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   Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:08:01 JST Aral Balkan

   • Jason Lefkowitz

   @jalefkowit Because those of us building them (see https://ar.al/2024/03/08/streaming-html/, etc.) are struggling to survive because our work isn’t valued/funded. Because we have to beg for scraps for the privilege of doing the right thing while the folks fucking things up get money shoveled at them. (1/3)

   • GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:08:35 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     And because what we do isn’t even seen as successful unless it increments the number in a bank account somewhere because that’s the only criterion the system we inhabit understands, intellectually constipated and devoid of imagination as it is. (2/3)

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:09:14 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     Would I recommend a young person follow in my footsteps unless we fundamentally change how folks working for the common good are valued? Heck no. Go work for Google! Work for Facebook! If you can stomach that shit, do it! Don’t be a fool and struggle to build things for the common good in a system that has no notion of what that is or why it’s valuable.

     My problem is I can’t stomach it. And so the struggle continues… (3/3)

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:25:19 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Oliwier Jaszczyszyn

     @slavistapl Thanks (and ditto). And don’t worry, I don’t know how to do anything else but to keep going. The alternative is unthinkable. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this stupid system exist without at least creating a viable alternative to it.

   • Embed this notice
     Oliwier Jaszczyszyn (slavistapl@500plus.slavistapl.eu.org)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:25:30 JST Oliwier Jaszczyszyn

     in reply to

     @aral: I hope you’ll find the way out of it. Go for it, don’t give up, no matter how the system is unfair, or how bad is your financial situation.

     I am writing this as a (very niche) search engine lead developer, not getting income from donations, no grants from e.g. NGI acquired, nothing. Because I care about community way much more than money.

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 02:30:19 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Oliwier Jaszczyszyn

     @slavistapl (And the sad thing is, that’s why I’m building Domain – https://codeberg.org/domain/app – so it can be sustainable under the current bullshit system. Because, barring proper investment from the commons – which we don’t have https://ar.al/2019/11/29/the-future-of-internet-regulation-at-the-european-parliament/ – the things we build must be simultaneously “successful” in this current shitshow as well as the better future we want to bring about.)

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:26:58 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Lucas 💾🦉♾️

     @lhinderberger Indeed. Although also some of us basically make the choice not to have children because it wouldn’t be fair with the lack of stability/precarity. So it really does rub me up the wrong way when people are like ”easy enough for you…” – umm, actually, you might not have any idea what I’ve sacrificed.

   • Embed this notice
     Lucas 💾🦉♾️ (lhinderberger@mastodontech.de)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:27:02 JST Lucas 💾🦉♾️

     in reply to

     @aral (To be fair though, some don't have the choice to begin with. Think supporting children, paying off debt, high costs of living... Luckily I don't have any of that)

   • Embed this notice
     Lucas 💾🦉♾️ (lhinderberger@mastodontech.de)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:27:06 JST Lucas 💾🦉♾️

     in reply to

     @aral In this case, I'm glad to be a fool.

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:30:52 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Oliwier Jaszczyszyn

     @slavistapl 💕

   • Embed this notice
     Oliwier Jaszczyszyn (slavistapl@500plus.slavistapl.eu.org)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:30:57 JST Oliwier Jaszczyszyn

     in reply to

     @aral: for some reason one of your replies did not federated here, but be assured I’ve read both posts. Nevertheless I agree with your POV and we can only be hopeful that both your projects, and my search engine will influence the change for better.

   • Embed this notice
     Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:52:50 JST Aral Balkan

     in reply to

     • Lucas 💾🦉♾️
     • gentoobro

     @gentoobro @lhinderberger Hey, glad you made it work :)

   • Embed this notice
     gentoobro (gentoobro@gleasonator.com)'s status on Wednesday, 17-Apr-2024 04:52:51 JST gentoobro

     in reply to

     • Lucas 💾🦉♾️

     @aral @lhinderberger You can have stability and kids and work on your FOSS projects all at the same time. You just have to give up a expensive, comfortable first-world standard of living, move to the second world, and (possibly) learn a new language. That's what I did and I've never regretted it for a moment. I would give my life for my kids; why wouldn't I be willing to learn Spanish, see graffiti out my window, step over holes in the sidewalk, and get drinking water delivered in carboys for them?