1d ago

Why doesn't the Linux subreddit leave Reddit already?

It's kind of ironic to me that Linux is all for free and open source, but still uses a proprietary platform, and a horrible one at that. Before the fediverse, I'd understand, but now, there is no excuse whatsoever.

I understand that we can't just get up and leave everything proprietary behind all at once, since we have iPhones and Android phones. We all use proprietary software of some form, but I am of the mindset of using the least amount of proprietary possible.

I will ALWAYS look for FOSS first. I also want to make it as hard as possible for any corporation to track me. They'll probably still be able to track me, but I'm not going without a fight.

I could say the same about the Linux kernel using GitHub, but I understand how massive of an undertaking it would be to move the whole kernel to another platform. I'm sure there are other factors, too. Anyway, I just wanted to start a discussion and hear people's thoughts.
Thank you

81 comments

I am with you 100% on the reddit aspect but have to acknowledge that any person can make their own choices. Eventually, a platform with much longer history will continue being successful, if only due to inertia alone. However, one more big mistake from reddit may be enough for the FOSS subs to migrate to this platform. As for the Linux kernel, are you sure it is hosted on github? Or is it only a backup?
- It's hosted on kernel.org and the one on github is a mirror. Github didnt exist when the kernel was made initially. Or git

I think it's a uniquely good topic to have in both places. I first learned about Linux on reddit in Chrome on a Windows machine. It really helped lower my barrier to entry to chat with people on a platform that was accessible to my skill level at that time. But now I'm really glad there are nice foss places to talk about it as well.

Honestly man, of all the communities we have here on lemmy, linux community getting bigger is not what we need. We need all the rest, stuff like tf2, csgo, gaming specific stuff, all the other niche communities.
- Granted, we're gonna end up with /r/sinkpissers. Lol
  All seriousness, there's a lot of neat communities I wish would find their way here. Heck, I wish there was a way to just export the history over so old archived data wasn't lost forever.

Better to live in utopia and have ambassadors to shitholes to liberate others than just live in utopia alone.

It would definitely be nicer to see the Linux community grow here.
But hey. I'm on Linux and I'm here with y'all. :)
- Tell me what distro you are using and I tell you if you have to go back to reddit or not.
  
  Well they're clearly not using Arch. Btw.

Maybe it's the same normal human inconsistency as those of who support public health care and basic income, but ironically still buy stuff from capitalists.
- Well tbf maby things i need i con only get by buying from a capitalist

As someone who needed to use the jellyfin discord for assistance setting it up, moving from a larger, community readable platform to a platform that is non searchable externally, and more importantly. If someone wants to learn how to linux. Making them learn how to Lemmy ADDITIONALLY is gonna HURT. this is ofc ignoring the reality of the fact that communities can exist in multiple places, and assuming they'd just go read only or smth like that. Jellyfin support was ONLY able to be provided because they're matrix interconnects with discord, a software i can use! (I've since made a element account while watching media on my jellyfin server XD)
- You mean Lemmy threads aren't indexed by search engines ? So if we move everything to lemmy there goes the only way to find good info online which is adding "reddit" to the search bar ?
  
  That is incorrect on my part, I've since learned that lemmy IS searchable, but because of much lower density just doesn't show up hence the initial poster I referred tos confusion. Search link for reference
  It's a link to a Google search!

You're talking as if "The linux community" was one single bunch of people.
Reddit isn't Linux HQ and nor is Lemmy, nor is Facebook. #linux still active on IRC too, but not there either.
- 100%. I'm relatively new to Linux and to the western world as a whole. 😅

Linux is ubiquitous, it's everywhere, even on Reddit, even under your bed
- If you have a Smart Bed^TM, Linux might even be in your bed.

Many of them are single-issue Linux users and don't concern themselves with FOSS philosophy

Even if they did... Reddit would just find new mods and reopen it. They wouldn't let it remain abandoned.
- This kind of answers my question. lol. I didn't think about it that way. I thought they can just bring it all here and that one gets ~~closer~~ closed or something. I forgot how reddit works.
  
