It's so nice to see them all growing, but this is just the truth, sorry.
2y 10mon ago by lemmy.ml/u/Samsy in memes@lemmy.ml from lemmy.ml
This kind of gatekeeping and elitism is bad for Lemmy and for FOSS.
It makes this community a less welcoming place and leaves new folks with a bad first impression. Much better to be welcoming and let people learn/see the benefits of FOSS at their own pace.
I'd given up on lemmy because every so I had tried was unfinished and unpolished. I tried sync and finally felt like the user experience wasn't getting in the way of content.
I'd love to support foss, if a genuinely comparable experience existed.
I'm glad to say that sync has revived my interest in lemmy.
You should check out Thunder, even if you gave it a try at some point - it's super polished and it's gotten even better week after week. In my opinion it has the best compact mode of all the lemmy clients, as long as you don't mind swipe actions!
I was using Thunder last week until Sync's open beta got approved and the User Experience and the interface of Thunder is nowhere near Sync. It's a night and day difference, and a difference that would have made me use Lemmy less and less.
Thunder is like a month old - it's still growing and will continue to improve with the community's help :) if you think anything could be improved, definitely shout it out on the GitHub page!
I understand that it's new, and it is definitely the best FOSS Lemmy app out of the dozens that I used. But it has a very long way to go to achieve the same level of User Experience that Sync has. It's not even close and I don't think anything bar a major UI/UX rehaul could fix that.
Dozens?? Do tell.
Not OP, but I've tried thunder. It's OK. Sync is light years above all other clients I've tried. (same with reddit as well) swipe actions? Sync is the king of swipe actions.
Back in the reddit days, Apollo had the best swipe actions out there. Sad to see it gone
I never tried thunder but I'm changed to racoon. It's on fdroid so I assumed it's foss. It's quite close to synch.
IMO FOSS has really great offerings when it comes to libraries or other highly technical code.
But something about either the community or incentive structure results in sub-par UI/UX. Obviously not a rule, but definitely a trend I've noticed.
Don't forget the community's reaction to comments like yours, why down vote him if he's stating the obvious? FOSS projects often focus so much on technical features because everyone wants to flex their code-fu, but nobody gives enough time to UI/UX. Just look at pretty much every Lemmy web frontend, fugly webpages with early 2000s look-and-feel, usually slow and/or buggy, and with little to no user feedback.
I've seen it for years and years now, and I can only conclude that it's down to the kinds of people who are attracted by these kinds of projects.
They're tech literate at a professional level by necessity in order to engage with these things at an early time in their development, and this seems to drive a mentality that makes UX design kind of an afterthought, since they already know how to do the things they want the software to do, and they're not focused on how less tech literate users will handle it.
Then you add in the small minority of gatekeepers that wind up in every community, who feel that a larger, more generalized userbase would be invading their niche community, and you end up with stuff like the Linux forums where asking a simple question would get you a series of remarks that essentially boil down to "go fuck yourself, you should know how to do it already."
I feel like the people concerned with UI/UX come into these kinds of projects later on after they've matured a little, rather than right from start, and this causes resistance to their changes because the userbase is already entrenched in the current UX, especially from the gatekeeper folk in the community who see a higher tech literacy threshold as a good thing.
Lemmy is just new. The best desktops that exist are FOSS.
That's very subjective. I have yet to find a Linux desktop I like as much as MacOS, especially when it comes to WACOM drivers. The stylus response time/curve almost always feels wrong.
Also, I've worked with designers who can get something that looks and feels fully professional on a first pass, so it's not just newness for Lemmy.
FOSS doesn't need your support. You misunderstand the relationship. FOSS is looking out for you.
I see the upvotes but I cannot support this comment. FOSS could use a lot more support at every level, including users.
Username checks out. Wait I know this face from masto - I think I follow you!
I'm glad to say that sync has revived my interest in lemmy.
Seconded
Memmy is gr8
Good for you, I personally prefer Thunder
This is why I unsubscribed from the Android community. I love Android, I use nothing but Linux at home and really appreciate open source software.
But the FOSS...enthusiasm is starting to border on zealotry. It's getting really unpleasant.
Try to tell the Linux users on here that you prefer to use Windows...
I use Linux as my daily driver, yet I 100% believe Linux is overrated. It's great if you're willing to put in the work to get it working well, or maybe if you have someone else to do all your tech support for you, but it's just not a good option for the majority of people.
I hate when people keep trying to push it on Windows users, especially when they go on about how "easy" it is. It's not. And doing that will get people to try it out with high expectations and then get disappointed when they try it out and that's not the case.
I honestly feel like people who say this stuff either haven't tried Linux since 2008 or went straight to Arch.
I use Manjaro as my daily driver and I never need to fix the system. It really does just work, and these a bunch of disyros out there that do.
The only thing you might find terrible is trying to run windows programs on Linux, to which I say: dual boot! Even with all the progress Proton, Lutris etc. have made, it's still way easier to just boot into windows on the occasion you want to play games or whatever.
I switched to Linux last year, and I used Linux Mint, which people say is the easiest, and then KDE Neon which I'm still using now, which is definitely way better than Linux Mint but it's still not easy. I'm fine with it, and I personally prefer it to Windows, but I could never imagine my parents or my friends trying to use it without help.
I love Linux. I love the flexibility it gives me and I enjoy tinkering when I feel like it and having something rock solid and reliable when I don't. I don't game on the PC, so this works out great for me. However, my use case isn't everyone else's, and part of the idea of giving people freedom to use their computer the way they want is accepting that sometimes they want to use their computer in a way that you don't like.
Maybe that means using a proprietary operating system. Maybe it means using a search engine that you don't like. But that is what works for them, and sometimes I think the open source people operate on the fallacy of "there's two types of people, those who use FOSS and those who haven't found FOSS yet", and it's just so obnoxious.
You think people go nuts when you tell them you prefer WIndows? Wait until you see their heads spin when I tell them that while I use Arch Linux, I also use Google Chrome, Telegram, Spotify, and Discord...
God yes this is so freaking annoying.
