I don’t get the point of this.
Since when did Sync masquerade itself as FOSS?
Just use whatever you want. Isn’t that why we’re all here?
Is the Sync noise getting to you? Just ignore it. It’s natural since the app just opened up and there were a significant amount of Reddit refugees that badly wanted their app back.
I agree. SYNC will bring tons of reddit users to lemmy. I for one welcome that change.
Seems to me this has spawned a fair bit of discussion… Which is the actual reason we’re all here.
Sync has gotten a lot of buzz (I don’t understand why, even on Reddit, rif was always better anyway) and that’s always going to bring out the people who don’t agree, for one reason or another.
Don’t mistake an opinion you don’t share for anything beyond what it is. I could just as easily parrot your statement back: if you don’t think this discussion is productive, just ignore it. There’s plenty of other discussions to get involved with on Lemmy
Sync gained a big following because it had a core feature many many moons ago, when having constant cell service was much less common, it allowed you download and save hundreds of posts and all the comments while you were on wifi, so you could browse reddit offline, it did this automatically and in the background (based on your settings ) hence the name ‘Sync’. This was a killer feature back in the day, at least for me. As that became less of a need, the app continued to change and add a lot of nice features, like lots of customizations, random NSFW, a very good OLED dark mode, etc, so there was no point in switching to something else.
My .02¢
RiF better? Lmaooo
I think it’s more the Lemmy userbase having different expectations than that of the Reddit userbase, with Lemmy being such a shift from Reddit.
I could use this same logic to talk about your comment. People are free to dunk on other apps, so why not just mute the post?
I am disliking this sentiment. I am on the Fediverse because Sync’s developer and many others were betrayed by Reddit and I wanted to show solidarity and to ‘punish’ Reddit by leaving. The Fediverse’s values are admirable, but I do not share them all. I believe in supporting good projects, even some that are private if they don’t pose a risk of destroying something bigger, and Sync is a good project that can be easily abandoned without consequences if something goes wrong.
I think we need to separate the system from the product. With Reddit they’re the same, with a single owner. With Lemmy/ActivityPub, just like with email, there’s an underlying system that nobody owns. It’s an ecosystem of pieces created by lots of different people.
It is a good thing that people are building products on top of that. Some of them are FOSS and some of them not. As long as no-one gets too much control of the underlying system then that’s great! Users retain choice and can choose FOSS apps if they want, or they can choose something like Sync.
I agree it would be sad if the only apps were paid, but I think a mix is a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
People need to remember that Lemmy is for everyone, not just people that live by free and open source software. Oh and sync the best, so there 😜
It amazes me the how far Reddit users will bend over backwards to suck this dude’s schlong. Must be a mobile-user thing.
that’s what you take away from the post you’re replying to? therapy is very much needed.
It’s amazing how divorced from reality the FOSS obsessed can be whenever anyone mentions non-FOSS apps. Nobody is bending over backwards, and nobody is sucking anyone’s schlong. If Sync were to have been FOSS, you’d be first in line to sing its praises. This trollish behavior doesn’t win anyone over to the “All Software Must Be Foss” camp at all. Must be a PC Master Race thing.
I had a mobile app for Reddit on my phone, you know when I used it last? 9 months ago when I was sitting in a waiting room waiting for an oil change. Every other time when I’m away from the computer I’m doing non-fucking-computer things.
This guy’s whole shtick was to make enough money to quit his day job, so he wrote a wrapper around someone else’s content using their free API. “Oh he did it all by himself, that’s amazing!” It’s really not, especially if you’d rather not share the subscription profits with other employees.
The FOSS alternatives? Done by guys with day jobs. They’re passion projects. I can respect that.
But you lot, who will drop to your knees the minute the guy wants to repeat his shtick now that Reddit kicked him to the curb? Zero respect at all.
“Wrote a wrapper”. Oh, is that all? It’s just that easy, huh?
Then why can none of these FOSS apps deliver the same experience, if Dawson is such an untalented hack?
