Gregory's Server
You know, I'm really starting to empathize with the "toxic" FOSS developers/maintainers.
I took a break from @usebottles due to internal issues and eventually stopped contributing to it because everything we did always led us to a lose-lose situation.
I thought that focusing solely on Flatpak would solve most distro-related problems. Boy, was I so wrong. Distros continue to package Bottles with their inferior packaging systems (inferior in terms of desktop apps, except Nix, because it's one of the few good ones), even when we explicitly asked not to, for various personal and technical reasons. Users continue to ask for support on 6 month old versions of Bottles (no joke), and distro bros continue to package Bottles because """it's the spirit of FOSS""".
Now that @mirkobrombin is the only code maintainer again, he wants to switch from GTK4+libadwaita to Electron. Why? Because he's a developer with real feelings (shocker!) and wants to enjoy maintaining again. But noooo, now users are whining because OMG ELECTrON BLoAT!!!111
Cool, you don't like the direction? Fork the project. Oh, you don't have the time? Then why waste your time whining? Why are you trying to tell maintainers what to do with their free time? Seriously, you're not helping anyone.
It really sucks that many FOSS developers maintain great projects and get trashed on a regular basis. You as a user are not the main character of the universe.
To maintainers who regularly experience harassment and entitled users: I'm really sorry you have to go through this. You have my utmost respect, and I hope you continue to enjoy maintaining your software.
The question is: Will Wayland, Flatpak, immutability, PipeWire, etc. save the Linux Desktop?
No, they won't, and they never will. What will save (or has saved) the Linux Desktop is a cultural shift in the community to make it robust, secure, inclusive, and accessible. Technical solutions cannot address social problems.
*This* is why we have systemd, Wayland, Flatpak, immutable distros, PipeWire and all these "next-gen" (some current-gen) technologies. It's a legitimate cultural shift to focus on making the Linux Desktop better for the vast majority of users.
You know what else would improve the Linux desktop? Getting rid of toxic users. Adding a code of conduct also drives away a lot of bigots, which is great for people who belong to marginalized groups.
Speaking of reducing toxicity, I realized that my original post caused one toxic user to switch from GNOME to KDE. And that's wonderful news for GNOME! This person has been making fun of GNOME developers (mind you, volunteers) for a while, and then claimed to be a designer. I hope they don't turn KDE into a hellhole.
The question is: Will Wayland, Flatpak, immutability, PipeWire, etc. save the Linux Desktop?
No, they won't, and they never will. What will save (or has saved) the Linux Desktop is a cultural shift in the community to make it robust, secure, inclusive, and accessible. Technical solutions cannot address social problems.