As much as I adore FOSS and hold it near to my heart; Most FOSS software just doesn't have a lot of polish. That isn't a fault; but some of the zealots take it that way; and that last 5% of polish is sometimes required, and is absolutely critical to some users' workflows.
I hear you. I am an Arch user as well but my primary browser has become Microsoft Edge. My preference would be Firefox but it has lots of problems, especially with some of the video conferencing apps I use for work. I am in Outlook all day as well ( on Edge ). Spotify is certainly in the mix.
I had to leave the Linux memes community because I swear nearly every post was shitting on Windows. Yes, I get it. Windows isn't all that great. But, much like Ios, it just works for what I need. And I haven't had any issues that weren't ny fault with it.
If the game I play most, and the number one reason why i go on my pc, works on Windows, but won't work on Linux. Which OS is better for me?
I thought all this software war crap era was over. That was shit I cared about when I was 14 or something. Just let it herself use what they want and explain the benefits of alternatives, only if they care.
I'm surprised they don't shit on macOS too lol
I tell myself that I like MacOS as it was my favourite desktop for years. Honestly though, it is the worst of the three at this point.
Honestly same, but I think a lot of those people are talking highly of their privacy policy, so they turn a blind eye. It's honestly funny when you see some of them being all like "Linux is significantly better because it gives you absolute freedom.
Then, proceed to use Ios.
Oh yes. A free OS that literally can't play my game without me possibly being banned is significantly better for my needs.
Or Chrome over Firefox
FirEfoX iS bROken weBSitEs DoN’t EvEnLoAd on iT
also it is so slow and memory inefficient
ignore any memes about anything also
This drives me nuts. I like Chrome. It's simple, it's fast, the extensions I want run on it (for now), and I love the Google Account Sync because I have an Android phone. This greatly pisses off people for whatever reason, despite the fact I've never had a bad opinion about Firefox and love what they're doing too, and I never criticize anyone for choosing Firefox.
As with everything open source communities need nuance and understanding, otherwise they start to feel like cults.
For whatever reason? They're trying to DRM the internet lol. You're certainly entitled to your opinion but there are some pretty big reasons to be mad at Google on a good day. Nobody should take that out on you but I understand the frustration. People letting things slide because it doesn't bother them specifically until it's too late is how everything keeps getting worse.
There's no denying that WEI is evil. It may in fact be the feature that kills the Chrome Browser and gets Google fined into poverty.
But from a user standpoint; I get it. It Just Works. That polish built into Chrome that allows users to sync their browsing sessions across machines? It's absolutely critical and required.
The FOSS community has this weird habit of requiring it's users to make sacrifices to meet it's values. Where that doesn't harm the user, their workflows or their convenience in general; users are typically more than happy to do so.
However; A lot of FOSS and FLOSS projects tend to take ridiculous stances against certain kinds of polish features and will REFUSE to implement them no matter how many people ask. In my opinion; if you want a software project to succeed and overtake massive competition; that's just stupid. Especially when it's as easy as forking a repository and baking the "Controversial feature" into the user-friendly fork version.
If you want to provide a core piece of software and all; sure! Please do that! But a lot of projects don't, and won't spend any time on user experience at all; and any kind of work on the UX arises because something is inconvenient for the devs.
Worse is that oftentimes; the polish features that are being blanket denied and intentionally omitted from the software are in fact not that complicated to implement in a manner that runs consistent with the values of the FLOSS community. Sure; that means that perhaps you do have to host a lot of things yourself to make sure that you truly retain control over your data; but that's actually pretty easy to learn how to do.
I do understand the limitations of the average FLOSS project. Unfortunately; a lot of FLOSS and FOSS devs are very quick to decide that they know the best, and will frequently and often refuse to listen to the user. That's not better. It's worse. At least when a user is a customer, they have some degree of influence and can exert some small force on development priorities. In the FLOSS community; you can donate every cent you have to a project and it does not necessarily guarantee that you will get a say, or even one request, fulfilled. For some users; that is not better, it is worse.
We still have a long way to go before we reach a society with the maximum amount of balance between beneficial qualities, and none of the negative qualities, of socialism and capitalism.
firefox can also sync your shit across browsers, I'd argue it does it better than chrome and it just works, I'd argue better than Chrome.
The nuance is recognising the Google hegemony is supported by choosing Chrome.
The understanding is realising what is happening to the open web as a result.
Your comment could be distilled down to "Let people have things" and is still getting downvotes lol. Yeesh.
firefox also has sync, better even than chrome you literally have a button for checking out what you browsed accross all devices, you can send tabs from. one device to another
Chrome has that too FYI
Linux fanaticism drives me crazy. I'm definitely not saying this is true of everyone, but the very nature of Linux seems to attract many elitists who are against unified vision, accessibility, and the unfun amount and types of work required for testing quality and compatibility. The result is that for the foreseeable future, desktop Linux is a mess for everyone, and unusable by the masses. And while I'll get downvoted for saying that (and for saying the rest of this), I feel like many Linux fanatics secretly like that "normal peasants" can't effectively use Linux.
I will take some corporate bullshit that works, over only-half-working FOSS any day of the week. And I'm not shitting on FOSS itself. I'm just saying Linux is a disorganized and unfriendly mess. I never did get any sound whatsoever working on my i7-6700 and MSI gaming motherboard in Ubuntu, no matter how long I screwed around with Linux. And that was just to start. I wanted to love and use Linux, I really did.
Lastly, I just want to say I'm super happy with the other responses from Linux fans in this thread. They seem to understand that Linux is overrated, isn't for everyone, doesn't always work, and that Linux-pushers can be obnoxious. I super appreciate that understanding, fam.
100% agree. Going “haha, aren’t I COOL for NOT using this one popular app or software!?” contributes absolutely nothing and actively makes the community uninviting. I’m all for FOSS, but if a closed-source app is better than the FOSS options, I ain’t gonna knock on anybody for using it.
Also why even use an app outside of accessibility reasons? Been using Kbin on a mobile browser and it’s been a pretty good experience.
Also sometimes the FOSS software sucks compared to the non-open alternatives.
I don't understand how promoting FOSS in favor of proprietary software is bad for FOSS?
Dood the automod is wild.. people getting banned for, "suspicious activity"... and then there's no way to ask the mods why the ban.
