Disagree on that. Those 18 million are in big parts going to go into marketing and reputation washing, specifically to people that might not be tuned into the broader Linux or even tech ecosystem. Those will not by themselves start looking up the background of a shiny Linux distro that is being hailed by everyone as a super nice and easy way to get into Linux. Some education can go a long way there.
If people “get into” Linux via Omarchy - then decide its roots are distateful, distro hopping is very easy for them to do. Similarly, if Linux experimenters give Omarchy a try ignorant of the politics behind it - I doubt very many will remain “locked in” for long. If you 18 million number refers to Omarchy’s own download count, please try to keep in perspective just how over-inflated and easily gamed those counts always are.
I find it a stretch to think that Omarchy will be whitewashing brownshirt politics sufficiently to win converts because “hey, these guys are alright, look at what a nifty distro they made…”
If people “get into” Linux via Omarchy - then decide its roots are distateful, distro hopping is very easy for them to do.
My point is that they might not ever get to the point of noticing the rot at its roots. Sure, if they notice it’s easy, but they need to even get to that point. Also, even if we know it’s easy, it might still be intimidating. They may remember how much work the jump from Windows/Apple to Omarchy was and assume it’s gonna be similar from one Linux distro to another.
If you 18 million number refers to Omarchy’s own download count
I was referring to donation amounts. 18 million dollars. That’s the most recent number I’ve seen that has been donated or promised to Omarchy, and that kind of money can do a whole lot when it’s pumped into reputation building.
I find it a stretch to think that Omarchy will be whitewashing brownshirt politics sufficiently to win converts because “hey, these guys are alright, look at what a nifty distro they made…”
Then you’re more optimistic than me. Those politics are not advertised on the frontpage*, and most people who are not already tuned into that are not gonna go hunting for it. For most it’s not gonna go further than “Oh my favorite tech influencer is rocking this awesome looking setup, gonna try that”, and from there on why would they look at anything other than the docs.
* They do have that “Backed by the oligarchy” section, and I immediately wanted to vomit when seeing that, but colleagues of mine didn’t see the issue with that until I explicitly spelled it out. We very much do live in a bubble.
I still think that giving it oxygen is a mistake, but if you insist on making that mistake, I’d go for “coloring the air” around it in an easily recognized shade and odor:
Omarchy: the new Linux distro labeled “Goose-steppy” by the community, is being developed based on donations from X, Y and Z… At present, it offers nothing of value vs these established distros: ____, _____, _____. The community is relatively un-knowledgeable and un-helpful, and the technical aspects are less well refined than the established competition. Etc. etc. etc.
Remind the world that the trains don’t actually run on-time any better under Fascists in practice. They have too many conflicting priorities, and ultimately those lead to the trains not running at all.
Disagree on that. Those 18 million are in big parts going to go into marketing and reputation washing, specifically to people that might not be tuned into the broader Linux or even tech ecosystem. Those will not by themselves start looking up the background of a shiny Linux distro that is being hailed by everyone as a super nice and easy way to get into Linux. Some education can go a long way there.
If people “get into” Linux via Omarchy - then decide its roots are distateful, distro hopping is very easy for them to do. Similarly, if Linux experimenters give Omarchy a try ignorant of the politics behind it - I doubt very many will remain “locked in” for long. If you 18 million number refers to Omarchy’s own download count, please try to keep in perspective just how over-inflated and easily gamed those counts always are.
I find it a stretch to think that Omarchy will be whitewashing brownshirt politics sufficiently to win converts because “hey, these guys are alright, look at what a nifty distro they made…”
My point is that they might not ever get to the point of noticing the rot at its roots. Sure, if they notice it’s easy, but they need to even get to that point. Also, even if we know it’s easy, it might still be intimidating. They may remember how much work the jump from Windows/Apple to Omarchy was and assume it’s gonna be similar from one Linux distro to another.
I was referring to donation amounts. 18 million dollars. That’s the most recent number I’ve seen that has been donated or promised to Omarchy, and that kind of money can do a whole lot when it’s pumped into reputation building.
Then you’re more optimistic than me. Those politics are not advertised on the frontpage*, and most people who are not already tuned into that are not gonna go hunting for it. For most it’s not gonna go further than “Oh my favorite tech influencer is rocking this awesome looking setup, gonna try that”, and from there on why would they look at anything other than the docs.
* They do have that “Backed by the oligarchy” section, and I immediately wanted to vomit when seeing that, but colleagues of mine didn’t see the issue with that until I explicitly spelled it out. We very much do live in a bubble.
I still think that giving it oxygen is a mistake, but if you insist on making that mistake, I’d go for “coloring the air” around it in an easily recognized shade and odor:
Omarchy: the new Linux distro labeled “Goose-steppy” by the community, is being developed based on donations from X, Y and Z… At present, it offers nothing of value vs these established distros: ____, _____, _____. The community is relatively un-knowledgeable and un-helpful, and the technical aspects are less well refined than the established competition. Etc. etc. etc.
Remind the world that the trains don’t actually run on-time any better under Fascists in practice. They have too many conflicting priorities, and ultimately those lead to the trains not running at all.