Programming to help people / without causing harm

I was recently reflecting and I realized that little I've ever developed is objectively helpful. I've made lots of games and things but they all come with a compromise (e.g. games waste time) as do many other pieces of software (obs allows recording but that enables people to waste their time watching streamers etc. so there is a negative angle). Does anyone have any ideas for objectively helpful programs that don't cause harm (e.g. 7zip, pacemaker firmware)?

Do you know why you got a creativity block? Because you aren't experiencing enough, ignoring culture only makes your mind stuck forever in the same spot. And almost everything in the world can be used to do harm, unless you can view the future there is nothing you can do

there are few inventions, if any, that only give and never take. Your guess about something that might add value to peoples lives is as good as anyones, though. I would say try and find a problem you're having and write something that solves that problem; that's probably the closest you can get to purely pragmatic/helpful software.

>>55754 >ignoring culture only makes your mind stuck forever in the same spot Can you explain this in more detail? I don't understand what you mean. Do you mean historical / personal culture or technological culture? >almost everything in the world can be used to do harm, unless you can view the future there is nothing you can do This is true but one can think about what they make and try and minimize creating things that have a clear capacity for misuse. The examples I gave show that, to me at least. >>55755 That used to be my exact method for finding things to develop but I've found that all my software issues now are either too niche or are too much a minor issue in part of some complex system, that or they're intrinsically tied to aiding in harmful software like games. >>55756 It's not a question of morals for me, rather a question of purpose. If I make something that helps people then the program has a clear purpose that it can meet, if it can be misused in a way that leads to harm then it ends up having an unintended purpose that wasn't the effect I wanted the software to have on the world, so it never served the purpose I intended it to have. What I mean is that whilst 7zip has helped people do bad things in a minor way it has never fallen past its intended ideas and can't be credited for the creation of undesirable groups or anything the original author didn't want, the same can't be said for obs (at least I imagine the author(s) didn't forsee scantily clad women licking microphones shaped like human ears being one of the most important uses of their program).

Programming is an inherently degenerate art form. It never helps people, always saps time away from people, is always used to track people, eliminate people's freedoms. It's a gateway into a vast digital world where information is the only currency, perfectly replicable by its own clone. In real life, everything is unique, no matter how it was made. To a computer, everything, even the user is a discretely replacable unit that does not really matter at all.

>>55759 I think it basically boils down to a matter of scale. Programs like 7zip allow people to do a very specific thing, and because that thing is so small, it's capacity to help, and also to do harm, is also small. Conversely OBS is quite a complex program, and the ramifications of its use, quite larger, so the amount of damage it could be used for is larger. But OBS can and has been used for good, however you define that.

>>55760 That's true to some extent but it can't be said for all programming, only modern desktop and mobile stuff really. You can't argue the same to be true for most embedded software e.g. that in a washing machine or vitals monitor. >>55767 Scale is definitely part of it, but I think that specificity is probably a better descriptor. I think as long as a thing is specific enough to only do what it's intended it can't be misused regardless of scale (that is the quantity of features), though that's clearly what you already meant so I'm just being pedantic on terminology. There's also one notable counter point to this claim, which is unix utilities. They can be part of larger programs and so despite their small scale they can directly be involved in systems that cause harm, even if they're not doing anything outside their original intention (e.g. hypothetically someone could use grep to search leaked password databases for known cracked hashes, grep is specific and still be being used correctly yet lead to harm because it's general enough to be used as part of a greater system, but that blurs the lines on niche aims vs functionality I guess)

>>55751 >obs allows recording but that enables people to waste their time watching streamers 7zip enables people to unzip games and waste their time.

>>55770 >That's true to some extent but it can't be said for all programming, only modern desktop and mobile stuff really. I would even argue modern stuff wouldn't be useless if it actually was made to help. As in it's not a problem with technology but how it's organized. What you mostly have though is people developing more elaborate ways of tracking you, thinking up ways to recommend you things you like based on your past, which results in everything becoming a stale repeat of itself, and trying to organize bureaucracy more efficiently, which usually leads to just more bureaucracy since the reason the bureaucracy is so big has nothing to actually do with how much work it takes to do it.

>>55771 The nuance is that far less people would stream or make youtube videos without obs, whilst people would still play games without 7zip, and it spends more time facilitating general file transfers for all things. Steam is probably the obs of pc gaming if you're looking for a comparison.

I have been working on a mental health app. It will be free and wont have ads on it. Am not sure how hosting the server for it will cost me, and I will probably need to run ads to get people to actually use it. But when I needed something like this, everything was either designed to make me pay, or it was just some free junk that helps no one. OP, I would say find something that you really need but that exists only in exchange of monetary value, and do that >for free.

