@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Free (as in freedom) software is a type of ethical [software](software.md) that'
Free software is also known as *free as in freedom*, *free as in speech* software or *libre* software. It is sometimes equated with [open source](open_source.md), even though open source is fundamentally different ([evil](evil.md)), or neutrally labelled FOSS or FLOSS (free/libre and open-source software); sadly free software has lost to open source in mainstream popularity. In contrast to free software, software that is merely gratis (freeware) is sometimes called *free as in beer*.
**Examples of free software** include the [GNU](gnu.md) operating system (also known as "[Linux](linux.md)"), [GIMP](gimp.md) (image editor), [Stockfish](stockfish.md) chess engine, or games such as [Xonotic](xonotic.md) and [Anarch](anarch.md). Free software is actually what runs the world, it is a standard among experts and it is possible to do computing with exclusively free software, even though most normal people don't even know the term free software exists because they only ever come in contact with abusive [proprietary](proprietary.md) consumer software such as [Windows](windows.md) and capitalist [games](game.md). There also exists a lot of big and successful software, such as [Fireforx](firefox.md), [Linux](linux.md) (the kernel) or [Blender](blender.md), that's often spoken of as free software which may however be only technically true or true only to a big (but not full) degree: for example even though [Linux](linux.md) is 99% free, in its [vanilla](vanilla.md) version it comes with [proprietary](proprietary.md) [binary blobs](binary_blob.md) which breaks the rules of free software. [Blender](blender.md) is technically free but it is also [capitalist software](capitalist_software.md) which doesn't really care about freedom and may de-facto limit some freedoms required by free software, even if they are granted legally by Blender's license. Such software is better called "[open source](open_source.md)" or [FOSS](foss.md) because it doesn't meet the high standards of free software. This issue of technically-but-not-really free software is addressed by some newer movements and philosophies such as [suckless](suckless.md) and our [less retarded software](lrs.md) who usually also aim for [unbloating](bloat.md) technology so as to make it more free in practice.
**Examples of free software** include the [GNU](gnu.md) operating system (also known as "[Linux](linux.md)"), [GIMP](gimp.md) (image editor), [Stockfish](stockfish.md) chess engine, or games such as [Xonotic](xonotic.md) and [Anarch](anarch.md). Free software is actually what runs the world, it is a standard among experts and it is possible to do computing with exclusively free software (though this may depend on how far you stretch the definition), even though most normal people don't even know the term free software exists because they only ever come in contact with abusive [proprietary](proprietary.md) consumer software such as [Windows](windows.md) and capitalist [games](game.md). There also exists a lot of big and successful software, such as [Fireforx](firefox.md), [Linux](linux.md) (the kernel) or [Blender](blender.md), that's often spoken of as free software which may however be only technically true or true only to a big (but not full) degree: for example even though [Linux](linux.md) is 99% free, in its [vanilla](vanilla.md) version it comes with [proprietary](proprietary.md) [binary blobs](binary_blob.md) which breaks the rules of free software. [Blender](blender.md) is technically free but it is also [capitalist software](capitalist_software.md) which doesn't really care about freedom and may de-facto limit some freedoms required by free software, even if they are granted legally by Blender's license. Such software is better called "[open source](open_source.md)" or [FOSS](foss.md) because it doesn't meet the high standards of free software. This issue of technically-but-not-really free software is addressed by some newer movements and philosophies such as [suckless](suckless.md) and our [less retarded software](lrs.md) who usually also aim for [unbloating](bloat.md) technology so as to make it more free in practice.
Though unknown to common people, the invention and adoption of free software has been **one the most important events in the history of computers** -- mere technology consumers nowadays don't even realize (and aren't told) that what they're using consists and has been enabled possibly mostly by software written non-commercially, by volunteers for free, basically on [communist](communism.md) principles. Even if consumer technology is unethical because the underlying free technology has been modified by [corporations](corporation.md) to abuse the users, without free software the situation would have been incomparably worse if Richard Stallman hadn't achieved the small miracle of establishing the free software movement. Without it there would probably be practically no alternative to abusive technology nowadays, everything would be much more closed, there would probably be no "[open source](open_source.md)", "[open hardware](open_hardware.md)" such as [Arduino](arduino.md) and things such as [Wikipedia](wikipedia.md). If the danger of [intellectual property](intellectual_property.md) in software wasn't foreseen and countered by Richard Stallman right in the beginning, the corporations' push of legislation would probably have continued and copyright laws might have been many times worse today, to the point of not even being able to legally write free software nowadays. We have to be very grateful that this happened and continue to support free software.
