Ashley's Personal site - My issues with Uutils

Uutils is a collection of Unix utilities written in Rust. While it has gained popularity for its speed and reliability, I have some concerns about the project that I would like to share. In this article, I will discuss my main issues with Uutils, including its use of proprietary code hosting, promotion of its Discord server, and non-copyleft licensing.

One of my major concerns with Uutils is its use of GitHub to host its code. While GitHub is a popular platform for hosting code, it is owned by Microsoft and is proprietary. This goes against the principles of Free/Libre Software, which emphasizes the importance of giving users the freedom to modify, share, and distribute code. By hosting its code on a proprietary platform, Uutils appears to prioritize convenience over freedom, which can be problematic for users who value FLS.

Another issue with Uutils is its promotion of its Discord server in the project's README. While Discord is a popular communication platform, it is not a FLS solution, and it collects user data. Encouraging users to join a proprietary platform for support goes against the principles of FLS, which emphasizes the importance of community building through FLS solutions.

In addition to these major concerns, Uutils also has some minor issues. For example, its non-copyleft license means that proprietary systems can include its code in their systems. This can limit users' freedom to modify and distribute the code. Moreover, Uutils uses terms such as "open source" that are on the GNU avoid wordlist. While this may seem like a small issue, it highlights the importance of language in the FLS community and the need to be mindful of the terminology we use.

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