You either have no clue of what you’re talking about, or you’re a troll. From my perspective, there is no substantive difference. If it’s such an easy shtick, the do it yourself, and do a better job. Put up, or shut up. Nobody asked for your respect, and I’m certain you know precisely where you can shove it.
If you only want to use or support open source apps, by all means do so. I tried Jeroba and Liftoff for a while, and while they had their merits, I am happy to pay a little money for the experience I get with Sync.
I say this as someone that uses FOSS day to day for work, I don’t really give a shit if my Lemmy app is FOSS.
For me, Sync was Reddit. It’s where 99% of my interaction with Reddit happened. I don’t really give a shit about Lemmy or the fediverse either. I’m here because Sync is a seamless product that gave me the best interface.
Despite saying that I don’t care about Lemmy or other distributed servers, Sync is basically that sync (lol) for me. Once I map my old subreddits on Lemmy, the experience doesn’t change.
This is me 100% also. Sync = Reddit for me for many years. The one hand quick scroll and swipe user experience, and the ability to favorite subs without subscribing, are all ingrained into my consumption behavior.
I actually used the Reddit app for nearly a year and still find myself swiping left to close. Whoever in the design team at Reddit must have gotten a memo to be more like TikTok… What a blight upon mankind that app is.
The Fediverse is cool though. It provides a nice fail-safe to quarantine certain communities and content. They can still exist but in case something awful happens, the federated space can be insulated.
Reddit is like Instagram, not Tiktok. Silicon Valley is sharing around the Twitter/Facebook layout since ages now. Tiktok is better than any Silicon Valley atrocity committed upon mankind.
Can anyone explain what FOSS stands for?
Free Open Source Software
Practically the same for me but for Infinity. Infinity was reddit for me, and without it, there’s just wasn’t a reddit to me
For me, Sync was Reddit. It’s where 99% of my interaction with Reddit happened. I don’t really give a shit about Lemmy or the fediverse either. I’m here because Sync is a seamless product that gave me the best interface.
This is the part I don’t get. I get it when you prefer a familiar interface, but most people are saying what you are saying, that all they care about is using Sync again, regardless of the service or communities behind it.
But that’s weird. It’s a social media site. It’s primarily for the communities and the discussion. Sync doesn’t rebuild the same communities that are still on Reddit. Most of those communities stayed on Reddit. Many of us migrated from Reddit, but the community is entirely different here. You may get a familiar interface, but the experience comes from the community.
That’s kinda true in that most communities on here are much smaller than those on Reddit. With that being said, community isn’t individuals, and in instances where a community of similar size exists, one large group of people likely doesn’t differ in opinion to another.
One benefit people should hopefully see from third-party apps moving to Lemmy/Fediverse is more people willing to contribute to those communities. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t give a fuck who creates an interface.
Similarly, competition in FOSS is never a bad thing. If a paid, closed-source app is doing something better, then it’s on the FOSS alternatives to step up their game and learn from each other.
This is me too. Sync was how I consumed/participated reddit just the backend - I’m happy in the fediverse if I can use Sync. What we touch and interact with IS the important part. Sync for me and yes it’s worth the subscription. Either I’m the product or the consumer. I’ll gladly compensate the artist/author to avoid being the product (free is not always free).
To be fair, this should be the other way around. All these foss apps are the teletubbies because they’re clunky and have major bugs. Sync is the power ranger.
You’re still stuck in 2002 or something? Most of the web is literally FOSS. Gone are the myths of free software being worse when the whole world literally runs on it.
(not op)
Sure, but in this case, most of the lemmy-clients (FOSS or not) are bad.
I have problems logging into my accounts (seems like some instances want my email as a username and many clients cannot handle this after I switched accounts), some clients don’t feature editing or deleting your posts, some clients don’t show my saved content, some clients don’t allow to see what you posted
Sure, much of this is because they started from scratch and will maybe surpass sync some day; but right now I couldn’t find something that isn’t worth. (didn’t try infinity yet, tho)
it’s not necessarily “FOSS is bad”; it’s just that the current lemmy-ecosystem is in it’s child shoes (I have the feeling this proverb doesn’t work in english?)