@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ It is generally considered quite a good software, many praise its distributed na
**Is git literally [hitler](hitler.md)?** Well, by [suckless](suckless.md) standards git IS bloated and yes, git IS complicated as fuck, however let's try to go deeper and ask the important questions, namely "does this matter so much?" and "should I use git or avoid it like the devil?". The answer is actually this: it doesn't matter too much that git is bloated and you don't have to avoid using it. Why? Well, git is basically just a way of hosting, spreading and mirroring your source onto many git-hosting servers (i.e. you can't avoid using git if you want to spread your code to e.g. Codeberg and GitLab) AND at the same time git doesn't create a [dependency](dependency.md) for your project, i.e. its shittiness doesn't "infect" your project -- if git dies or if you simply want to start using something else, you just copy-paste your source code elsewhere, you put it on [FTP](ftp.md) or anything else, no problem. It's similar to how e.g. [Anarch](anarch.md) uses [SDL](sdl.md) (which is bloated as hell) to run on specific platforms -- if it doesn't hard-depend on SDL and doesn't get tied to it, it's OK (and actually unavoidable) to make use of it. You also don't even have to get into the complicated stuff about git (like merging branches and resolving conflicts) when you're simply committing to a simple one-man project.
**Which git hosting to use?** All of them (except for [GitHub](github.md) which is a proprietary terrorist site)! Do not fall into the trap of [githopping](githopping.md), just make tons of accounts, one on each git hosting site, add multiple push remotes and just keep pushing to all of them -- EZ. Remember, git hosting sites are just free file storage servers, not social platforms or brands to identify with. Do not use their non-git "features" such as issue trackers, CI and shit. They want you to use them as "facebook for programmers" and become dependent on their exclusive "features", so that's exactly what you want to avoid, just abuse their platform for free file storage.
**Which git hosting to use?** All of them (except for [GitHub](github.md) which is a proprietary terrorist site)! Do not fall into the trap of [githopping](githopping.md), just make tons of accounts, one on each git hosting site, add multiple push remotes and just keep pushing to all of them -- EZ. Remember, git hosting sites are just free file storage servers, not social platforms or brands to identify with. Do NOT use their non-git "features" such as issue trackers, CI and shit. They want you to use them as "facebook for programmers" and become dependent on their exclusive "features", so that's exactly what you want to avoid, just abuse their platform for free file storage. Additional tip on searching for git hosting sites: look up the currently popular git website software and search for its live instances with some nice search engine, e.g. currently searching just `gitea` on [wiby](wiby.md) returns a lot of free git hostings.
@ -105,7 +105,8 @@ This is a summary of some main guidelines on how an LRS supporter should behave
- **Do not [identify](identity.md) with specific groups and organizations** -- this one is tricky because there is a fine line between many people together agreeing on an idea (good) and those people creating a formal hierarchical group which sooner or later inevitably becomes [fascist](fascism.md) or at the very least corrupt, eventually to the degree of betraying its original beliefs (bad). Remember principles of [anarchism](anarchism.md): loosely associate with others but do not create power structures and hierarchies. An example here may be supporting [free software](free_software.md) (good) vs supporting the (now greatly corrupt) [Free Software Foundation](fsf.md) (bad). Free software as an idea is pure and good, in merely supporting the idea we will not create any hierarchy of people, power structures or attach other unrelated ideas to ride on the free software wave (e.g. that of [political correctness](political_correctness.md) now promoted by the FSF). They say there is strength in unity, that is true, but there are different kinds of unity, and if perhaps one kind of unity (the bad one) is momentarily stronger, it is so because it's the "dark side of the force": yes, it may be stronger, but it is evil. Resist this urge. For this we also don't want to start any formal [LRS](lrs.md) group.
- **CREATE, do NOT waste your life on bullshit, do NOT get too obsessed with tools and hopping** such as [distrohopping](distrohopping.md), [githopping](githopping.md) [audiophilia](audiophilia.md), hardware consumerism, 100% minimalist perfectionism etc. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Remember, the goal of your life is to create something new and better; too many people just get stuck doing nothing but switch distros, rant about which editor is best, making sure their OS has zero bloat and zero proprietary code etc. If that's all you do, it's completely useless, your life is completely wasted. Dedicate time to creating art that will last, e.g. programming [LRS](lrs.md) (creating source code text) or making free cultural art -- it doesn't matter whether you create it with Ubuntu or Gentoo.
