this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2026
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The great thing about open source is that it's generally developed by people who use it. Proprietary software is just developed by people who get paid by someone who's just doing it to make a profit...
Then that's even worse, because the design of the OSS "alternatives" to everything I use daily for work screams "hobbyist who just needed the basic functions of a word processor and spreadsheet editor for school".
Wow, imagine an .ml trying so hard to go to bat for corporations and proprietary software. Hilarious...
I hate that it is the way it is, but OSS "alternatives" are not serious tools for professionals. That said, I'm 100% in favor of nationalizing Adobe and Microsoft, since they've created a world where only their tools are good enough to do the job, but that's not the conversation we're having here.
Here's a simple test: take all formatting out of a copy of Ulysses or some other doorstopper of a classic novel so it's just a giant wall of text. Give two publishing pros each a copy of that wall of text, have one turn it in to a publishable book using the industry standard tools and one do the same task with the OSS "alternatives" and see who's done first, and which version is the better looking final product.
Wanna place any bets?
I think your argument is a little outdated because libre software has come a long way in the past few decades. I couldn't imagine not being able to turn a manuscript into a publishable product with FOSS software in the state they are today.
If your argument is that it would take longer because someone has to relearn the interface, that's just because they're used to one and not the other. If it's because they prefer features that the other doesn't have, that's just preference but easily circumvented.
The only other way I could see there being a difference is because of patented features, but that's a discussion that's already been had in this thread. And it's not about open-source developers being in any way worse than closed-source developers.
I'll confess to not having compared them in the last 10 years or so, and I'd be happily surprised to be wrong, but I'm betting that "long way" is mostly in terms of features used by casual/home users, not power users who use the software on a professional basis to do professional work. .