I thought I would take the chance today to share my vision for LibreCloud, in order to shed some light on what’s going on internally. I am attempting to build more of a platform than anything, by connecting open source to open source. It’s no doubt that interoperability within FOSS already exists and is used frequently, but you have to ask the question: is FOSS usable for individuals? We focus so much on accommodating businesses while de-prioritizing the user, much like Arc.
I have build LibreCloud from the principles that it should be (1) free, (2) open source, and (3) accessible. While we are no official organization yet, we will still continue to operate under these standards. To abridge our principle of free, as I feel it’s necessary, I still plan to sell account upgrades, though have no fees (you pay us and we pay 100% of that amount to our host, NameCheap, for the upgrade).
What I am intending to build is an organization and a platform intended for the sole purpose of serving individuals. This means that “user centric” means user centric and we actually make an effort to care about users. So far, we’ve built a free and pure-FOSS-powered platform with email, passwords, authentication, and git. That’s insane! But, I don’t want to stop there.
I want to lead LibreCloud into becoming a part of people’s life in a positive way. Instead of pushing addiction, privacy concerns, and money in your face, I simply want to create something we all want, without the downsides. With LibreCloud and our community being so focused on Android, I am intending to work with other developers in the space to bring our services into the FOSS space.
LibreCloud is truly open, too. I intend to collaborate with any developer looking to create integrations, and add utility to your account. This not only spreads the good word of free-and-open-source software, but also gives less power to the data collectors in your life (Google, Microsoft, etc).
While LibreCloud will be small for a while, I am still dedicated to building something that this community can share and enjoy. In fact, our operating costs are only $22.88USD/month. Not all projects must be massive to have a positive impact, which is all I am looking to come from this project. In fact, I even hesitate to call it a project, as LibreCloud can become so much more.
Thank you all so much for the incredible amount of support!