- **Lead an example**, this is the best way to spread our values, however be also extremely careful not to become a worshipped [authority](hero_culture.md). Know the difference between a humble intellectual authority and an authoritative self-centered celebrity who uses his fame for deception. The more famous you are, the more humble you should become.
- **Be [loving](love.md), even towards opposition** -- remember: hate and revenge towards people perpetuates the endless circle. [Love](love.md) leads to more love, understanding, good deeds, friendship, happiness, collaboration and all the other positive things. Do not confuse love with [political correctness](political_correctness.md). You may get angry or frustrated, just don't get violent against, rather try to break something, write your anger out, play some video game etc.
- **Be [loving](love.md), even towards opposition** -- remember: hate and revenge towards people perpetuates the endless circle. [Love](love.md) leads to more love, understanding, good deeds, friendship, happiness, collaboration and all the other positive things. **Do not confuse love with [political correctness](political_correctness.md)**. You may get angry or frustrated, just don't get violent against, rather try to break something, write your anger out, play some video game etc.
- **Don't be [politically correct](political_correctness.md)**, never use gender neutral pronouns (always use "he" as the default pronoun), don't be afraid to say forbidden words like [nigger](nigger.md), never use any [code of coercion](coc.md), "personal pronouns" etc. Even if you think you're moderate in views and that it "can't hurt" to just "play along" a little bit, IT DOES HURT, you are approving of fascism and carrying its flag, remember that Nazism only got so big thanks to a nation of moderate people who just "played along" to avoid trouble. There is always only very few true extremists, a great evil relies on masses of people who just want to get by and will make no trouble in conforming.
- **Try to do [selfless](selflessness.md) things** -- TRULY selfless ones. Help those in need without expecting any kind of repay, do not even seek attention or gratitude for it, only your good feeling. Create selfless art, whatever it is you enjoy doing -- computer programs, 3D models, music, videos, ... put them in the [public domain](public_domain.md) and let others enjoy them :) Try to **make doing good things a habit** -- some people smoke, drink, overeat and do other kinds of things harmful to themselves and their environment as means for relieving stress. If you exploit this natural human tendency and rather develop GOOD habits, such as writing free software or helping charities as a means of relaxing and relieving stress, you have won at life; doing good and feeling good will be natural and effortless. **The thing you dedicate your life to should be the thing you love, not the thing that earns you money** or benefits you in similar ways -- try to maximize doing what you love (which may and probably should be more than one thing) and also **try to love doing what is good** so that you can do it a lot. **If you love something, never do it for money**; then it becomes business and as we know, business spoils everything.
- **Protest in non-violent ways** -- this doesn't mean you should be passive; you should be exposing the truth, propaganda, corruption, boycotting corporations and state, promoting your values and expressing disagreement with certain ideas, but do not aim for destruction of those who stand in opposition -- if you're attacked, it is best if you do not fight back; not only is this the morally ideal thing to do, it also sends a very powerful message and makes the aggressor himself think.
- **Try to be so that if everyone was like that, the society would be good (in agreement with [LRS](less_retarded_society.md))** -- this is a good general [rule of thumb](rule_of_thumb.md) (and as such may also possibly fail sometimes, be careful) that can help you make some difficult decisions. DO NOT confuse this advice with the ["do unto others as you would have them do unto you"](do_unto_others.md) advice, that is indeed a [shitty](shit.md) one, supposing everyone likes the same things, i.e. for example a man who enjoys being [raped](rape.md) is advised here to go and rape others -- that's of course bad.
@ -14,20 +14,20 @@ The definition here is not strict but rather [fuzzy](fuzzy.md), it is in a form
[Software](software.md) is less retarded if it adheres, to a high degree (not necessarily fully), to the following principles:
- Being made with a [**truly selfless**](selflessness.md) goal of maximally helping all living beings who may use the software without any intent of taking advantage of them in any way.
- Trying to follow the [Unix philosophy](unix_philosophy.md) (do one thing well, use text interfaces, ...).
- Trying to follow the [suckless](suckless.md) philosophy (configs as source files, distributing in source form, mods as patches, ...).