I don't get the point of this.
Since when did Sync masquerade itself as FOSS?
Just use whatever you want. Isn't that why we're all here?
Is the Sync noise getting to you? Just ignore it. It's natural since the app just opened up and there were a significant amount of Reddit refugees that badly wanted their app back.
I think it's more the Lemmy userbase having different expectations than that of the Reddit userbase, with Lemmy being such a shift from Reddit.
I agree. SYNC will bring tons of reddit users to lemmy. I for one welcome that change.
I could use this same logic to talk about your comment. People are free to dunk on other apps, so why not just mute the post?
Seems to me this has spawned a fair bit of discussion... Which is the actual reason we're all here.
Sync has gotten a lot of buzz (I don't understand why, even on Reddit, rif was always better anyway) and that's always going to bring out the people who don't agree, for one reason or another.
Don't mistake an opinion you don't share for anything beyond what it is. I could just as easily parrot your statement back: if you don't think this discussion is productive, just ignore it. There's plenty of other discussions to get involved with on Lemmy
Sync gained a big following because it had a core feature many many moons ago, when having constant cell service was much less common, it allowed you download and save hundreds of posts and all the comments while you were on wifi, so you could browse reddit offline, it did this automatically and in the background (based on your settings ) hence the name 'Sync'. This was a killer feature back in the day, at least for me. As that became less of a need, the app continued to change and add a lot of nice features, like lots of customizations, random NSFW, a very good OLED dark mode, etc, so there was no point in switching to something else.
My .02¢
RiF was all I ever used. Never even heard of Sync until I migrated to Lemmy at the end of June. Fwiw, I found Connect rather quickly, and it feels almost exactly like RiF. Enough that it scratches the itch. I tried Sync for about an hour today... It's fine enough... But I can't figure out what it has that Connect doesn't. Maybe it's just that everyone who used Sync was just comfortable and didn't want to change. I'm fine with it being a paid app, or subscription, or whatever dude decides to do to help support himself, too...I just don't get the hubbub when there's a perfectly excellent free alternative in Connect.
I will link my comment, which I had written for another person before. Sync for lemmy is currently in beta, so some things may be broken. But, most of it is still true. https://lemmy.ml/comment/834817
Yeah, Sync was fine, just nothing special for me. I'm pretty sure it's mostly just people who want the same experience they had on Reddit.
I adapted to Voyager pretty quickly, and the only real issue I've had with it was that it didn't handle it well when .world went down, but that's improved enough now. I'm not the biggest fan of the swipe gestures, as they've made me accidentally vote on a lot of things without noticing, but it's nothing I can't get used to.
I don't need it to be exactly like it was before. I'm satisfied with something simple that does the job.
RiF better? Lmaooo
Did you use them both? I did not. I can say I loved RiF, but I'd never even heard of Sync until about a month ago. Be interested to hear the opinion of one who'd used both...
I have. A lot of it boils down to personal preference in how you prefer your app to behave and look like. Customization can only get you so far. UI aside, they were both pretty feature complete.
Sync is just so much more polished and feature-rich than all of these already... It's exactly like how it was when it was for reddit, and it's just one dev! I don't mind at all paying for a fantastic app.
You guys are taking the justified corpo hate and extending it to talented individual devs just making a living.
I am disliking this sentiment. I am on the Fediverse because Sync's developer and many others were betrayed by Reddit and I wanted to show solidarity and to 'punish' Reddit by leaving. The Fediverse's values are admirable, but I do not share them all. I believe in supporting good projects, even some that are private if they don't pose a risk of destroying something bigger, and Sync is a good project that can be easily abandoned without consequences if something goes wrong.
Paid software absolutely has a place in the world. Evil companies producing evil software designed to build a monopoly and lock out FOSS apps do not. I don't think Sync falls into the latter and I'm happy they've made the choice to be able to eat.
If apps were girls:
I was always in love with Sync. But life happened and we had to go different ways for non-romantic reasons. Some fucker called Spez, long story...
Eventually I met Voyager and she was great. Any user would be lucky to have her. But Sync was always the one that got away. Everyday I looked at Voyager and thought she was awesome but I was always holding a candle for Sync. But Sync was gone and I had to move on. But I could never really move on.
But life happened again and Sync was coming back. I had committed to Voyager but, as great as she was, I always thought how she came short of Sync. Sync came back and she was as stunning as I remembered. I couldn't stay with Voyager. I'm sorry Voyager. You're an awesome girl but I was pretty much just using you since I couldn't have Sync.
I'm a user Voyager, I make no excuses. There, there...
I say this as someone that uses FOSS day to day for work, I don't really give a shit if my Lemmy app is FOSS.
For me, Sync was Reddit. It's where 99% of my interaction with Reddit happened. I don't really give a shit about Lemmy or the fediverse either. I'm here because Sync is a seamless product that gave me the best interface.
Despite saying that I don't care about Lemmy or other distributed servers, Sync is basically that sync (lol) for me. Once I map my old subreddits on Lemmy, the experience doesn't change.
Tbh, I think this whole thing is being blown out of proportion. Part of FOSS and the internet in general is the ability to have choice over what you use and spend your time with. Just because Sync is out, doesn't mean you can't continue to use your FOSS apps. It just means that we now have an option for people who want to pay for a very polished experience.
go memmy <3
Love Memmy. It just works so good.
Oh hey, we appreciating Memmy over here?
Memmy is literally the reason I opted into the fediverse, such a beautiful UX/UI in this app! It feels like a true successor to Apollo.
I love over wefwef becuase that felt like a carbon copy of Apollo which I love but felt cheap
I’m really enjoying how Memmy takes heavy inspiration from Apollo but also takes it in its own direction
Memmy gang!
Sync is by far the most polished. Everyone acting this is some major company. It's literally one dude.
The gatekeeping is so fucked up
Oh nooooooo someone made a familiar and easy to use app to help people get used to this new ecosystem that can only thrive if people actually show up and use it. What a real shame.
Are we really being this petty already?
Still love sync tho
Yeah this comic is hilarious but sync is just so slick. Thunder has promise though.