  It's how they kept everything from dying when they killed third party apps. They openly banned and replaced mods that were keeping their subreddits locked. It was a shitshow, but unfortunately reddit still exists.

Some of us did leave, that's why you see us here

The kernel on GitHub is just a mirror - the primary source is on kernel.org
- Torvalds wrote git for the Linux kernel, and then GitHub popped up because most other projects couldn't handle the decentralization. Interestingly to OP's frustration, they were using a proprietary VCS before that, and people were just as frustrated about that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git#History
- Yeah.. would have taken OP 10 seconds to check that. Dumb.

Why should it leave? It's good to be omnipresent! You have another linux community here and in many other places.

There's two reasons why r/linux is popular on Reddit:
Reddit is popular
r/linux is popular

The mods there were crap back in the day. Keep them on reddit.

Not everyone that uses Linux is against proprietary software or only uses FOSS.
There are people that just heard of Linux, are just trying it out, or have an issue, and already use Reddit, or is what the search engine points them to go for help, or to ask questions.
Reddit has a lot more reach for the common people than any other platform at the moment, there are still people that prefer to ask on Reddit, than go to a specific forum or another platform to ask (If I remember right, it still happens with some apps like Jellyfin that moved out of Reddit, but people still ask there)
These are just a few of the reasons that come to my mind.
- As an example I'm on Linux for a decade now but I also use proprietary services. I use Jellyfin and Netflix, Vim and Jetbrains IDEs, Chess.com instead of Lichess, WhatsApp instead of Matrix.
  Sometimes the value proposition does it for me, sometimes it's the network effect. I've ditched reddit because I like Lemmy more but I can see how someone wants to stay in touch with their niche communities that don't really exist on Lemmy. Probably some people use both.
- Also institutional inertia is difficult to overcome in general.
  
  This is so weird to me. Maybe it's about who you are, or who you run with, but when I saw that Discord was about to go that way, I messaged my Pathfinder group and every single person there immediately hit me back with, "so where to next?"

Bet the Facebook Linux community is bigger than ours.
- It is actually.
- I hear the Linux community on Microsoft GitHub is pretty big too these days.

Linux isnt only for Foss enjoyers. Plus its good to have the linux community on reddit to help people bring attention to linux. If they move it here it will be even harder to join the community.
Think of /r/linux as a gateway to the world of Foss
- You are not wrong. But there are things you can do to make a point. Make Reddit as a 2nd class citizen and drive people to lemmy, mastodon and the others. Like add posts with no comments, just relay bot, ... Make it clear.
  Same with GitHub, it's mirror to my Gitea instance. You can see stuff but you have to move somewhere else to contribute and report issues. Not a terrible thing to use these proprietary services and yet make them 2nd class citizens.

side note but you dont need to use proprietary android phones you can flash custom roms to most like GrapheneOS LiniageOS or CalyxOS or you can find a linux phone os like ubuntu touch

Linux is mailing lists, if anything. It’s definitely not Reddit.

How should we know? Ask them, not us.
- But Lemmy users are obviously smarter, so it’s better to ask them.

Um, subreddits remain because they still have subscribers. That's all.

Subreddits can't move, they won't be subreddits then. There are other Linux forums outside Reddit -- like this one!

Look at corporate members at https://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/members
There is a difference between Linux, the kernel, as a tool and free software the ideology. A lot of contributors to Linux are there for the money. They contribute resources, including money but also usually staff, without caring for abstract concepts like "freedom", or they might even actively (arguably) work against it when they are strategically establishing walled gardens and exclusive stores.
So... I'm not saying that's OK but I believe by confusing the ideology with the tool used for profit by gigantic corporations we are being unrealistic.
- I'm having trouble following, you're suggesting that the Linux subreddit continues to exist because of some corporate conspiracy to keep users on commercial media platforms?
  
