid of that proprietary
software, because then they would be unable to communicate
with the world.
So, my advice, is to try and explain
people why they should use an app rather than another
one. You always should try to explain the philosophy behind
something and try to get the interlocutor passionate about
what you love, in this case, Element or Signal, or really
anything but ProtzApp (possibly open).
That really, in my opinion, the only way to make the normie
make The Switch, which is very important.
You know what
else is important? The sponsor of this article:
my GitLab.
Visit https://gitlab.com/mirk0dex and send a pull
request for 50 social credit.
Bye now, have a great one!
Mon, 18 Oct 2021 22:51:00 +0200