Really enjoying Thunder, hoping it keeps gaining features.
Deleted the half dozen other apps I had for all my Lemmy accts. Now I have just 1 app to rule them all.
Yep. All other apps got deleted. I get the whole foss thing but sync is god tier ill pay for every day.
They've released the lifetime price if you're interested for $170
$170?! 😱
That would be for ultra for life mind. To remove ads forever is $20 USD I believe.
It's $13.90 USD after tax to remove ads for life 
Must be changing the price a bit? Saw a lot of reports earlier it was $20 ish USD.
Not American though, so all I know is it was $33AUD when I bought it earlier. That matches up with the $20 ish USD
In my country it's like USD $20 to get rid of the ads forever
It says $99 for me. But I just went with yearly because I prefer long-term support for something I expect to use and would love to see grow.
…seriously, $99? Even Apollo Ultra Lifetime was $50.
That's the wrong IAP.
One time ad removal is $20 or less
Yep. And if this app turns bad after a while for whatever reason, we can always go back to the FOSS alternatives.
I love sync too, but the price is crazy. In 2014 I bought reddit sync for like $5, and now lemmy sync lifetime price is $135. I'll stick with Connect.
That's the price for ultra lifetime. Ad remover one time purchase is $20
I didn't see that option at first. It's actually quite reasonable, I think I will use that.
I only saw monthly and yearly pricing?
There's an option to pay for a lifetime ad-free experience or a lifetime license for Sync Ultra. I found it by clicking the profile switcher in the upper left and seeing a "Remove Ads" button. Still haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing it yet though.
I honestly don't see what the problem is. If you prefer FOSS use FOSS apps.
I've tried every single Lemmy app for iOS and Android, but I can honestly say nothing comes close to how smooth and native Sync feels.
I wasn't even a Sync user on Reddit so I didn't understand the hype, but I get it now. On my Pixel 6 Pro all of the other Lemmy apps had some kind of issues, whether that be random crashes or frame rate issues. But Sync is just so smooth and feature rich.
I've also joined the sync discord and the developer is very clear on what type of data he collects (He doesn't, but Google may).
Also with the pricing, if you don't agree with the price that's your opinion, but the amount of complaining is ridiculous. He made the app so whatever he wants to charge is his decision. You can also still freely use the app (with ads) so no one is forcing you to buy.
I'm anti mega corporations with consolidated power and platform monopolies. I'm not anti small distributed devs getting paid for high quality hard work.
To be fair, this should be the other way around. All these foss apps are the teletubbies because they're clunky and have major bugs. Sync is the power ranger.
I like all the FOSS and community development of different Lemmy clients that's going on, it's really awesome and great to see.
But if Apollo was released for Lemmy, I'd subscribe to Ultra (or buy lifetime) in a heartbeat and only look at alternatives out of interest, not because I'd want to use them as my main Lemmy client. Apollo was just that good.
Views like this one feel pretty toxic and elitist to me. Let people use Sync if they like it. Let people use their Android phone unrooted if they are fine with it. Heck, let people use Windows if they like it.
I couldn't care less if foss app users or developers are butthurt because closed apps are suddenly available and gaining popularity.
Sync for lemmy landed and it has been more stable and has more features than any of the other lemmy apps I've tried.
Maybe if the foss apps were stable and feature rich more casual plebs like me would use them, but at the moment they all feel kind of broken.
Also, I would take issue with jerboa here. Jerboa is there but not Connect? Lol...
I tried Sync, and it didn't scroll smoothly on my phone. So, I went back to Summit, which has been great.
But here's an idea: let's not get gatekeepy with apps. Use what you like. Freedom of choice is one major component of FOSS.
Wtf, this isn't about which app is better it's about variety! The fact sync is part of a list of options is what makes fediverse great - seems everyone in the comments agree 🤷♂️ gtfo with this sync hate. I'm a big Boost fan myself but im stoked sync is finally ready for those that've been waiting for it! 🥳
At the end of the day, software developers need to eat. If they get to eat because their compensation model is driven by donations either before or after you use the app, who cares?
(Fair enough FOSS is free as in freedom, not just as in free beer, but I think that is moot to a lot of people, as long as the market space isn't crushed by anti-competitive buisness practices)
The bigger issue at hand here is negotiating fair API uses for instances and their admins, who also need to eat, and make the apps possible too.
Let's face it. How many of us have actually contributed enough to any FOSS projects to demand for free and premium services. I personally would rather donate to a FOSS app instead of paying Sync, but it's unfair to judge Sync for having ads and trackers when the option of removing them is there. There's nothing wrong with any dev wanting to make a decent living or even more than that, as long as they don't go overboard and are honest about it.
Hahaha so true
-Posted from Sync™️ for Lemmy
I'm a huge FOSS guy. I'd support any of the FOSS apps if they were anywhere close to as good and polished as Sync already is. Sorry.
Lol I love how some people share their subjective opinions and call it "the truth".
Gotta be honest, sync is the first lemmy client I've tried that seems to work without any issue...
Sync is a fantastic app, the fact that I get to use it again is what drew me here, not Lemmy itself
Tried all the apps and none of them is polished and smoother as sync. If tracking is the issue then one time purchase disables everything. The sdk isn't even loaded after the purchase. One time purchase is available. For people who want to support they can use the subscription service. For those people who want foss free apps, then another set of apps are available.
Not FOSS
Free Open Source Software
Thanks!
Free and Open Source Software, for anyone genuinely curious.
Free as in free speech, not as in free beer!
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/oHNKTlz1lps?si=5pGPuKQFR0GO6LjT
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
Maybe it got disCONNECTed 😜
Sync is a fantastic material design app stfu
Truth is..... Many FOSS lacks significant polish and features as... Well it's free. I don't mind paying for a quality product
Yeah FOSS is rarely better than the commercial equivalent. Almost universally they're terrible in a hundred minor ways that makes them annoying as hell to use. The best FOSS products come from... Company sponsorship.
Depends. Something like Krita? Absolutely. LibreOffice? Not so much.
I'm on team Sync on this one, it just has the advantage of 10+ years of maturity.
