SoylentNews

canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Software Engineer Nikita Prokopov delves into how programs have changed over recent years from doing our bidding to working against us, controlling us [tonsky.me]. This adverse change has been ushered in through requiring accounts, update processes, notifications, and on-boarding procedures.

This got so bad that when a program doesn’t ask you to create an account, it feels refreshing.

“Okay, but accounts are still needed to sync stuff between machines.”

Wrong. Syncthing is a secure, multi-machine distributed app and yet doesn’t need an account [tonsky.me].

“Okay, but you still need an account if you pay for a subscription?”

Mullvad VPN [mullvad.net] accepts payments and yet didn’t ask me for my email.

These new, malevolent programs fight for attention rather than getting the job done while otherwise staying out of the way. Not only do they prioritize "engagement" over its opposite, "usability", they also tend to push (hostile) agendas along the way.

Previously:
(2025) What Happened to Running What You Wanted on Your Own Machine? [soylentnews.org]
(2025) Passkeys Are Incompatible With Open-Source Software [soylentnews.org]
(2024) Achieving Software Freedom in the Age of Platform Decay [soylentnews.org]
(2024) Bruce Perens Solicits Comments on First Draft of a Post-Open License [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission