Free software, a form of escapism?

Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

These are the decisions I struggle with:

In a world full of madness, I count myself lucky because I only have such trivial matters to worry about; I also count myself lucky because I have huge amounts of excellent free software to choose from.

The year is 2011, the world has turned bonkers-mad, yet I seem more concerned about which WWW browser to use. :/

I wonder, how many other people use their interest in free software as a form of escapism?

Tagged with: chromium, debian, fedora, firefox, openbox, ubuntu, xfce

17 responses to “Free software, a form of escapism?”

  • Peter Cannon Peter Cannon on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I’m not sure ‘escapism’ is the right word, maybe its a misjudgement in the priority of core values? Of course saying “Its only software for God’s sake” will get you lynched in the community I wade through.

  • richs-lxh richs-lxh on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I only have two OS’s; CrunchBang and Debian. I only use Chrome (the Google version) as Firefox became slow and bloated, it’s like Gnome compared to Openbox for me. As the years go by, most Linux users find a comfort zone with a certain distro and a list of must-install apps and scripts. I used to go hunting for distros to test, but i’m not sure if there’s less choice nowadays, or it’s a case of seen it, done it, bought the t-shirt. I just can’t find the enthusiasm anymore. But yes, Linux and it’s various communities do provide some much needed escapism from daily life.

  • Daz Fuller Daz Fuller on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I suppose it’s that feeling of belonging to a community where there is some semblance of normality. Also that feeling of “the world is going to hell but at least I can help make it a bit better here”

  • Joel P Joel P on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    Escapism fits the bill. Just don’t let it take over all your time. There are bigger issues you may need to overcome…

  • jpope jpope on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    If you look at your interest in free software as being a hobby, it can be justified. Any hobbies that you can really get into generally do take your mind off pressing matters. :)

    Now, what do you mean ‘a world full of madness’… (Maybe I should quit hacking my EeePC/Desktop/Android/etc. for a little bit to check the current news. :D )

  • safetycopy safetycopy on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I started to write about how it’s just natural to fuss more over closer things, but I deleted it all because it ended up sounding like an excuse. I care deeply about human rights and the state of the world, but I, too, devote more time to comparatively trivial things. Maybe you’re right about escapism, or maybe it’s just down to the fact that we, as humans, are a bit rubbish a lot of the time.

  • Bokal Bokal on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I agree that I often use it as a form of “escapism” as you describe it. But I think every hobby is used for this purpose.

  • axel668 axel668 on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    SPOILER ALERT !!!
    Debian (or #!, of course), 32Bit, XFCE, Firefox, …
    And LibreOffice !

  • jezra jezra on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    The correct answers of course are:

    • Debian
    • 32bit
    • Chromium

    Escape to the wold of “resource friendly”.

  • HilltopYodeler HilltopYodeler on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    If you’re struggling with the direction to take the CrunchBang project…. I am thankful that #! has shifted over to Debian. I run 32-bit mostly. OpenBox is my preference for window managers. As for web browsers, I mostly use Firefox/Iceweasel, but it really doesn’t matter to me that much which one you include in #! because if I don’t like it, I’ll install what I want to use anyway. Please keep up the great work! Been a die-hard #! user since v.1. Thank you!

  • Dylan McCall Dylan McCall on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    Computers are Lite-Brite for old people :)

  • boromeus boromeus on,
    Mar 23, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    On the other hand: suppose you’re an “influential blogger” who may change thousands of people’s thinking and behaviour. You need to be efficient when you write down your important ideas. It’s really not the same whether you’re doing it quickly and happily by using well written and bloatfree software or the programs you struggle with constantly hang on when you need them. It may sound stupid but in such a case it’s a seriuos decision what browser one should use. (Politely trying to point out that you’re sort of “influential” by the mere fact that you maintain a rather big project that could help many of us.)

  • jimcooncat jimcooncat on,
    Mar 24, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I’m thankful for those who build tools for the future. Following the news events of the day is escapism — after all, what can you do about most of it?

  • semko semko on,
    Mar 24, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I use it as a form of escapism. And I feel bad. So now I’m trying to escape that form of escapism.

  • trurl trurl on,
    Mar 24, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    Firstly, modern media are amplifiers of fear. This is the way they compete for attention of the audience. I see no reason to conform. Just relax an ignore bullshit that comes from the speakers.

    Secondly, your hobby is by no means escapism. Your talent and involvement helped me a lot. I am a freelancer analyst and I use #! on my computer. I am about to finish my last 3-month project and I did it exclusively in #! - your distro is a pleasure to use and allowed me to do my work smoothly and fast.

    Cheers

  • Nathaniel Nathaniel on,
    Mar 24, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    I loved your post because it made so much sense to me. I to spend hours debating the direction x or y should go in regarding my computer barely pausing to glance at a news report or read a newspaper.

    I think it was the Linux Outlaws guys who played a song titled “First World Problems” (poss RHR) anyway that song fits perfectly with your blog post.

    I agree with a previous poster the work you do in the guise of a hobby is valued greatly by the members of the community. Hell the community thats been created around your hobby is greatly valued by those who are part of it.

  • merelyjim merelyjim on,
    Mar 25, 2011 (about 1 year ago)

    “Escapism, ” maybe.

    I think it’s more about having something we have control over.

    I can’t stop earthquakes in Japan, record-breaking cold winters everywhere, rebellion in Middle Eastern countries, or the Vogon constructor fleet heading towards Earth at this very second…

    But, if I get the right tools into the right hands, maybe someone out there can fix these things. Not my fault that these tools always appear to be Open Source…

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