I'm on team Sync
It's just one developer. I don't understand why the entire discussion people pretend you are either fully for FOSS else you're completely against proprietary software. It isn't black and white.
Depends. If the FOSS products has company backing, sure, but devs working in their free time are incapable of competing against a team of devs working 40 hours a week.
Just not true. Proprietary software starts on the wrong foot by asking, "how can we make money from this?". FOSS software is clean from that bs and it's so easy for it to improve since outside people can (sort of) aid in development. I use proprietary software as a last resort and it doesn't happen very often.
This is unfortunate, but sometimes true. Memmy is a fantastic FOSS project and I’m glad it exists, but I can’t help but think back to just how well-crafted the Apollo experience was.
Apollo also had years of refinement. Memmy could be just as refined, but it takes time.
I guess that’s fair, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a React Native app, not a Swift app built from the ground up specifically to be an experience that looks and feels almost like a stock app.
What a miserable take.
You're sad that a good app came out for lemmy? Does it prevent other apps from working?
This comment was written with Sync (⌐■_■)
Can we just celebrate good apps instead of go all out "too indie for you"?
So many people instantly shelling out 20$ (or 100$ "lifetime subscriptions") the moment an app releases in beta, then immediately bragging about it in comments. I'm using Sync right now and it's cool, but calm tf down people. There's a lot of sunk-cost and weird app tribalism going on.
Also this dev must have made some serious bank in 24 hours, holy smokes
My two favorite Lemmy apps aren't FOSS. 😬
(Sync and Connect)
This is all everyone is going to talk about for a while huh? As if most of the active posts being about Reddit wasn't bad enough.
If we want Lemmy to succeed we have to do more than whine about this kind of thing 24/7.
I don't understand the issue here?
You want open source and free software. You get that with a developer trying to make a living to improve upon a product like Jerboa. Jerboa works but by comparison to Sync it is rough. By rough I mean the UI is not the best, it needs way more time and polish not only looks nice but has extra features and functions to make it stand out.
With something like Jerboa you would donate money by choice but if your argument is free and open source you need to donate more money to support that.
Sync is popular because its closed source makes it harder to break the security aspect if you don't have all the access to source code. It is popular because it was a great app for Reddit and had that advantage. You know what people did to help the developer make a living and put more time into it? They supported it willingly by paying for extra features to help the dev and get more out of the money they were willing to spend.
I understand free and open source APIs being available and wanting more free and open source software to stay that way to make all things free and open. So support the apps you appreciate being free by willingly providing money which in return makes them not free.
If you want things to get better somewhat you invest in them. If they go belly up well then it was a bad investment. Sync is a fantastic app and it has the edge because it has a good developer and has had a good community who pays for it and supports it because things you love you will support. If you are a good developer you give more for that money provided.
The PS Mini literally used an emulator to play games. A free open source emulator that you could find. People still paid for a console that charged to use that open source software. Why? Because they loved gaming at home and the product.
I will pay for Sync because it makes a product better. A product that makes a newcomer leave Reddit and find Lemmy. An app that provides familiar and easy to use features. An app that has the edge that can make Lemmy a smoother experience. Just because something charges money, which by the way is an optional choice, and just because something is close sourced which by the way tends to be more secure doesn't make the product bad. It can bring more into the community.
If your issue with Lemmy isn't that it's FOSS but your issue with other platforms is that they run poorly or they need more polish well then you are arguing against yourself.
Yea down with sync!
-posted with Sync for Lemmy-
The hate for Sync just reminds me of how NHL fans always complain about how hockey isn't as popular as it should be, and then when new teams are added they complain about new fans.
My take is; it just works. It just happen to be a pleasure to browse with the app that I paid for an ad-free experience. Yay for small devs making great products.
FOSS is great, but I love to pay for a good experience.
Everyone should use whatever their heart desires, and for me the voyager app is beyond perfect (Android, PWA.) I havent used Sync so it might be better in some aspects but I am content with voyager.
P.S. If you really like a client you should donate any amount to the developer(s) to help them keep their app awesome!
Sure, if Jerboa worked well.
And here I am, after testing every Lemmy App, waiting for Boost...
Edit: It's coming soon.
The developer works full time for the app, even when it was a Reddit client. If you guys can't view an ad every once in a while to support something you use daily, then delete your Lemmy account. Nobody eats for free.
sync has consistently worked for me (so far) whereas jerboa and voyager have had issues connecting to lemmy servers
There was something that just felt wrong about the sync app thread in one of the lemmy.world communities. Just post after post of "yay, it's like having reddit back again." Reddit can fuck off. I like the novelty and slight roughness around the edges.
It's more having a familiar app back, the look and feel of it all it's so familiar to me that it's great to have back. And it feels better than liftoff in my opinion
Are we not free to decide which software we use? If so, then your question can only be answered individually.
Your second question confuses me a little. There is nothing inherently pro or anti capitalist about the tech, especially in light of the first point.
It’s worth twenty dollars to not see ads that don’t exist in the first place?
To me, yes. I spent a decade on sync pro for reddit, so it wasn't even a thought. Others don't have to feel the same way or use it.
It’s worth introducing capitalism to the fediverse?
I like the dev. I like supporting the dev to continue improving an app I like.
Value is subjective, but I do consider worth it to fund LJ's work on the app.
He has been working on Sync for years full time, which is why Sync was/is one of the most polished and frequently updated apps out there. If there's a small price to pay for it, so be it, the guy has to eat.
Not full time, he was a student iirc which is why he went MIA for like a year
He went MIA when people hated v20, apparently he was a bit burnt out already and the response to the update was the tipping point. But LJ does make a living out of Sync.
Which made me so sad. Yes, v20 was a big change, but it was overall a better experience, in my opinion. I'd been using it for a long time on the beta before it was released to stable and was absolutely shocked at its general reception.
So developers shouldn’t be allowed to make money for the time and effort they put in to making apps?
As a developer myself, yes. There's nothing wrong with a dev of an awesome app to make some bucks, and no, it's not the same as reddit, you know who gets the ad money there, here is straight to the guy developing the app. If I don't feel like paying, I can always move to another app.
It's worth twenty dollars for a better experience with more polish than any other app. No question.