  I'm not sure where you get the "corporate conspiracy" part. Is anybody in 2025 still not understanding that platforms do everything they can for their users to consume any content available there constantly in order to sell more advertising because that's one of the most profitable business model? Isn't that public knowledge? If it's not public knowledge are you implying it is "secret" despite those very corporations precisely publicly (at least during shareholders meetings) claiming that their strategy is simultaneously user base growth AND user engagement? If so wouldn't that be more ignorance that conspiracy?
  Anyway, that's not even my point, rather I was trying to say that it seems OP is interested in Linux for the ethical aspect whereas the corporations listed there are, by definition and by their legal mandate of being for-profit companies, participating in order to improve their bottom line.
  Please let me know if I misunderstood your point and/or if I'm still unclear.

Think of it as an advertisement or a road sign. You want your message to reach as many people as possible.
Normies don’t usually find their way to Linux on their own. Hell, most don’t even know a third and fourth option (BSD) exists. By being on as many platforms as possible, more will find their way.
For what it’s worth, GitHub is NOT the place where kernel development takes place, that is just a mirror. Have a look here to see where development happens.
- Third option? Solus? Minix? What is the third option!!???! Why don't I know about the mysterious third option?!!!?
  
  Linux is the third option. As far as many normies are concerned the second option is macOS

It could be worse. At least they didn't move to discord or facebook.
- I came here to say at least it's not discord then I saw your comment. Yes, there s mattermost, matrix, IRC, ... I am not installing Discord, I am not opening an account. I mean what s next? host your community in Skype?
- Discord is ok, it hosts many open source projects and can be bridged to matrix https://gitdab.com/cadence/out-of-your-element
  
  You can't find anything on discord with a web search. You can't even open it without logging in. Once you're logged in, good luck finding an answer to a problem that was posted a year or two ago. That's much worse than reddit.
  
  Are you aware of any project that maintains a good bridge to Matrix? Because I'm in like 80 discord servers and not one of them has a high quality bridge

Reddit Linux are just a bunch of gaming chuds. and I say that as a gamer.
They'll take time to understand the landscape and there's nothing wrong with that, yes reddit is dogshit but you won't convince anyone by just telling them. They just have to look around for themselves.
- It is the censoring, from the top down. That is like a brick wall on reddit that will hit anyone in no time.

Reddit is unified, Lemmy has a small layer of complexity on top and "sh.itjust.works" is a weird name, maybe the Lemmy system drives to such complicated names. Its not a big deal but I add that to the other causes.
- Linux people are afraid of a little added layer of complexity? Please
- Additionally, Lemmy would be a hostile place if you happened to be a conservative-leaning Linux user. I know quite a few, but they aren't on Reddit either.
  
  They're on youtube complaining how people should be understanding to everyone's opinion when their opinions are hate, racism, and violence against minorities.
  They never speak up when the little guy is being oppressed though, just when they feel their right wing audience feels attacked.

Because Lemmy is quite silent relatively. It’s a hard sell outside of those who enjoy selfhosting.

If no one discussed the value of software freedom on proprietary platforms then (hopefully) we'd be preaching to the choir here.
Linux has proprietary binary blobs in it. If any part of a software is proprietary then even if most of it is free then why do people not call "Linux" proprietary? Libre Linux removes those blobs.

It helps keep the more caustic linuxers away from lemmy.
- Correct we only want the sour linuxers here.
  
  My experience has been the opposite. People are nicer here.
- The call is coming from inside the house

Because it's fine the way it is. They can ask newbie questions over there, while we try to have more interesting discussions over here. /s
- Ok but is that happening in reality
  
  I meant that as a humorous wish. Apparently it didn't work.

Linux is a great platform for developing things like bots in.
Reddit is 90% bots.
Makes sense to me. 🤣

because lemmy is bad
- How so?
  
  A few things,
  I often find the federation to just drop posts or comments,
  sometimes a post has been banned and doesn't even report being banned on other servers,
  federation itself can be rather slow in many cases, and specific servers are even slower, you replied to this 10hrs ago according to lemmy, but I only got a notification 5 minutes ago despite using it off and on throughout the day.
  you can have the exact same community name but on a multitude of different servers which can become complicated.
  there is no button I can click to open the post on my server, which means if someone sends me a link and I want to engage with it, it's a massive hassle to do so.
  there are other issues I have but these are the ones off the top of my head. It's simply a far inferior experience to reddit.
- Long live piefed

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