12
Flatpak vs Snap vs Native Packages
(kbin.social)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
I don't think consolidation, compromise, and coming together in one common direction are the hallmarks of open source at all!
Filesystems, service management/startup, audio output, desktop environment, package formats/management/distribution, programming languages, shell, and so on, and so on - all have many, many options.
Open source is, if nothing else, fractured.. it's about choice, flexibility, and re-inventing the wheel not because it really needs to be re-invented, but because it's fun to do so and useful to have something that perfectly fits your requirements.
We've made room for many package formats for decades, and will continue to do so for decades to come I'm sure.