That said: I use Sync4Lemmy since 5 minutes and this is my first comment; so let’s see if/what it will deliver
it’s just that the current lemmy-ecosystem is in it’s child shoes (I have the feeling this proverb doesn’t work in english?)
The meaning is perfectly clear. I believe English speakers would say “…is in its infancy” but that’s just a common way of saying “early stages” not a proverb per se.
Never heard that idiom before, (is it German?) Sentiment is clear though, I would probably just say “in its infancy” or something.
Also completely agree with your points. I’m a major supporter of FOSS but at the end of the day, I’m gonna use what actually works - the same as everyone else.
Convenience is objectively not superior to morals. Sync gets personal data, while Jerboa does not. Period. Jerboa has a little jank in not having fluid scrolling, but this is a matter of minor convenience. Get back to me when non-FOSS apps do not take any data.
Most FOSS apps are equal to or better than proprietary software when it comes to functionality, but look like they were coded in the stone age.
Most casual users value GUI over everything. And while I personally can overlook shitty user interfaces on apps I use once in a blue moon, for a social media app I’m using daily, that’s a no go.
On security concerns FOSS should be the better solution. Its code is readable and auditable by everyone. Closed Source need trust/faith in a company or in just one single person.
infinity seems pretty awesome judging by the short time that I’ve spent with it
Sync is by far the most polished. Everyone acting this is some major company. It’s literally one dude.
Paid software absolutely has a place in the world. Evil companies producing evil software designed to build a monopoly and lock out FOSS apps do not. I don’t think Sync falls into the latter and I’m happy they’ve made the choice to be able to eat.
The gatekeeping is so fucked up
Oh nooooooo someone made a familiar and easy to use app to help people get used to this new ecosystem that can only thrive if people actually show up and use it. What a real shame.
Are we really being this petty already?
We had the same people griping on Reddit when the first third party apps were developed, before the Reddit app. Also heard similar gripes during the great Digg and Slashdot migrations.
If apps were girls:
I was always in love with Sync. But life happened and we had to go different ways for non-romantic reasons. Some fucker called Spez, long story…
Eventually I met Voyager and she was great. Any user would be lucky to have her. But Sync was always the one that got away. Everyday I looked at Voyager and thought she was awesome but I was always holding a candle for Sync. But Sync was gone and I had to move on. But I could never really move on.
But life happened again and Sync was coming back. I had committed to Voyager but, as great as she was, I always thought how she came short of Sync. Sync came back and she was as stunning as I remembered. I couldn’t stay with Voyager. I’m sorry Voyager. You’re an awesome girl but I was pretty much just using you since I couldn’t have Sync.
I’m a user Voyager, I make no excuses. There, there…
I ditched Voyager the moment Sync came back.
Also, Sync is high-maintenance and demands you spend money on her to avoid listening to her giving you sales pitches, unlike Voyager.
I honestly don’t see what the problem is. If you prefer FOSS use FOSS apps.
I’ve tried every single Lemmy app for iOS and Android, but I can honestly say nothing comes close to how smooth and native Sync feels.
I wasn’t even a Sync user on Reddit so I didn’t understand the hype, but I get it now. On my Pixel 6 Pro all of the other Lemmy apps had some kind of issues, whether that be random crashes or frame rate issues. But Sync is just so smooth and feature rich.
I’ve also joined the sync discord and the developer is very clear on what type of data he collects (He doesn’t, but Google may).
Also with the pricing, if you don’t agree with the price that’s your opinion, but the amount of complaining is ridiculous. He made the app so whatever he wants to charge is his decision. You can also still freely use the app (with ads) so no one is forcing you to buy.
