Conner Vieira
@V0LT

Welcome to V0LT! My name is Conner. You're probably here because you clicked a link on the V0LT website, in which case you already know what V0LT is. However, if you don't, I'll quickly explain it here!

What Even Is Free and Open Source Software?

With how dependent modern society is on technology, digital privacy, freedom, and ethics are getting more and more important (and threatened) every day. That's why I started V0LT. V0LT is a part of the rapidly growing free and open source software movement. You're probably used to proprietary software like Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Cloud, and hundreds of thousands of other pieces of software. However, the source code that powers these programs and, by extension, controls your computer, is kept hidden from you. You aren't allowed to inspect, modify, or study the programs that control your digital life. This is the issue that free and open source software (FOSS) addresses.

Free and open source software is in stark contrast to proprietary software, in that it allows, and even encourages you to study it's source code, make any modifications you want, and freely distribute your changes! It should be clarified that in the context of open source software, the term "free" refers to freedom instead of cost. "Free" software ensures the freedoms to run, study, modify, and share software. So-called "free" software can cost money, as long as it doesn't violate any of the freedoms of it's users. Unlike proprietary software, free and open source software effectively guarantees your privacy, since anyone who wants to can inspect the source code that powers it, and ensure nothing shady is happening behind the scenes.

You may have already noticed a problem with this. Free and open source software isn't nearly as profitable as proprietary software. When you can't sell people's information and restrict what they can do behind pay-walls, you're forced to either make a product that's good enough for people to pay for it outright, or choose to use a donation based model. Personally, I think this is a good thing. Software developers should make money by making a good product, not by violating the privacy and rights of their users.

V0LT

While I have no problem with the ethics of selling open source software, I've personally chosen to use a donation based model of funding. When I write software, take pictures, create tutorials, design 3D models, and edit videos, I always make ethics a huge priority. Privacy, freedom, ethics, and security are all core to what V0LT stands for. I believe that offering people an opportunity to get into the open source software community at no charge is a great way to promote the use of ethical software, and reduce society's dependence on proprietary software.

If you enjoy what I do, and would like to support V0LT, I would hugely appreciate your financial support. I run V0LT as a single person project, but I have thousands of users, so every dollar makes a huge impact. If everyone who use V0LT software donated $0.10, I could easily cover all losses that go into producing V0LT content, as well as invest in new hardware and software to make even more ambitious projects!

To everyone who has supported V0LT on LiberaPay, Itch, PayPal, and through cryptocurrency: Your support means the world to me. However, I should also make it clear that there is absolutely no obligation to contribute financially to V0LT! Just using my software, pictures, tutorials, and other content helps progress my goal of promoting ethical software, which I'm extremely grateful for.