- Being [minimalist](minimalism.md) ([single compilation unit](single_compilation_unit.md), [header-only](header_only.md) libraries, no build systems, no [OOP](oop.md) languages, simple [version numbering](version_numbering.md), ...), [countercomplex](countercomplex.md), [KISS](kiss.md), [appropriate technology](appropriate_tech.md).
- Being [free software](free_software.md) legally but ALSO practically (well commented, not bloated and obscured etc., so as to truly and practically enable the freedoms to study, modify etc.). This may also include attributes such as [decentralization](decentralization.md).
- Being [free culture](free_culture.md), i.e. LRS programs are free as a whole, including art assets, data etc.
- Minimizing [dependencies](dependency.md), even those such as standard library or relying on OS concepts such as files or threads, even indirect ones such as build systems and even non-software ones (e.g. avoiding [floating point](float.md), GPU, 64bit etc.).
- Very portable, non-discriminating, i.e. being written in a portable language (C, [comun](comun.md) etc.), using as little resources as possible (RAM, CPU, ...) and so on.
- [Future-proof](future_proof.md), [self-contained](self_contained.md) (just compile and run, no unnecessary config files, daemons, database services, ...), [finished](finished.md) as much as possible, not controlled by anyone (should follow from other points). This may even include attributes such as physical durability and design that maximizes the devices life.
- [Hacking](hacking.md) friendly and inviting to improvements and customization, highly adhering to [hacker culture](hacking.md).
- Built on top of other LRS technology such as the [C99](c.md) language, Unix OS, our own libraries etc.
- Simple permissive licensing (being suckless legally) with great preference of [public domain](public_domain.md), e.g. with [CC0](cc0.md) + patent [waivers](waiver.md).
- Being made with a **[truly selfless](selflessness.md)** goal of maximally helping all living beings who may use the software without any intent of taking advantage of them in any way.
- Trying to follow the **[Unix philosophy](unix_philosophy.md)** (do one thing well, use text interfaces, ...).
- Trying to follow the **[suckless](suckless.md) philosophy** (configs as source files, distributing in source form, mods as patches, ...).
- Being **[minimalist](minimalism.md)** ([single compilation unit](single_compilation_unit.md), [header-only](header_only.md) libraries, no build systems, no [OOP](oop.md) languages, simple [version numbering](version_numbering.md), ...), [countercomplex](countercomplex.md), [KISS](kiss.md), [appropriate technology](appropriate_tech.md). Any project has to be **solo manageable** if that's at all possible.
- Being **[free software](free_software.md)** legally but ALSO practically (well commented, not [bloated](bloat.md) and [obscured](obscurity.md) etc., so as to truly and practically enable the freedoms to study, modify etc.). This may also include attributes such as [decentralization](decentralization.md).
- Being **[free culture](free_culture.md)**, i.e. LRS programs are free as a whole, including art assets, data etc.
- **Minimizing [dependencies](dependency.md)**, even those such as standard library or relying on OS concepts such as files or threads, even indirect ones such as build systems and even non-software ones (e.g. avoiding [floating point](float.md), GPU, 64bit etc.).
- Very **[portable](portability.md)**, hardware non-discriminating, i.e. being written in a portable language ([C](c.md), [comun](comun.md) etc.), minimizing resource usage (RAM, CPU, ...) and so on.
- **[Future-proof](future_proof.md)**, **[self-contained](self_contained.md)** (just compile and run, no unnecessary config files, daemons, database services, ...), [finished](finished.md) as much as possible, not controlled by anyone (should follow from other points). This may even include attributes such as physical durability and design that maximizes the devices life.
- **[Hacking](hacking.md) friendly**, repairable and inviting to improvements and customization, highly adhering to [hacker culture](hacking.md).
- Built on top of other LRS or LRS-friendly technology such as the [C99](c.md) language, comun, Unix, our own libraries etc.
- Simple permissive licensing (being suckless legally) with great preference of **[public domain](public_domain.md)**, e.g. with [CC0](cc0.md) + patent [waivers](waiver.md).
- Elegant by its simple, well thought-through solutions. (This is to be contrasted with modern rapid development.)
- No [bullshit](bullshit.md) such as [codes of conduct](coc.md), tricky licensing conditions etc.