Schrödinger’s Ads
Easily
I don't think a person selling an app is capitalism. There's no means of production, there's no apparent attempt to appropriate and profit from stuff that rightly belongs to the people who actually made it. Unless Sync is actually written by a bunch of people who are not getting ownership of the project?
Jesus y'all are rude. Obviously he meant he can interact with the app in the same way he used to (via sync). When you've equated an app with a service for so long you will tend to say things like that. No need to get all elitist about it.
To you old people angry at changes: is it illegal to enjoy stuff? Is it not good that Lemmy attracts people from reddit? This sounds to me like good old conservatism. Also if Sync dev turns into a capitalist pro slavery billionaire, Lemmy should be the place to welcome refugees.
As an old person with opinions:
What's wrong with people sharing their opinions on a social media site? It's what we're all here for. If you're annoyed that so many different people have this opinion, well... Here we are. Sometimes discussion is one-sided and sometimes it's not.
Exactly. Glad we agree.
That's the exciting thing about new types of open architectures, you have numerous people putting their ideas into the space. Instead of being tied down to one way to do things, you're allowed to experiment and maybe even see crossover of some features.
I'm with you. There are a few terrific apps that were born here on Lemmy. Thunder, Connect and Summit are current favorites. Even though there was a time when Sync was my jam, I plan to stick with the locals.
I get you, but you have to admit Sync for Lemmy is gonna make the transition from r3ddit sooo easy for so many people.
There's a difference between "unpolished" and "can't keep what posts ought to be on the page straight". Like Ruby on Rails can get that right 100% of the time out of the box before you write any code, I don't know how Lemmy's web UI manages to do it wrong.
I don't want Reddit's ads shoved down my throat and I don't want a third party app's neither. Not having an option to unlock ads permanently is a deal breaker for me. The developer just comes across as greedy tbh
You can permanently disable ads now.
Thank god for that!
You refusing to pay for services you use comes across as greedy tbh
Viewing ads is a form of payment. Deal with it, dude, or don't use it. It's not hard.
Subscriptions bad, one off purchases good!
Sure, but at the same time you can't demand ongoing development of something you pay for once
I'm a big fan of FOSS, BUT I also have absolutely no problem paying folks for their time and work. Sync was the absolute best way for me to access reddit, and even though it's a beta, it's been such an easy transition over to lemmy with it.
I like the experience with sync, have for years, I don't mind if it's not free or open source, it works better for me, so I happily pay the developer for their time working on it.
This judging people for how they choose to browse is so juvenile. Let people enjoy things.
First comment from Infinity, glad it's there again
This one is more controversial than intended. Since it's my "fault," I want to clear things up:
I fully support the "use whatever you want" faction. This meme wasn't intended to be a trigger against Sync. I just want to reflect the difference between Sync and all other apps. (I missed Connect, but my abilities to create a second Teletubby aren't the best.)
The controversy between FOSS and closed source reminds me of discussions on Reddit. It looks like we are separated into two (or more) groups: the privacy-focused FOSS nerds and the "shut up about the license, code, or ads and take my money because your product is the best working of all" group. Both groups have understandable reasons, and both can have their place in the fediverse. But don't forget, it's the FOSS group who started all this and early adopted (if you don't believe me, check the age of my profile). And this group is a little bit confused why everyone can't wait for a closed source app.
There's nobody who starts an unexpected feature or starts selling your data. Lemmy is FOSS and decentralized. A closed-source app can add whatever they want. If the ad-free pro version costs 20 bucks, then all non-pro users sell with their data, and I bet it's 20 bucks worth. Because free closed source is always free, because you are the product.
PS. I don't want to paint worse scenarios, but remember, WhatsApp was just a closed-source wrapper of XMPP, and Chrome is based on Chromium. FOSS will always attract people who try to monetize it. Some would say: "I don't care." But what if the monetizers start to claim control over the development, because there are "needed features" to get more money out of it?
I'm so happy to see Infinity for Lemmy in a meme. This made my day. Thank you.
Everyone is getting bent out of shape. Just use whatever app you like best. I have 5 apps installed that I'm testing including Sync.
That being said, my 2 cents regarding Sync: I don't mind paying for a great app like Sync, but I'm not crazy about subscription models. I know there is a one time option but $100 for a mobile app is beyond nuts.
EDIT: $100 is for the lifetime "ultra" plan. It's $20 to remove ads.
From the perspective of someone who isn't currently in the "Bad If Not FOSS" mindset, this image really gets the impression backwards. To the average user who doesn't appreciate the user-unfriendly klunk and jank that is inherent to FOSS interfaces, it really feels like the image should depict a bunch of FOSS Teletubbies being intruded upon by a competent Power Ranger.
I used to be a FOSS guy. And then I realized I valued my time and sanity way too much to spend more time troubleshooting and nudging my software into just working normally than I did actually using it.
FOSS software as the underpinning of the platform that is then accessed by a closed-source client is, ultimately, the best circumstance we could ask for. Clients are what the user actually interacts with. If that experience is more engaging and approachable, you get many more users on the platform overall, without threatening the sanctity of the freedom of the FOSS platform it all runs on. There is no one authority to make unilateral decisions to derail the platform, while still offering a more welcoming public face. If you can't understand that, or don't care to recognize it, that you're content to let the platform wallow in obscurity.
I will support any indie developer if the product is worth it and the price is right. I’m currently paying Ivory for Mastodon (iOS) and the experience is top notch. The fact that paid apps for the fediverse are popping up is actually a great sign of interest and critical mass of active users.
On a side note, what are you guys using on iOS? There’s a LOT of options currently, but the four that I’ve been enjoying the most are Memmy, Bean, Lemmios and Avelon. I’m sure in a couple of months we’ll see amazing progress and clearer differentiation from each other.
This meme got a chuckle out of me. I think people shouldn't take this too seriously. It is a meme after all.
Sent from voyager
Glad to see the lemmy community welcoming new users and their choice of app to engage with the fediverse.
I didn't know INFINITY for Lemmy existed!!! I don't mind SYNC, although I prefer the FOSS alternatives
I'm not tempted by it myself despite using it for reddit for years, but there's a weird amount of open source zealotry on Lemmy.
