I need to talk about purity tests in open source.

[atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org]

I need to talk about purity tests in open source.

Telling people to “just walk away from the evil” isn’t helpful when they’ve never even been shown the door.

Until literally yesterday, no one had mentioned half these alternatives to me.

I’ve never hosted a NextCloud server.

I haven’t tested Etherpad, CryptPad, or OnlyOffice.

I don’t know how well they actually work for a mixed group of people.

“It’s just as fast and easy” assumes knowledge, access, and infrastructure that a lot of people simply don’t have.

Purity tests take that gap and turn it into a moral failure.

They gatekeep instead of educate.

They shame instead of onboard.

And honestly, this is why open source sometimes alienates the very people it’s supposed to empower.

Right now, I’m focused on building a member-owned PeerTube co-op—not winning a tool-choice purity contest.

Once the co-op is incorporated, member-owners will collectively decide what tools to use. That’s how governance works.

If you care about free software:

1. Show people the options.
2. Make it easy to try them.
3. Don’t assume everyone’s already in the club.