Creates something free to use and ask for nothing in return

People complain because they have to chmod +x a Shell file

A tale as old as the internet.

STUPID FUCKING SMELLY NERDS

I can kinda vibe with that. Worst I’ve ever seen was installation instructions posted in a Discord server.

A meme made in response (not by me):

Steps to building a cool program (the really cool way)

1. Clone the GitHub repository
2. Open command prompt
3. Run the build command
4. It fails because the repository owner uses a different c++ compiler and it only works with that one
5. It fails again, realize you installed visual studio wrong somehow so spend an hour trying to get the visual studio installer to find and uninstall it before deleting the installation directory entirely and installing the required version again
6. It still fails, the project looks for version “” of protobuf but you have “3.1.10.1” so you reconfigure it to look for a real version of protobuf
7. It fails again, some tool that isn’t in the readme is required to build it
8. It fails again, it’s not actually compatible with windows yet
9. Give up and wait for pre built binaries

Edit: did the other guy that responded block me? I got a notification about it but can’t load the comment

I agree that github is for developers or people who at the very least don’t mind learning a bit of development and getting their hands dirty. The poster demanding an exe is quite entitled - and also from what I understand the repo he is referring to is a python repo, so there normally wouldn’t be an exe, it’d just be run via a python command.

There’s a bigger problem here, which is that technical skill in newer generations is also decreasing - as someone on reddit had once said “I’m a millennial and I’m doing tech support for my parents as well as my children”. A generation raised on tablets and phones have gotten the false impression of being tech savy, when their actual technical skill is using end products.

Expecting every github repo to provide you with something you just click-and-run is overlooking the complexities and reality of how code is. By it self that isn’t a problem, but the entitlement it takes to publicly and arrogantly post that on a public forum is astounding and counter-productive to people who work on those small repos.

Nah I kinda agree, just give me a “download” button somewhere. I don’t care about your build file, deprecated classes, list of supporters or whatever the fuck else you keep on there.

I just want to download the software and use it.

GitHub is easy

1. read the readme for any prerequisites

2. follow the installation instructions

3. forget you have the program on your computer

4. find another neat GitHub program

5. goto step 1

I hate when the installation takes like 20 steps. Never heard of an installation script and a interactive installation? I’ve installed far more complex software, that gets this but your shitty programm can’t do it?

And they wonder why nearly nobody uses Linux. In Windows nearly all software comes as an executable. Imagine offering a software under windows, where you need to do the setup manually in a shell.

You know so for this specific instance I kind of find it to be, dumb, right, really stupid, but obviously this guy is trolling, and I think in this thread I’ve even seen an .exe that someone compiled get posted, so I guess, good things come to those who shitpost and bitch, or whatever.

Also glad this post is (hopefully) dead, so I can write my reflections that nobody else is gonna realistically read.

More broadly, though, I’ve seen a lot of technically minded linux using system admin types, nerds, basically, right, that just kind of shit relentlessly on anyone who doesn’t know as much as them. Which sucks, for sure, it’s really annoying. It gives me the same vibe as when people talk about how everyone who moves to their country should speak the language, and understand every facet of the culture and every custom, because they’re a “guest”. I mean, yeah, sure, that’s partially true I suppose, and certainly it would help if that were the case, to smooth the transition, right, but it’s also really stupid to expect everyone to acclimate immediately. There are external factors that drive someone to settle in a country, right, could be asylum, could be, socioeconomic asylum. Those are your two options, basically. It’s not really like these people don’t give anything back, either, since they provide high amounts of economic value, they import their culture which can be beneficial, shit like that. It would just straight up make more sense to accommodate them more, to be nicer to them, because it would make it easier for them to acclimate. You will statistically have better outcomes if you choose that path, compared to just kind of, holding your nose up at them, and demanding everything from them and giving nothing in return.

Not the best metaphor, I’ll admit, comparing a country to the collection of people who might be thought of as “tech literate”, right, obviously it’s apples to oranges. Nonetheless, I’ve seen a very kind of, elitist attitude, directed towards new people, from a group of people that should welcome anyone who seeks to understand their technology better, anyone who seeks more tech literacy. I dunno, I just feel like I’ve seen enough “well justified” stack overflow asshole responses that are like “uhhh I GUESS I’ll tell you about this but you should’ve googled it” when google was what brought up the thread. Maybe that’s more on google, though, I dunno. It gives me redditor vibes, like, NTA reddit vibes, where people kind of take any morally righteous position they can, in order to justify them acting like a twatsack.

It’s also, practically, a strange mentality to take, because none of this is really going to prevent or discourage people from making stupid comments, right. Gatekeeping is the fucking stupidest idea I’ve ever really heard from the internet, because it just doesn’t work. It just creates people who want to spit back at you, and that’s obviously going to work itself into a kind of positive feedback loop where you’re going to get flooded with more shit in return. It is energy that would be better spent making more accessible software, if such a thing is possible in these circumstances.

I dunno, at large, it is kind of these mentalities that make me think, it’s not really any wonder why FOSS software, despite being more naturally suited to computer architecture, compared to other shit, isn’t really as used as it should be. It’s mostly just a practical concern, for people. If people have to put in 30 minutes to learn something, then that’s half an hour, and if they’re getting paid federal minimum wage in the states, you could charge them like three bucks and it would probably be worth their time. It’s against the ideal, right, to charge for it, obviously it’s not really going to be a guaranteed ROI, also you’re maybe going to see a smaller userbase, because lots of people would rather pay free than cheap by a staggering proportion, and also you really can’t charge for it, and still have your software remain open source, lest someone else just copies it and spreads it.

So that all sucks, in practical terms, but sort of my broader point is that the ideological position of FOSS basically can’t compete with your stupid free market charge for money for software kind of shit. We get windows, we get mac, because the software, and the philosophies that built them, were more naturally suited to the socioeconomic environment they all propagated in. They are “more practical”, both in terms of your end user’s uses, but also in terms of how they spread. It’s cynical. It is our old friend of naive techno-optimism, rearing it’s ugly head once again. It also makes me think, you know, that what entails FOSS, are philosophical positions that are naturally kind of more suited to a smaller developer, that can’t build in anti-crack measures, or realistically charge anonymous internet denizens for copyright infringement, and thus, can’t really charge money for software, especially from what’s already going to be an extremely limited userbase. It’s also to their advantage to maybe try to seek help from their limited install base and bolster their numbers that way. I dunno. It strikes me the same way as non-cyberspace attempts at anarchism, right, where it just doesn’t, as quickly, as cynically, secure the means of resistance, and ends up constantly getting crushed by larger predators of ideology.

I dunno man, I just wish people would stop being mean to each other on the internet. Causes me too much psychic damage.

I kind of agree with the Reddit post. Like how hard is it to just provide a simple download button? Obviously if it’s an open source project and still in development there’s not a lot of utility in doing that, but there are situations where there will be a plug-in for a program and it’s been distributed via github.

And it’s got a terrible UI, I can never remember where the download zip button is, because it’s not obvious.

People misunderstand the target audience of GitHub—which is specifically not the general public, but yes, developers. If you don’t want to be treated as a developer, don’t use a platform designed for developers. And I’m saying this as someone who’s having a horrible time learning hot git and GitHub works. (Not because it’s bad, I’m just a slow learner lol)