Delighted to hear this! I’m working towards purging as many applications as I can that are hosted on GitHub and ffmpeg is one I use regularly.

Thanks for the recommendation. I appreciate it!

I appreciate the recommendations! I’m working on a list of alternatives. I might upload it to Codeberg or somewhere similar once it gets to a decent size.

Okay. I think we agree on more than we disagree.I also appreciate your input on effective strategy on serious issues like this - I 100% agree. I think you’ve misinterpreted me a little, so let me clarify:

1. I support BDS actively. Organised movements are vital.
2. As I’ve said in the comments: perfect is the enemy of the good. I will drop as many projects as I can. Media players, web browsers, mail clients, social platforms - can all be changed for more ethical alternatives. It doesn’t have to be black or white.
3. I will never wait for any individual or group to give me the go ahead to do what I think is the right thing. BDS isn’t perfect.
4. I am not selling anything, or trying to temper my actions to be more palatable to the more hesitant . It also turns out that I’m far from alone in this, but I was equally happy to go first. I don’t think that it’s a waste of effort at all.

So, yes, strategy is important. But personal efforts count too. Among other things, I am challenging the widely held apathy (and empathy deficit) held by tech enthusiasts that such a move is pointless or too difficult. And along the way I am finding likeminded people I didn’t know were out there.

Ah, thank you for this! I see in their latest issues that they might even create a demo server. I appreciate you !

Oh, that’s great! Thank you. I also discovered Tildes.net which is hosted on GitHub for now, and I see Codeberg being discussed in a thread there.

I’ll be looking into Lemmy alternatives too.

h, I see what you mean now. The thing is, the massive numbers of users we collectively provide to Microsoft (even non-paying) is a huge benefit to them. They wouldn’t offer free stuff otherwise. It gives them all kinds of leverage in negotiations. I’ve elaborated a bit more on it in another reply in case you’re interested.

GitLab mirrored on GitHub is totally fine with me, thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! I’ll add Icecast to the list of things to look into. I’ve encountered it with internet radio.

And I appreciate the respectful response. “Support” means “contributes to” when I use it. My car does contribute to climate change. The thing is, GitHub is a choice. For some people, driving isn’t a choice due to lack of public transport and distance to work. However if I use my car when there is plentiful public services (but I just like to hear my music at full volume in my car), then that is a choice.

So if I’m driving when I have better options, then my actions do support climate change, and I do so knowingly.

It’s called “social proof”. The way bullies get their way is because they can gesture broadly at their following and say, “see? We’re popular. Better that you conform than try to resist us”. That gives them lock-in and ecosystem growth. It also makes it harder for competitors when they abuse their position to offer free services that an ethical but smaller provider can’t. It’s also a gateway to Azure, another of their products (which make the Israeli killing fields in Palestine even more efficient). It allows them to shift a percentage of free users to paid plans.

So it’s lots really. And supporting Microsoft today is very similar to supporting Volkswagen during Nazi Germany’s rule.

I don’t want to repeat this comment too much, but perfect is the enemy of the good. I’ll do what I reasonably can.

Thanks for the response. I also feel that open source projects contribute to a better world, but I think we sometimes have a puritanical view of ourselves. We do not make a better world by supporting Microsoft while they enable a genocide. We do the opposite. Using even their free stuff is support. If genocide isn’t a red line for them, then they have no red lines, and I become very uninterested in their games

I also agree that it’s important to be effective. Richard Stallman et al can do what they do, but I’m not one of those people. Just a consumer. It’s important that we exercise the few rights we have (while we still have them).

I’ve been an open source advocate for years. Helped many people migrate to Linux in my free time, submitted as many well formed bug reports as I could and remained available for follow up requests and further debugging.

The thing is: none of this matters if we’re willing to sit on our hands while people die. Our repositories are not so precious. We shouldn’t let our love of software replace our love of humanity.

Isn’t that GitHub too?

To answer your question: even using their free stuff supports Microsoft. As long as they facilitate militarised genocide, I’m out.

“Be the change you want to see in the world”.

Even using their free stuff is supporting Microsoft. As long as they provide sophisticated facilities for genocide, I’m out.

As a wiser person than me once said “be the change you want to see in the world”.

Libraries are so underrated - always a good suggestion. I have about 300 albums that I like so I’d probably stick with my Snowsky Echo Mini for those. But I should check out the local libraries. (I have an old laptop with a CD player).

I don’t know if you read the articles I linked or not, but there is a stark lack of empathy in replies like this: full of self interest, void of humanity.

Devs are free to choose other platforms. They don’t face death or famine for doing so. Oppressed people cannot choose their oppressors. If genocide isn’t a red line for you then you have no red lines.

That’s a good question. I’ve been thinking about where a middle ground might be. I think if a project does both it’s coding and CI on another platform (fully committed) then I can live with that. They can a copy of the code to GitHub for the engagement and audience or whatever.

But if the project is determined to keep with GitHub specific features (like actions) then that’s a clear signal of support to GitHub, IMO. I couldn’t support that. So in short, if GitHub is their home base then I intend to boycott, but I don’t mind them mirroring to GitHub from something like Codeberg.

Ah, I appreciate the comment so much! I also don’t use Spotify for the same reason as you. These exploitation economies are a race to the bottom. Thank you, and I wish you success platforming your music ethically.

I’ll have to deal with Lemmy (and Mastodon) too, but one thing at a time. My plan is to be intentional but to pace myself.