Usually the open source community is very scattered, there are many groups developing similar projects like operating systems for instance. If all open source developers focused on the same system it would be miles ahead of the proprietary alternative but it’s usually the other way around. I think with the Metaverse is important that we focus early on a single project because if the Metaverse gains traction everyone may end up living in Facebook’s virtual reality and that would be the same as if we considered Mark Zuckerberg to be our god.
Not sure free/libre software should always be running after the next best thing, and try to be “an alternative to…”
If you consider Gimp “an alternative to Photoshop”, it completely sucks, lags 20y behind, etc. If you consider it a graphic editor for mid-range level of activities, it is decent and does the job.
It may be Zuckerberg and the billions he stole from everybody’s lives, still there are chances that Meta be a FLOP. (Maybe he actually knows that himself, but just uses it as empty promises to distract everyone from day to day events that may otherwise make Facebook stock crash?)
Maybe there will never be a Meta that will take over the world (What resolutions in those headsets is even possible that we would have MORE estate in those than on a bunch of screens? How could that be better to present more data than current setups?)
So I wish ppl who care about free/libre software focus on: things we need, things we may need, thinking outside of the box in terms of software that doesnt exist yet (federation and itneroperability is typically along those lines, as there is no interest for such thing in the commercial realm.) rather than running after projects led with billions of (dirty) dollars, with which competition is bound to be defavourable…
There is https://vircadia.com/ which is a semi-federated Metaverse / VR conferencing system that is fully open-source.
Wow it’s seems really polished. I’ll make sure to mention it every time I hear about the metaverse.
Isnt metaverse just second life with vr?
Imaging in the future that everyone works and socializes in that second life. Instead of going to a workspace or a bar they just put on a VR headset. Then Meta decides to delete your account because you say something they don’t like. It’s practically as if you stop existing.
The thing is : most people don’t want to live in that future.
It only make sense if you benefit from surveillance capitalism.
The funny thing is, this was tried with second life. It flopped hard. I assume same will happen with “metaverse.”
Ah, yes, I saw that episode of Black Mirror. No thank you.
The biggest issue here is the problem of compatibility of free software with capitalism. If money comes in, people who want to earn will arrive. I highly suggest that random non-targeted ads must be incorporated within federated softwares. That would make the projects earn without compromising with user’s privacy. Today, all projects survive on donating party’s courtesy!
I agree, but also they should give the option of removing the ads by subscribing.
Absolutely. The whole point of ads is to earn money and survive. That’s definitely an option!
Whilst I’m somewhat cynical about the zuck’s Meta play being more of a marketing/branding thing to take attention off all the bad press Facebook has been receiving recently, I agree that it can’t hurt for the FOSS community to have a vision here for interoperable, open VR and augmented reality tools. I believe we need to popularise federated co-op platforms and tools as much as possible.
Forget the Metaverse. We’re at very early days with VR. Just spend some time using an Oculus, play some games, and then try to imagine what it would be like to have the thing on for longer than 30-60 minutes. First there’s making these things comfortable. Then there’s making these virtual environments useful for something besides games.
I’ve spent the last several days diving into VR, trying to see if I’d want to work inside it, if it would provide any benefits, and documenting the issues.
There are many issues. It’s so disconnected from our normal digital lives. Facebook buying Oculus screwed it up (there are scripts to de-facebook the device apparently) and resolution still isn’t great.
If you want to get involved with FOSS VR, check out Lovr. There’s a neat in-VR Lua editor (inDeck) that you can use to develop whatever you want. In my case, I feel a big strength of VR is control of attention since you can’t see anything that wasn’t intentionally put there. So, in pursuit of a better development and writing environment I started a new repo. Here’s a little video of what it looks like. https://c4.social/@weex/107556016704877363
Anyway, I wouldn’t worry. Code if you want. Write about your vision. Join efforts like Lovr or help me out with my repo. Let’s not get sucked into the shiny object they’ll be pedaling with their billions and just work toward the world, virtual or not, that we want.
Eh, I think I’m at a very different place. Yes, it’s true that it’s in early stages, and the rollout and media talk at the current moment if probably influenced by public criticism of Facebook rather than the technology being ready.
However, one of the largest companies in the world is working on it, and elevating it to a central strategic objective. They are seeking to set the trajectory of the whole technology, possibly creating new cultural norms, possibly setting everything on a centralized framework instead of open protocols, and possibly creating a whole new set of issues relating to access, privatization, democracy, spread of misinformation, and power. We could easily look back in 20-30 years and say we wish that robust alternatives were opposed in the beginning.
So while I ate there’s nothing much to do and nutting to be done right now, I think facebooks involvement should be considered a significant thing to reckon with.
I understand your concern and it’s a great issue to raise but I disagree that there’s nothing to be done. I look at it as a competitive landscape where we FOSS devs will create our own spaces and culture. If we want to provide an alternative that the masses will prefer then then that’s a specific goal that would involve a huge amount of investment, probably on par with what FB’s doing.
The open source way is slower, more viral and ultimately covers more of what people want to do all the time. I think there’s tremendous potential in pioneering how VR can be used for good and using open source software to do it. Maybe FB goes out and paves everything over and it’s up to us to grab what we can and be ready when their stuff crumbles.
Metaverse is an idea and concept. It is not Facebook, it is not owned by Zuckerburg. It can be made by other people. There are many projects claiming to be a metaverse, they are not, none of them including Facebook’s are metaverse.
OpenSimulator Grid. Decentralized and supported from a lot.
I say why bother?, I mean sure, it does sound fun, when playing for an hour or 2 but think of the social consequences in the long run, imagine people spending 8hrs a day in VR for a long period of time won’t being able to distinguish between reality and virtual reality.
I think that this whole metaverse idea in itself will do more harm than good, either owned by a billionaire or the open-source community, this kind of technology development is not worth it. Furthermore, I would rather spend those resources elsewhere.
If you can’t replace it, conquer it? :-)
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Matrix is working on building a metaverse on Matrix and their company (Element) was hiring. https://mastodon.matrix.org/@matrix/107181805230567528 https://mastodon.matrix.org/@matrix/107181840710570310
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@ajr my alternative is no metaverse, or whatever is next.
