Just a note on the efficacy of activist messages in FOSS.
In the Aughts, I was learning to play with microcontrollers. PIC microcontrollers were free as well as the JAL language. I ordered a hardware programmer from the Dutch guy who created JAL: Wouter van Ooijen. Probably my first purchase online. There was a statement in the license, to the effect of, the language could not be used to develop arms.
Looking back, that was a turning point for me. I was machining arms for a living and continued to do so for years. It got me to thinking about what it was that I was producing with my hands. Weapons for killing people.
I thought about it a lot. All these things I was making with blood and sweat being used to kill people. Running machines on night shift gives you time to think.
His statement was, at minimum, at least partially responsible for me changing my mind. I grew past the bad religion and far right ideology that I was taught.
I’m going to send him a thank you note.
Not an easy thing to change about oneself. Good job and thanks for sharing 👏
Don Ho is a stand up guy! Notepad++ is also a great piece of software.
Notepad++ is still the second thing I install after
ChromeFirefoxwhatever the fuck i’m gonna use nowLibreWolf ( https://librewolf.net/ )
It’s by far my favorite text editor on Windows. The first time I used it (I think to edit cfg files for Skyrim mods, lol), I was hooked. It’s great to know it’s creator is so principled.
XDA is asking for disabling my adblocker? WTF? I guess i won’t be reading the article.
What browser and adblocker?
Vivaldi, no adblocker, it seems it has one integrated… maybe?
If you want to consistently block ads, you can’t use a chromium based browser since they don’t support ublock origin
I didn’t know some of that. I’ve even more respect for Don and what he’s doing!
Interesting piece. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Hopely he doesn’t put the political messaging into the software.
Everything you do or don’t do is a political statement. Do you think you can somehow exist in a bubble where politics is something that happens to someone else? How naive.
Did you read the article? If you have a problem with the political messages he is adding to the releases, you’ve probably been brainwashed by a government or a political party. He’s not saying anything controversial, mostly just “Hey y’all, genocide bad.”
Here to cheerfully crush your hopes and say he does!
He did. A notable update for Notepad++ compulsory had a support message for Charlie Hebdo. Its his right to do so, and he’s not wrong.
