Freedom is Lonely
I am a member!
Rant:
Living the free software life is lonely.
I went to a local meetup for a local interest community of mine. They wanted me to join their group chat on a proprietary messaging system.
I went to a virtual meetup, and of course, they were not on email or IRC. They were on a proprietary messaging system.
If you're not interacting with the free software community itself, you will run into nonfree dependencies for interacting with groups, even if they are in person, where traditionally, you wouldn't need a messaging system to talk to them: You'd just show up!
Go to school? Use proprietary software, they say. Go to church? Same thing. Go to another community function? They'll probably want you to use a nonfree program to interact with them when you're away... And let's not forget the independent merchants who don't handle cash and want you to use a proprietary app to pay them.
This is getting really hard.
"Can Anyone Live in Full Software Freedom Today?"
Four parts:
https://faif.us/cast/2019/jan/13/0x60/
https://faif.us/cast/2019/feb/19/0x61/
https://faif.us/cast/2019/mar/12/0x62/
https://faif.us/cast/2019/mar/20/0x63/
> And let's not forget the independent merchants who don't handle cash and want you to use a proprietary app to pay them
To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen this in the US.
I am a translator!
In France (where I live), merchants are required by law to accept payments in cash up to a certain amount (not sure exactly, perhaps 1000 euros). However, merchants have no obligation to have change available. Also, they have no obligation to accept coins or banknotes not in good condition.
In farmers' markets, it is common for merchants to only accept cash (and in that case they normally have change).
I am a member!
How can I participate in community events without proprietary messaging apps?
Your question is global, but the answer is local. How are you learning about these events? If someone's telling you about them, ask them for the hard details: When? Where? How? If they say, "We meet the third Thursday of every month at 6 PM at the library," you have a set date, time, and location and don't need the app.
Community happens locally, so whatever the solution, it's found offline.
As bad as the world is getting proprietary wise,
I HAVE NEVER had to use an app to pay for anything.
EVER...
And I live in the proprietary country of the world...
USA.
So... I don't know what to say.
I do think my country needs to adopt a more european approach to privacy, security and digital sovereignty as well as actual left wing policies.
USA... is too right wing right now.
IT needs to be pushed way back to where it was before Reagan.
I do not think the EU has the current privacy approach you think they have. We should probably read more about their new regulations. This thread just got me interested in what is going on over there.
https://euperspectives.eu/2026/07/eu-countries-approve-temporary-chat-control-1-0/
It's a pro-privacy measure: the privacy of CSAM victims is effectively weighted more heavily than the privacy of average users. That's the way it should be. If people don't want their chats scanned, they should not use chat plaforms, and most users ARE free to stop using them; the vast majority are not press members, activists, or dissidents with critical needs for private internet communication.
The free software movement should be encouraging people to stop using these kinds of platforms anyhow.