Something that really is needed but seems to be missing (if anyone knows of one please tell me) is a good Foss or even just non invasive diet monitoring /calorie recording app. I use one everyday and so do millions of other people but the available ones are all horrible to use and mine tons of data, but they're incredibly useful, I know wolfram alpha and a couple other services have the info on macros etc. of different foods freely accessible in an easily app referenced form buy I would have no idea where to even begin

Any system that could help automate or monitor parts of a food production process. >>55785 It may be possible to get government funding, if you're not opposed to it. One of my friends works in the mental health field providing free online services and resources with 0 ads. The funding is primarily by local and state government. They also (rarely) get some funding from researchers and private donors.

>>55785 I would say don't hold yourself to such high standards when you can't afford it. It's a similar mindset that people generally have when it comes to nonprofits - Amazon exploits people for huge amounts of money and no one bats an eye, but the second a nonprofit wants to make money via a venture of any kind that isn't donations, people go insane. I would put a donation button or make some "pro" upgrade that only has non-necessary features in it

Write software that helps common person, average joe with his everyday tasks on his average computer. Do not write some bogus "free software" only to be used by corporations on huge server farms to manipulate human beings. 7zip GUI program is a good example. Brotli command line utility is anti-example.

>>55785 I think stuff like "coding clubs"/collectives are great for promoting independent projects, that way the club can do the promotion without involving ad agencies much or at all.

It sounds like you should get a job somewhere that makes useful things and that you consider ethical. Nobody makes open source pacemaker firmware as far as I know. Also if you're constantly looking for negative things you will constantly find them. Maybe 7zip makes it easier to embed compressed viruses. Maybe pacemakers keep people alive too long wasting resources.

>>55819 These clubs are sponsored by one or another megacorp and work as headhunting hubs for them. Absolutely so in countries with cheap labor and/or quality technical education like Eastern Europe or India.

>>55751 Make 3D Gun generator

Have you heard of grsecurity for Linux, OP? It implemented a bunch of security features in the kernel. It used to be free, but it ceased being so a few years ago due to the authors not getting anything in return for their work. I struggle to see how contributing to this could in any way be bad, but it sure won't be easy to replicate. I wish I could do it but I don't have the knowledge, skills or time to contribute in any way to forking and reviving it. https:// grsecurity.net/ https:// wiki.debian.org/grsecurity https:// bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=225629 Looking around I only found some unofficial forks, so I won't bother posting any findings.

>>55831 > It sounds like you should get a job somewhere that makes useful things and that you consider ethical. Most of them hold those things hostage for absurd prices, which is unethical.

>>55759 Platforms like Chaturbate and OnlyFans are closer to the source of the issue, not OBS. >>55831 >It sounds like you should get a job somewhere that makes useful things and that you consider ethical. This. >Nobody makes open source pacemaker firmware as far as I know. I was at a conference where Karen Sandler who worked at the GNOME foundation gave a talk on her research journey into the software that runs on her pacemaker. I've found a recording here: https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1029

Have you considered working on something like Pleroma? Or helping the Linux kernel devs get older wi-fi drivers [ex: RTL8812AU] merged? You could even build something "radical" such as a car stereo that can load Opus files but isn't made by a demonic corporation, or take a crack at making an Android fork that has per-app isolation like Qubes (so that the apps don't have any way to communicate with each other unless they're explicitly placed into the same sandbox)

>>55853 basado >>55751 Watch out OP. The "save the world" trap is the source of the most insidious and evil technologies that plague our world today. Doesn't sound like that's quite what you're talking about, which is good.

>>57770 True true. In reality anything that helps you will help other people in the long term. Think OP, what software will solve a long problem that you had relating to information(or data), but for which a solution hasn't been made?

>>55960 Use selinux brah, grsecurity is a lost cause, plus, selinux has nearly overtaken grsec in implementation shizzits In other words, grsecurity a soykaf

People using tools for good or bad is a social and a political issue, it isn't for techbros to "fix" with their code. There's already too many programmers that may be smart at code but absolutely braindead when it comes to social issues - indeed, this is 99% of them (just look at this website, or /g/). If you want to make a positive difference, get into politics and work with your community. Don't write software. Programming is just a job or a hobby like any other, and treating it otherwise is the outcome of the detached shut-in whose sunk most of their life into their passion and has lost connection to the real world.

>>57816 (me) Basically, you should not be programming to help people! If you want to help people, go outside and fight for their daily needs, don't write some stupid fuarrrking app.

