this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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Update: About the BLOBs in Ventoy · Issue #3224 (github.com)
submitted 3 days ago by Der_Fossyler@feddit.org to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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[–] filister@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

My problem is that a lot of people are giving a lot of shit to open source developers, who are creating great software in their free time.

Instead of enjoying their free time, they give a lot of it to the community, and then they get accused of wrong doings if the quality of their code isn't at enterprise level. The problem is that people are being toxic to them and this makes them less likely to continue doing that. I am trying to give credit as I know how hard it is to build and support some software and I want the open source community to thrive and not turn into a toxic cesspool.

Jia Tan was a big warning for everyone, I admit, but if you look at the big picture he was a single person in a sea of open source projects and honestly speaking if we are talking of state sponsored attacks, I would say that big corporations like Cisco, Fortinet, etc. would be more of a target than small open source projects. I just wish we could give the guy some credit for all his work and at least let him prove that those blobs are harmless.

I also think a big part of your qualms is the fact that he is Chinese and you are less likely to trust because of your bias.

[–] HayadSont@discuss.online 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'll try to keep it brief/concise/short. Apologies if this makes me come across as abrasive in the process.

If I'd attempt to distill the point(s) in your reply, I'd come to:

  • You want to uphold the respect and good will (F(L))OSS developers absolutely deserve for doing the thankless work and effort they put. I'm with you on this. The only difference could be that I'm actively trying to uphold a standard^[You absolutely don't have to respect my standard or anyone else's. I just make the observation that everyone has 'a' standard for adopting (F(L)OSS.] for this and applying that (subjective) standard here. That's also why I asked you questions^[Those questions being: "But at what point do you start to second guess the intent behind the maintainer?" and "What should have happened for you to be more concerned?". Please don't feel necessarily pressed to answer them. However, I'm positive that it'll be instrumental to bridge our stances. On the note of questions, allow me to introduce a third one that might be beneficial in getting my point across, don't you think the handling of this issue (i.e. literal radio silence for over a year while it has arguably been the biggest issue in its history) leaves a lot to be desired?] to understand your standard in hopes of coming to a mutual understanding or at least a better understanding of each other.
  • ~~Insinuating that I might have some anti-Chinese bias (or something). Honestly, I didn't want to go over this as I deliberately skipped a lot of other points (like implying that enterprise level code is somehow better, ignoring the fact that binary blobs go completely against the spirit of (F(L))OSS, ignoring that Ventoy -however small of a project you may view it- has a unique position for malicious use or somehow implying that big corpo software is more interesting to be targeted) that I didn't deem worth discussing here. I hope you understand why I couldn't ignore this (possible) 'allegation'. I'll keep it brief, though: No, it being supposedly by a person that knows Chinese doesn't even remotely affect my judgement and/or evaluation. I find it distasteful/appalling that that's even considered. But I thank you for laying your cards in this respect as this will help to move on to the actual meat of the conversation.~~
[–] filister@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Fair point, and I am happy that we can engage in a civilized conversation without turning toxic. So kudos for that and for your openness.

Regarding the issue of the radio silence. It might seem odd to you, but you should also understand that sometimes when you are a solo developer you need to prioritise tasks and define what is more important. Whether it is the continued development of the project and bringing new features to the table or answering the security concerns of a handful of people. He said that addressing this problem is rather complicated and time consuming and perhaps he was procrastinating on that just because he didn't want to deal or spend time on this issue.

My point is that it is better late than never and let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Because I would rather believe in the inherent good nature of people than suspect everyone of ill intentions.