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How do you, or do you vet if a software will paywall features or "enshittify"? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by TheTwelveYearOld@lemmy.world to c/linux@programming.dev

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Obviously we all want to avoid enshittified (aggressively monetized) software or at least get our money's worth. I'm looking at self-hosting software right now and one I'm looking has a pricing page but only for cloud (no other paywalled features) and is open source. I tried looking up future plans and didn't find much, so it doesn't seem like it will enshittify. (not related) I had thought about switching to Omnivore for a long time but then they merged with ElevenLabs and the rest is history.

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[–] StrawberryPigtails 15 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Your good if:

It's self-hosted and open source
It's self-hosted and closed source, but doesn't require online check in ( the DAW Reaper, for example)

It's a toss up if:

It's self-hosted and closed source, and requires online check in.
It's self-hosted and closed source, and requires a constant internet connection
It's cloud, but open source. (you can generally self-host in this instance)

And you're screwed if:

It's cloud and closed source.

Self hosted in this instance means anything that installs and runs completely locally or on your own personal servers. If someone else's servers are required I would count it as cloud. Phone apps generally count as "cloud" in this instance.

[–] chris@lemmy.grey.fail 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I'd agree with the exception of Rocket.Chat. I hosted an instance for years. Over that time, basic features kept slipping behind a paywall despite being "open source," and fully self hosted. It's fully nagware at this point.

I had my whole group of friends and family jump to Matrix a year ago. Instead of basic features becoming paid features... there are no features!

Edit: I re-read your comment. Yes, RC "requires check-in." My bad.

[–] StrawberryPigtails 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Revert to an older version?

[–] chris@lemmy.grey.fail 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That might work for a while, but running out of date software seems like a bad idea.

[–] StrawberryPigtails 2 points 1 week ago

Generally speaking, you're not wrong. But I'd say it also depends on the use case and your threat environment. If it's not publicly exposed, I'm generally OK with running an older version of software. In the case of chat software, for instance, it would have to be available only on local network or a private VPN like Tailscale. That can limit its usefulness though.

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