You have two choices.

You can work with FOSS software that is sometimes clunky, but will improve over time.

OR

You can work with proprietary software that is openly hostile and will only get worse over time.

Yes, very much so. Everyday; I run a linux system and the majority of the apps on my phone are from f-droid.

Hmm, tough call. Generally speaking I guess I'd prefer freedom over eternally paying rent to the tech oligarchs but then I'd miss out on the benefits of Microsoft's latest adjustments to the Windows 11 start menu.

100%. I try to use open source wherever possible. If it does have to be closed/proprietary, I will only use software I can own, no subscriptions; and the only if I can get them working in Linux (wine has come SO far).

That said, I do still have a windows partition but only for job related stuff.

I prefer FOSS because it focuses on creating something good instead of something that focuses on extracting as much money possible.

All day every day. I'm a linux user both at home and at work. The only closed source software I use is Bitwig, steam, and (most of) the games I play.

When I need software that does X, and I have multiple alternatives, my order of preference for exploring goes like this:

1. Anything that can be installed via apt-get
2. Same as above, but with added repos
3. Something found on github with a release ready for download
4. Same as above, but I build it myself
5. Closed source
6. Paid closed source

(Notice how snap isn't in the list?)

Of course, quality of the software matters, which means the list isn't 100% accurate in all cases. Bitwig is paid closed source, but I prefer that over Ardour, and it's IMHO miles better.

Exclusively Linux desktop since 2003

Rebooted a total of 3 times

(Ok second one is hyperbole)

Yes, I prefer FOSS. The degree to which proprietary software actively works against the users' interests has increased significantly over the past couple decades, as has the tendency for anything successful to get enshittified. I'm not a hardcore ideologue about it, but if a FOSS option does what I need, and it usually does, then that's what I use.

Some important software on my laptop:

• Arch Linux
• KDE
• Firefox
• Darktable
• Emacs
• Betterbird
• Joplin
• Syncthing
• VLC
• Bitwarden

All FOSS. I play a few games that aren't, and a lot of things I access through the browser aren't. I have a Windows 11 install I used to boot somewhat frequently for games, but don't since I discovered Lutris takes the fuss out of running most games on Linux.

And on my phone (italics indicate not FOSS):

• LineageOS
• Waterfox
• Thunderbird
• Signal
• WhatsApp
• AntennaPod
• Waze
• Google Maps
• Joplin
• KOReader
• Syncthing-fork
• VLC
• Connect for Lemmy
• Bitwarden

I have FOSS fallbacks for the things that aren't aside from a couple group chats in WhatsApp. One of those is toying with moving to Signal, but collective action problems are hard.

This might be a hard pill for a lot of people on here to swallow, but for the average user open source is not a feature. Free is, but the user experience is often worse than for closed source software, so it's a hard sell even at free sometimes.

I'm always very happy to find Foss apps that defy that stereotype, but they're far and few between from my experience.

Not trying to shit on Foss apps with this, but I see way too many people acting like the open source aspect is a selling point in and of itself, and it's not except for to the most techy of users.

For most things I default towards free and open source software. If that doesn't work, then I will look for a proprietary solution. There's only a few areas where this is relevant.

I use Chrome browser for work. I have Steam, which is fantastic but is absolutely proprietary. Not much outside of that.

Non-free firmware. Non-free games/Steam. That's basically it. My phone is almost fully free, even, and I love the feeling.

Fir the sake of this post I am including non-free but open sourced programs, even though Free and Open Source are different things.

I've been daily driving linux for at least 10 years and I think I'm using close to 100% FOSS. Except for the stupid nvidia drivers and my steam games.

I make a pretty decent effort to use FOSS even when there is a much more polished closed source alternative (*ahem* FreeCAD) but for some things there really isn't a choice.

You can't VRChat without the official client, for example.

Anything that I want to last for a long time. Most proprietary software has only a few years worth of shelf life, before it either turns to shit or ceases to exist. And I most prefer foss for applications where I generate the data and want complete control over it, such as notes, images etc, both for security and privacy along with longevity and full control

I prefer that it is easy to use, and that it is stable. I don’t care if it’s open source or closed source. I’ll pay either way. Tips or donations or just straight pay for it.

a side note for those that do free open source and want donations or tips, … make it easy to donate. I ran into one piece of software that said please donate. I spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how. I gave up. And just use the software for free.

i generally prefer foss - i use arch (btw), all my phone apps aside from a few that dont get internet access anyway, i avoid stuff by big companies for themost part - but i understandit isnt practical to have everything be foss. if i didnt have access to whatsapp, i couldnt message my gf, any of my friends or family, so with things like that, i compromise - in this case, using a matrix bridge. also, if something is closed source but probably fine, ill allow it, but foss is my preference. im very passionate about it :3

it gets a bit rough with things like youtube, i love newpipe and freetube but girl google makes it such a pain with the constant IP blocks qwq

Almost everything, with a few exceptions (Obsidian in a local-first environment, YouTube, most games).

We’re really asking this question on Lemmy? What kind of answers do you expect to get here?