Hot Saucerman

You could always just go as “End User” which is just a name tag and introduce yourself by quoting Taylor Swift (like the average end user):

“It’s me. Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”

Sly reference to PEBCAK.

Vendor lock-in from a service provider is different from vendor lock-in from using proprietary software.

If you’re dumb enough to not host your shit locally and instead rely on Amazon, that’s literally your own shortsightedness that led to vendor lock in.

The first mistake anyone made was thinking putting their whole business on some other businesses private property was a good idea. Pro-tip: it’s not.

In other words, I already agree with you, but I think vendor lock-in for services is a vaslty different issue than vendor lock-in for proprietary software.

AWS and Azure are services

A lot of people seem really confused by this, based on the number of downvotes.

That’s not what I meant by “runs on Linux.” I mean the software that makes AWS servers function, behind the scenes, is Linux. You’re allowed to install whatever you want on a server if you rent a server from AWS, but the software that allows you to rent a server from them and lets you set up your own server is… Linux.

AWS servers run on an operating system that is a CentOS/RHEL flavor of Linux that has been heavily modified by Amazon for their use-case.

Except AWS runs on Linux…

This is a conversation that needs to be happening, and not just around whether you are okay with the government using your work to kill people.

Are you also okay with giant corporations that have enough money to develop their own tools use your volunteer labor to profit wildly and harm the public? (Also, private companies make tools to kill people as well. Just look at Palmer Luckey’s Anduril, which produces military-grade drones and such. Or hell, any company that makes Tasers.)

Because the story of Free Open Source Software is also the story of the biggest accidental transfer of wealth from the working class to the capital class in world history.

Amazon Web Services wouldn’t exist without Linux. Sure, they run their own flavor of Linux, but they’ve put in a bunch of their own proprietary bullshit and AWS is a fucking juggernaut. A big reason they’re able to do this is because they use off-the-shelf Linux as a starting base and work from there. It cuts out a massive amount of labor to just lean on the labor of volunteers.

Now, not all companies are like this, I’ll admit. Valve pays people to improve Steam in Linux and has wildly benefited the WINe team.

However, the vast majority of private companies lean on the labor of FOSS volunteers to make money without investing the same labor themselves.

It’s honestly kind of a fucking travesty.

EDIT: Also, it’s a bit ironic that RMS always claimed that his plans with GNU/Linux was to free people from proprietary gardens, yet FOSS has actually been one of the biggest creators of such gardens. I always had a soft spot for RMS, but he’s wrong as much as he is right.

I too, want an answer to this question, so I am leaving a comment as bait for others.

Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.

TrueNAS

Who are you calling a div?

I wonder if mods still work with the remastered version.

Oh the days of deathmatch on Lithium II servers.

Hats off to ya!

Wake up Samurai, we’ve got DVDs to burn.

All of these answers are correct. Other guy is just a dingus.