I've seen people complaining that the Nintendo Switch is closed source. Like, no shit.
Sync is fine. More good apps are better for the platform and really needed.
I personally will probably not use Sync for long. I remember using it for Reddit for a while but noticing the app was updated to slow which over time broke some stuff. Then I went onto the Sync sub and apparently the dev is a bit...sensitive when there's negative community feedback and then just stops for a year or longer or so. Good on him if he can of course, it's not like he has to cope with the internet but I've found other apps to be more reliable overall for Reddit. Let's see how this one goes.
I see nothing wrong with apps for lemmy grow. Every new ex-reddit app that makes a version for lemmy means more people will stop using the reddit app and use lemmy instead.
We need some love for Connect! I find it excellent.
infinity for lemmy exists?
But Connect though 🥺
Test from Infinity (works)
Seriously, Sync is fantastic, way ahead of others apps
I never used Sync with reddit. But I'm using it right now, for Lemmy, because I found it to be smoother and more customizable than Jerboa. I'll check out Boost when it becomes available, too.
I don't care about open source or closed source stuff. I really couldn't give a F either way. That stuff doesn't concern me.
Sync isn't FOSS. It's just free.
Thanks for letting me know that theres a Lemmy Version of Infinity :D
Meanwhile I'm just waiting for boost....
I installed Sync to try it out, and noticed the subscription model for no ads, and for basic features like push notifications and exporting a list of your subscribed communities. $2/month or $100 for a "lifetime" subscription. Immediately uninstalled it, yes it has a beautiful interface but I've never been fond of subscription-based apps, especially for FOSS services. A low one-time fee would be acceptable to me, like the $4 fee for Toot! for Mastodon.
The silly thing to me about the subscription is, they say it's to "cover the monthly running costs". What running costs do they incur if Lemmy is free and open? I'm genuinely curious, if anyone knows please tell me.
I'm fine with paying a one-time charge for an app, but I will never rent software.
I just want RIF again
Never have foss app users got this hung up on a small dev** (pronounced corporation)
Since when is Sync claiming to be FOSS?
Infinity? Where?
https://codeberg.org/Bazsalanszky/Infinity-For-LemmyAPK is in the releases tab, works surprisingly well given how new it is.
I mean I imagine that a large portion of it just got moved over from the reddit version no? or different dev?
Different dev, same codebase I believe. Still some vestigial parts of reddit in it.
You're a saint
It's bizarre to me how, on this decentralised and FOSS platform with a ton of clients already available, people have been only waiting for the closed source one (with ads and payment to boot if I'm not mistaken?).
To each their own, but it's still a sad state of society.
This seems like a decent place to ask-
I'm looking for two main things, can anyone advise if any of these apps can do both of these things:
Can I swipe on post view to go to the next/prev post?
Does it track "read" posts and support hiding those posts?
For context I'm coming from Joey. Essentially, I'd like the post view or view with comments as my usual and I swipe to go to the next post. And when I go back to the list view of all posts, no "read" posts I've visited are there. And of course this carries through multiple sessions.
Is there an android client like this?
Edit: Infinity seems to work exactly how I want, after tweaking the settings a bit.
I am so happy to finally have Sync again. Was always my most used app before the API death on Reddit. Always happy to support LJ.
If LJ (the dev) were to make sync open source, I believe the same thing would happen to the developer of Paint.NET. Someone would just steal it and claim it as their own. That's why Paint.NET has been closed source ever since. I understand your reasoning, but the positives outweigh the negatives for me.
If you purchased Sync for Reddit in the past, can you recover that purchase in the Sync for Lemmy?
Sync is very well made in my opinion it's one of the few apps out there which I truly think deserves my support.
OP didn't come to hurt feelings.
OP came to hurt some butts!
I've found Thunder to be the best so far. But I'm holding out for Boost.
Closed source apps do not allow us to verify they do not actually steal our data or profile us. Liftoff for life
Im using CONNECT. its pretty good so far.
I don't get it tbh
The other apps are Free and Open Source Software. Sync is not.
There's a line in the sand with security and transparency on one side and ease-of-use and convenience on the other.
I feel like most people don't really care about open source or federations..they just want an easy to access news/commenting platform.
It's a great examples of devs telling users what they want.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but does Sync seriously charge to remove ads that they added to browsing Lemmy in the first place? I get charging for Reddit due to the API, but I have a hard time believing the app is that much better than the existing FOSS apps such that the privacy tradeoff with ad trackers and/or the monetary cost worth it for, well, anyone really. Seems kinda scummy and antithetical to the philosophy that drives much of the Fediverse to me, yet I see so many people defending it in a way that reminds me of the rhetoric used to defend Reddit. Seriously, am I just a crazy person?
So many years wasted on reddit... only reason was that I liked infinity and it made my experience good...
Infinity for lemmy feels like rediscovering an old friend!
Currently flip between lift off, connect, jebroa and web browser and sync... Waiting patiently for Boost for Lemmy... But not found a favourite app yet...
I have zero problems with jerboa, but I'll give sync a try to see what everyone is so excited about.
Y'all sound real kool-aid, though.
Update 1: Not digging the bevels around every post, is there an option to disable that I haven't found?
Update 2: I know it's a small thing, but on a phone screen, that every-post bezel is making every post noticeably smaller. I'ma go back to jerboa and try sync again in a week or something after you crowd have hammered the dev with feedback.
Update 3: I don't want the top and bottom bars snapping up and down with every swipe either, that's gotta be an option right?
Peace out guys, and enjoy.
Can someone tell me what "FOSS" means? I get it in context, but what's the acronym? I'll look it up later if need be
Infinity for lemmy is the way to go
At least we aren't using reddit! Anyway it doesn't affect you what app I'm using. As long as I support my lenmy instance everything will be fine. Relax
Using infinity rn its much fun !
I will switch from Sync to Infinity once it's available on F-Droid or the Play store. I don't stay on top of things enough to use apps that I have to update myself.
Had concurrent variants installed for fun, looks and lavours. Deleted all but Jerboa. It just works well enough and I quite like it.
