Developing hardware also is not free. I still don’t want to see ads for the latest cooling system.
I’m ambivalent about the topic because the goal is for us to own our servers…
Most of the hardware I use is proprietary, but at the end of the day Intel can’t come and rob me of the object I paid for. Sure it will become obsolete in 10 or 20 years, but I’m still the owner.
When it comes to software, I want to own it, not just a license. Most proprietary software comes with strings attached, which is why I don’t think it fits the self-hosting philosophy.
If a proprietary software was “buy it once and own the binaries forever”, I wouldn’t mind seeing it discussed here. (Plex with lifetime licenses comes to mind.)
However, I don’t want to see advertisement for a proprietary software the same way I don’t want to see ads for some specific hardware components.
That’s my opinion.
Yeah, you still have full control of your local Plex install (for now). I don’t mind it, but I would advise against it for new users. It is on the enshittification road