This one is more controversial than intended. Since it's my "fault," I want to clear things up:

I fully support the "use whatever you want" faction. This meme wasn't intended to be a trigger against Sync. I just want to reflect the difference between Sync and all other apps. (I missed Connect, but my abilities to create a second Teletubby aren't the best.)

The controversy between FOSS and closed source reminds me of discussions on Reddit. It looks like we are separated into two (or more) groups: the privacy-focused FOSS nerds and the "shut up about the license, code, or ads and take my money because your product is the best working of all" group. Both groups have understandable reasons, and both can have their place in the fediverse. But don't forget, it's the FOSS group who started all this and early adopted (if you don't believe me, check the age of my profile). And this group is a little bit confused why everyone can't wait for a closed source app.

There's nobody who starts an unexpected feature or starts selling your data. Lemmy is FOSS and decentralized. A closed-source app can add whatever they want. If the ad-free pro version costs 20 bucks, then all non-pro users sell with their data, and I bet it's 20 bucks worth. Because free closed source is always free, because you are the product.

PS. I don't want to paint worse scenarios, but remember, WhatsApp was just a closed-source wrapper of XMPP, and Chrome is based on Chromium. FOSS will always attract people who try to monetize it. Some would say: "I don't care." But what if the monetizers start to claim control over the development, because there are "needed features" to get more money out of it?