Similar comments also come up in the [now regular] "I don't want to see political articles on HN" threads, and I think the response is similar: Asking for "no politics" is itself a strong political view: One in support/service of whatever the current status quo is. Trying to set oneself apart from (or above) politics is itself political. If you're lucky enough to be one of the fortunate people on earth who are not under attack by political forces or who benefit from status quo politics, I'd encourage you to simply reflect on that good luck and try to ignore the "politics" that others are deeply affected by and care about.

Vim is Charityware. You can use and copy it as much as you like, but you are encouraged to make a donation for needy children in Uganda. Please see |kcc| below or visit the ICCF web site, available at these URLs:

http://iccf-holland.org/ http://www.vim.org/iccf/ http://www.iccf.nl/

You can also sponsor the development of Vim. Vim sponsors can vote for features. See |sponsor|. The money goes to Uganda anyway.

Open source has always been political.

Freedom of speech is political.

The right to privacy is political.

Letting people on to the Internet without censorship is political.

Government policies that support startups are political.

Threatening to arrest teens for pirating mp3s is political.

> I can engage with politics in a social context, when political messaging isn't interrupting something else I'm doing; that's a better place for activism, IMHO.

For the people actually impacted by politics, reality rarely waits for a convenient time to interrupt.

Political reality tends to knock down doors and blow up buildings when it wants to really get someone's attention. "Don't bother me during my software updates" is a privileged position to be able to take.

> I can't help but feel there must some better venue for such messaging.

I would argue that this has been an effective avenue for messaging/protest. You’re responding to it on this very board - that means you’re thinking about it.

Another angle: would such free protest be allowed if the developers of Notepad++ were based in China or Russia? I seriously doubt it.

Any other venue would be less effective. Many people use Notepad++, few people care about the opinions of the person who makes it. Segregating their opinion to a space where it would be ignored by anyone who wasn't already interested would barely be better than staying silent.

If the political messages said "gas the Jews", "exterminate the Ukrainians and give Ukraine to Russia", and "Taiwan has and always will be a province of china", you probably wouldn't use notepad++.

Notepad++ is close to a personal project. The author can add any message he wants. Usually, he just wrote something in the updating log; most people do not read it anymore.

I generally agree with you. But I put up with it since Notepad++ is good software. It is what it is.

The GPL license is politics. Should it be removed from all software? Then you won't have any right to use the software. That could be a problem. Politics determines which software you're allowed to use.

From https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v781-free-uyghur-edition/

> People will tell me again to not mix politics with software/business. Doing so surely impacts the popularity of Notepad++: talking about politics is exactly what software and commercial companies generally try to avoid. The problem is, if we don’t deal with politics, politics will deal with us. We can choose to not act when people are being oppressed, but when it’s our turn to be oppressed, it will be too late and there will be no one for us. You don’t need to be Uyghur or a Muslim to act, you need only to be a human and have empathy for our fellow humans.

It’s an excellent venue, just like songs and movies.

Being political isn’t a hobby you attend on Tuesdays, it’s real decision that affect people’s lives every single day, sometimes with deadly consequences.

I agree, especially because they are so selective with their messaging and support causes as well.

> When I see politics in software updates or documentation, nothing happens

I find this take deeply ironic.

And here due to alleged political take of some software (Notepad++), __state sponsored software__ was used to attack users of said software. Something actually happened!

You don't want to see politics in any software, but may be (or already are) a victim of political software attack (from state sponsored tracking, to sanctions, to political psy-ops through software distributing (social) media).

> <...> Maybe I tell my adblocker to remove the messaging, and carry on with my task. > > I can engage with politics in a social context, when political messaging isn't interrupting something else I'm doing; that's a better place for activism, IMHO.

You are clearly annoyed by ads, like many of us - maybe you should get public attention to change policy about ads? How they are annoying? How there are unskippable Ads in TV services that I pay money for? How there are big enterprises using their monopoly/oligopoly powers to make you stop being able to adblock ever again? Or do you only block ads you deem "political"?

_______

States (and not only them) will use software and even open source software (open source IMHO is also a political take/view) to get to you if it's ever needed. Though congrats you just got extra social credits in __both__: China's and Palantir's databases!

I am just fine with people tagging their art and their craft with causes they believe in. The person behind the work is part of the work. If you didn't pay for it or contribute sweat equity you don't get to decide otherwise. Your only recourse is to not use it.

You don't know that nothing happens. Perhaps others are more empathetic than you. Perhaps it produces change. You have literally no way to know.

There's generally a better venue for a lot of messaging, but I don't get a vote in it.

The idea of using GPLed software and clutching pearls that it’s political boggles my mind.

Free Software is inherently political. It’s like ordering a cheeseburger and being shocked that it has meat in it.

No politics in software, in sports, on HN, at work, at parties, ... it becomes a rare thing, widely 'censored' (socially, not by government), when it is the most important thing.