I’m gonna get a lot of hate for saying this but I WANT there to be ads on Lemmy, for developers of apps and hosters, I want there to be a way to fund the fediverse without everyone needing to pay money out of pocket. If you don’t want that that’s fine I don’t care but I want more people on Lemmy contributing more and it being free and still being able to support full time developers without being dependent on donations is a huge hurdle that will make or break the fediverse IMHO
Edit: to add onto this a lot of the people who cry about data security are not constantly running a proxy server with a VPN, I doubt they have an independent routing firewall, they probably use unsecured applications all the time, there are very few people on here where a Lemmy app will be their biggest data security flaw. 99% of y’all are not Mr Robot please stop pretending to be
It’s the steep price increase that everyone’s offended with. The annual cost is how much the old lifetime subscription cost iirc. (Which makes sense knowing that Lemmy has a smaller user count)
Plus the inability to disable telemetry even if paying.
I mean it’s fine and all, but we’re here at Lemmy and not Reddit for a reason. This usergroup is the ones that care the most about privacy and FOSS more than almost any other online community.
That’s fine. In my opinion, I think that would be more of a valid point if there were no alternatives, but as the original post shows there are plenty of FOSS apps available for those that want that.
I just feel like the developer has took a lot of his time and effort to make this for the community, but instead, some of the community decides to bash him for it due to the pricing model and it not being FOSS.
We’re supposed to be building Lemmy as a community but here we are fighting against ourselves internally when there’s plenty of options for everyone to use.
Iirc old lifetime one was just for getting rid of ads (I bought it twice), but sync ultra is just extra features for a small cost each month meant to support the developer a little bit extra.
Right now lifetime purchase isn’t available, but I believe ljdawson has talked about it being in the works.
Have you tried Memmy for iOS? My main phone is iOS, but I’m curious as to what may be better on Sync as I was a longtime android user. I do remember using Sync WAY back in the day so I could download a ton of reddit posts for plane rides lmao.
Funny enough, I’m getting ready to board a plan soon and I’m using sync 😂
Have you tried Memmy for iOS?
Yes I have! Memmy is a great app and it was the first one to reach the Apple store. The development team consistently pushed out updates pretty much daily and was able to provide the most features of any Lemmy app currently on iOS, at least in my opinion.
My main phone is also an iPhone, but it’s just something about sync. Like it’s seriously so fluid and it just feels “right” I would highly suggest giving it a try if you have an Android device laying around that can support it.
I’m anti mega corporations with consolidated power and platform monopolies. I’m not anti small distributed devs getting paid for high quality hard work.
Still love sync tho
Deleted the half dozen other apps I had for all my Lemmy accts. Now I have just 1 app to rule them all.
Yep. And if this app turns bad after a while for whatever reason, we can always go back to the FOSS alternatives.
I couldn’t care less if foss app users or developers are butthurt because closed apps are suddenly available and gaining popularity.
Sync for lemmy landed and it has been more stable and has more features than any of the other lemmy apps I’ve tried.
Maybe if the foss apps were stable and feature rich more casual plebs like me would use them, but at the moment they all feel kind of broken.
Also, I would take issue with jerboa here. Jerboa is there but not Connect? Lol…
Yea I’ve tried every app and there’s just nothing as smooth as the sync app. Tossing an independent dev $20 a year for something I’m getting thousands of hours of use out of is a no brainer. I give Netflix more every month and don’t get nearly as much value. Too many people expect to get everything for free.
Exactly. And lifetime is just about 100 bucks, who cares. Sure it sounds like more than the casual $2 you throw at a random app to remove ads, but considering that I used Sync daily for ~12 years, it’s really just peanuts in the long run.
I’ve bought a bunch of seemingly cheaper apps and then used them 10 times over 2 years and they ended up discontinued, that’s like 20 cents per use.
I’d have racked up tens of thousands with Sync that way. Easily the most used app on my phone.
What of the features youre missing? Ive been using liftoff since july and cant say i seem to miss anything or having it crash :/
Let’s face it. How many of us have actually contributed enough to any FOSS projects to demand for free and premium services. I personally would rather donate to a FOSS app instead of paying Sync, but it’s unfair to judge Sync for having ads and trackers when the option of removing them is there. There’s nothing wrong with any dev wanting to make a decent living or even more than that, as long as they don’t go overboard and are honest about it.
Lol I love how some people share their subjective opinions and call it “the truth”.
