On 3/3/26 13:06, Didier Kryn wrote:
> Le 03/03/2026 à 10:56, Lars Noodén via Dng a écrit :
>> On 3/3/26 09:03, Steve Litt wrote:
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Here's a video from Louis Rossman, the Right To Repair guy, discussing
>>> anti-ownership practices. It's funny too.
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii-D9LaitUw
>>
>> The video which Louis includes is a public service announcement by the
>> Norwegian Consumer Council for this campaign of theirs:
>>
>> https://www.forbrukerradet.no/breakingfree
>>
>> ... Just in case it gets mistaken for a standalone sketch.
>>
>> Using Free and Open Source software and systems, especially universal
>> general purpose systems like Devuan, would help Forbrukerrådet achieve
>> their goals in that campaign.
>>
>     Enshiftification is everywhere, even in the realm of free software:
> everything too complicated for the bare programmer and/or admin to
> understand and which brings no or little benefit. The paramount example
> is Systemd of course. But many things are alike because there is a bunch
> of professional programmers who, instead of focussing on simplicity,
> seem to take pleasure in the elaboration of needlessly complex and
> sophisticated software.

Hmm. You are right. I keep forgetting that time has passed and that
some of those who pursue needless complexity for job security or to show
off (or for both) have been inside parts of FOSS for a while even if I
myself consider them interlopers or outsiders. They inject into the
projects ever more convoluted code, such that it is neither
understandable nor feasible to change except by dedicated teams with
corporate sponsorship. The result is something which no longer focuses
on doing one thing well. A prominent example is WordPress. Or Ubuntu
since the 2007 Mono attacks.

The Norwegian Consumer Council's cover letter to EU/EEA/UK/US
politicians (found via the link in the previous message) was endorsed by
over two dozen relevant groups. One can hope that there is
collaboration here on the shared values. There still some important and
or relevant groups missing from the list, including Dyne.org and the FSF.

Anyway, the complexity hurts security very much too. Thus the recent
interest in computer security being expressed by various politicians can
also be exploited before that interest passes. That can be combined
with the Norwegian Consumer Council's interest in a coordinated effort
to improve things.

/Lars