I was running most of them and added Sync - looked fine, but Connect / Voyager work fine for my personal taste, I'm just waiting for Infinity to come out with a full featured stable release. if dev wants to charge for no ads version or ultimate version, it is up to them, and up to the users if they are willing to pay them this. So, it all depends. I wouldn't go ahead and attack them just because.
It's an inconvenient truth for sure. I'm using sync right now because it's the best app experience on android at the moment if you don't need to top level post and because I used it with Reddit. This wasn't a big deal with Reddit imo, but using a closed source app to access an open source platform feels wrong.
Can someone lay this to rest for me? What is FOSS? I think I get in some capacity that it's Lemmy... but?
Maybe I'm the only one, but I just want a lemmy client that'll change the way homepage sorting works so that when I refresh its not the exact same feed. Feel like it wouldn't be that hard to make it not show posts you've already seen. Cause currently, I have to always browse lemmy in one session. If I quit, I have to come back like hours or even a while day later just so I don't have to scroll past posts I saw already
As a jerboa this is 💯 accurate lolol
I dont know man, I installed Liftoff as I want a consistent UI throughout iOS and Android and so far it’s great. Roll with whatever works for you 🤷♂️
Writing this comment from infinity
so that sun in the corner is boost for lemmy ?
I remember trying the reddit version, and uninstalled on the first full screen ad. After asking about this on the Lemmy version, got a nice down vote 👉👈
I'm using connect. Since it's not listed is that bad?
All i want is a client that has posts as list mode and the ability to have different accounts with different settings and blocklists.
Connect is not the business for this, blocking one instance blocked it across all my accounts.
Meanwhile I'll be sat here waiting for a Lemmy port of RiF... I'm in no rush.
Same but rif dev is working on three cheers instead. At least connect for lemmy is here and is really similar in feel to rif
You were not joking, I just downloaded Connect and it's so similar to RIF! Especially the comments sections.
Sorry, but he’s working on what
App for Tildes
There are tons of lemmy apps in development now. Are there any kbin apps being developed? I haven't heard of one yet
Thanks for notifying that my favorite frontend app (for Reddit) is finally ready! Yeah, too bad it's not FOSS...
Mlem, voyageur, infinity, where do you find them as they don't seem to be in the app store?
Vger.app - progressive webapp. Installs and runs as a real native thing. Give it a go. I chose that one as a stopgap thing before Sync arrives and it is hard to stop using it now. Just now I found Infinity (https://codeberg.org/Bazsalanszky/Infinity-For-Lemmy/releases). Absolutely brilliant android native app. What to choooooose? I dont know.
voyager can be installed from chrome or firefox app(on android atleast) explaned by ruud@lemmy.world on: https://lemmy.world/post/1303201
You have to download TestFlight which is apples beta testing app. I recommend Memmy for an app that’s on the App Store. Looks and feels a lot like Apollo did
I was able to get Mlem without TestFlight, and that was at least a week and a half ago.
as a software engineer there's nothing wrong with that, but I think the developer should lower the add-free fee
for long i thought Voyager had performance issues but in fact it's my instance's fault
I don't like Jerboa so much, it's some buggy but it's the only one available in F-droid
Where did I find Infinity for Lemmy? I cant find it on fdroid or play store.
Just sitting here waiting on Boost. On jerboa for now, but Boost will be the bees knees
I've seen a lot of posts recently about FOSS. I'm not a programmer, so I don't know anything about it. What is FOSS and does it have a big advantage over other software designs?
Correction: FOSS Android Lemmy apps. It’s missing a few.
Sync is the only thing (or Apollo) that will now make me use Lemmy at all because I can't stand how crappy it looks and works without it.
I enjoy using different apps and will continue to do so. I've got a few Lemmy apps installed and looking for to installing more. I enjoy seeing the differences between apps and how devs implement features differently.
Even with Reddit apps, Sync was my daily driver, but I would switch between other apps. It's a nice change of pace.
i just use what's best/comfy for the job so I mix and match foss and propietary stuff in my life
can somebody explain it like I'm 5. I wanna be in on the funny photo
I saw all the announcements for Sync, and remembered that Sync for Reddit was my main app a long time ago. Couldn't recall why I switched to Infinity.
Downloaded Sync for Lemmy today, scrolled past about 4 posts before a box showed up that said "sponsored content." Now I remember why I switched.
Really happy with sync on my chromebook. I use iOS nowadays and wasn't expecting to enjoy using sync as an android app on chromebook?
Yeah the audacity to charge money for dev time if they so choose :| wild. Something free market of ideas something
Glad Connect isn't in there, it's complete shit. Just converted over to sync because i was waiting on a decently stable alternative to be released before uninstalling.
Is there any Foss app that marks as read posts on scroll?
Is Boost FOSS?
Since it's full of ads. I don't think so.
I have used almost all the Lemmy apps from sync, boost, eternity, connect, Voyager, thunder, raccoon and summit. But I feel I prefer an ad free experience and from all these I just mentioned, I believe eternity meets my requirements. I don't understand the smoothness people are talking about because almost all the apps are smooth to you and be customized to fit your needs.
thanks! this post made me try out thunder, and I have to say it's my favorite so far! sync is way too flashy, the standard font is way too small, the condensed feed view options (smaller cards, list, compact) are virtually all the same shitty list view, and it's too floaty and zoomy.
thunder on the other hand gets all the little, but super-important things just right; how one-finger zooming of pictures is so smooth, how the download button is in a logical spot and is responsive to show the succeeded download; how the preview in the feed is just the right size; how collapsing comment chains is smooth and not disorienting. great app, thanks for the recommendation!
oh and I couldn't care less if an app is open source, closed source, pay-to-use or not, as long as the UI is good. I'd just block ads anyway, or try to find a ripped version (revanced etc) – but having an app that's not reporting home is of course even better!
I hope this was the right order of first releases.
No-one uses Summit or what? 🤔
Don't forget Connect, I love it
Lemmy #FediMeme by @Samsy
https://lemmy.ml/post/2718594
No love for Arctic? Def the best on iOS IMHO. Voyager is a close second.
Careful, you might upset the cult of Sync.
Windows > Linux
Sync > everything else