- **No [bullshit](bullshit.md)** such as [codes of conduct](coc.md), furry mascots, tricky licensing conditions, [ads](marketing.md) etc.
## Further Philosophy
@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ Here are a few bullet points giving further ideas about what LRS is about, also
- Programs are technology (NOT brands, weapons, political grounds, social networks, work opportunities, property, platforms, ...).
- [Work](work.md) is [shit](shit.md), laziness is [good](good.md).
- [Secrets](secret.md) are bad.
- Low level is good, use only minimum necessary [abstraction](abstraction.md).
- [Low level](low_level.md) is good, use only minimum necessary [abstraction](abstraction.md).
Suicide is when someone voluntarily kills himself. Suicide offers an immediate escape from [capitalism](capitalism.md) and is therefore a kind of last-resort hope; it is one of the last remaining freedoms in this world, even though capitalists can't profit from dead people and so are working hard on preventing people from killing themselves (rather than trying to make them NOT WANT TO kill themselves of course).
TODO: methods, add suicide by internet/free speech :D
TODO: methods, add suicide by internet/free speech :D
For SCIENCE RESEARCHERS: there is a text file describing suicide methods at http://textfiles.com/fun/suicide.txt. One site related to suicide that's being censored because it discussed methods of killing oneself is called **sanctioned suicide** (https://sanctioned-suicide.net).
@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Information about hardware and software used by Wikimedia Foundation can be foun
Wikipedia was created by [Jimmy Wales](jimmy_wales.md) and [Larry Sanger](larry_sanger.md) and was launched on 15 January 2001. The basic idea actually came from Ben Kovitz, a user of [wikiwikiweb](wikiwikiweb.md), who proposed it to Sanger. Wikipedia was made as a complementary project alongside [Nupedia](nupedia.md), an earlier encyclopedia by Wales and Sanger to which only verified experts could contribute. Wikipedia of course has shown to be a much more successful project.
There exist [forks](fork.md) and alternatives to Wikipedia. Simple English Wikipedia can offer a simpler alternative to sometimes overly complicated articles on the main English Wikipedia. [Citizendium](citizendium.md) is a similar online encyclopedia co-founded by [Larry Sanger](larry_sanger.md), a co-founder of Wikipedia itself, which is however [proprietary](proprietary.md) ([NC](nc.md) license). Citizendium's goal is to improve on some weak points of Wikipedia such as its reliability or quality of writing. [Metapedia](metapedia.md) and [Infogalactic](infogalactic.md) are a Wikipedia forks that are written from a more [rightist](left_right.md)/neutral point of view. [Infogalactic](infogalactic) is also a Wikipedia fork that tries to remove the [pseudoleftist](pseudoleft.md) bullshit etc. Encyclopedia Britannica can also be used as a nice resource: its older versions are already [public domain](public_domain.md) and can be found e.g. at [Project Gutenberg](gutenberg.md), and there is also a modern online version of Britannica which is [proprietary](proprietary.md) (and littered with ads) but has pretty good articles even on modern topics (of course facts you find there are in the public domain). Practically for any specialized topic it is nowadays possible to find its own wiki on the Internet.
There exist [forks](fork.md) and alternatives to Wikipedia. Simple English Wikipedia can offer a simpler alternative to sometimes overly complicated articles on the main English Wikipedia. [Citizendium](citizendium.md) is a similar online encyclopedia co-founded by [Larry Sanger](larry_sanger.md), a co-founder of Wikipedia itself, which is however [proprietary](proprietary.md) ([NC](nc.md) license). Citizendium's goal is to improve on some weak points of Wikipedia such as its reliability or quality of writing. [Justapedia](justapedia.md) is a recently spawned Wikipedia fork. [Metapedia](metapedia.md) and [Infogalactic](infogalactic.md) are a Wikipedia forks that are written from a more [rightist](left_right.md)/neutral point of view. [Infogalactic](infogalactic) is also a Wikipedia fork that tries to remove the [pseudoleftist](pseudoleft.md) bullshit etc. Encyclopedia Britannica can also be used as a nice resource: its older versions are already [public domain](public_domain.md) and can be found e.g. at [Project Gutenberg](gutenberg.md), and there is also a modern online version of Britannica which is [proprietary](proprietary.md) (and littered with ads) but has pretty good articles even on modern topics (of course facts you find there are in the public domain). Practically for any specialized topic it is nowadays possible to find its own wiki on the Internet.