Just stop being a totalitarian over how other choose to use their time What may be helpful is something that copies as closely as possible the same games in Brain HQ but just different visuals so it's not a carbon copy. I've read multiple scientific papers on it before and it does actually help certain people. There is other programs out there but all the others I found in papers werent commercially available so it's hard to tell exactly what they do while others were poorly designed and less studies on them. The free version of Brain HQ only lets you play one game a day and not select which one and doesn't even let you demo every game. I've had people with schizophrenia I wanted to go through a program as I had read in a study but none of them could because they couldn't pay for the paid version. Apparently some people can access it for free at libraries but that isn't available everywhere. I also recently discovered there is a very limited amount of mobile apps for real time text to speech for mutes. They all mainly just focus on speech to text for the deaf if any. Ideally it should do both and speak in real time what is being typed. Maybe an AI that edits finger print ridges in photos so you can't be identified by that but still looks natural. It should be same fingerprint patterns though to avoid situations where someone is misidentified which could cause trouble. I know there already are programs that are made to divert facial recognition in existence. If too challenging then a brower extension that strips metadata of uploaded photos and videos automatically if that's not been done. I would like an app I can be notified if a device selected is approaching and their estimated distance by detecting it's bluetooth and wifi without notifying them and being able to be tuned by estimated distance you want notified. Purpose is to so you don't have family sneak up on you or you can be warned of the presence of someone that is trouble you have been around before or so it's easier to find friends in a crowd. I've seen apps like this before but they wind up disappearing for some reason being discontinued so I know it can be done outside of standalone beacon tracking. I know some people consider this a stalking tool but really it better serves the opposite purpose. Just dont install a notification of someone leaving so many abusive partners and parents could use that feature. Just something to consider it's a tricky one since it has a neutral use. I personally want to use this to avoid being snuck up on. Something that you can scan a product barcode or QR code or take a photo or just type it's name in and expiration date and have it remind you when it's approaching (actually this really should be integrated with info from sites that tell you how good a product lasts past it's date since these dates are really just taste dates usually rather than safety dates)... Will help reduce food waste but only a little since most food waste happens on the manufacturing, transport and food market side of things. Would be a big task but something to make it so a smartphone will only connect to towers known to be actual towers and not a stingray attack. I assume this would require the phone be rooted. I kind of think an app that allows you to contact any specific near by stranger using same app would be useful for people that have trouble approaching other people either because it's crowded or on an overpass while someone is below and you dont want to yell to them looking weird or simply not approaching in person first because of being shy. Sure there can be down sides as is with anything but Id consider actually using it. I'm thinking it could use gps so you just point it at a person but there is obvious unintented tracking risks there so maybe just base it off of the compas and gyro sensor giving a relation between different users locations relative to eachother though that method may not be ideal in some conditions.

We do many projects at uni where we help the medicine department with some code and research tools. Maybe look into something similar.

>>55960 >>57773 >grsecurity >selinux I would use Apparmor instead since it's easier to use. I used to use Fedora and Selinux was a PITA because it would always try to stop me from running my own C programs.

I wonder if OP remembered making this thread here. Havent heard a feedback of some suggestions.

>>58303 OP here. I decided I was talking nonsense and have decided to just write malware instead.

>>58457 Good decision. (1) People's harms are mostly considered incommensurable (lacks a common measure) with one another (this is a problem for utilitarianism unless plainly denied, ofc). (2) Anyone from opposing POVs can make a non-trivial harm-argument. The problem is not are they harmed, the problem is are they wronged. Consider a soccer player that has to be a substitution for the rest of his career because the staff bought a quicker player who now plays the position. One could say the slower player is harmed, but we would not say he is wronged. But then you get to what is right and wrong, and the rabbit hole on that is pretty deep.

>>58462 Anon I don't think that's op... Are you perhaps new to imageboards?

>>58303 Actual OP here. I did totally forget I made this thread and I'm afraid I ended up in a rather disappointing place in this train of thought. I haven't looked at this thread in a while but I largely concluded to agree with >>57816 though I think even small totally positive things are fine but very hard to achieve with software, at least none of the ideas I had or saw here passed my personal checks. I don't think I have the capacity to become something like a politican to create a positive outcome, though maybe that's something I should somehow focus on (I did think of running for local council among other things but I'm very busy and my health has been bad lately, though I know those are ephemeral excuses and I need to do better, I wouldn't mind ideas for large scale ways to help people too). I have been developing my own personal projects for fun but not anything that's particularly helpful or morally good. Hopefully I can fix my health a bit and do something useful but I'm particularly in a slump right now that I need to pull myself out of for anything like that. I do wish I had some more clear path to help lots of people but I'm sure we all do.

>>58616 OP youre in luck, there are still ways to help people with technology, and it relies on a combination of factors, not just the code itself. First off, licensing is extremely important. If you write code, release the source code under the AGPLv3 license. AGPL requires anyone that provides output created by your software to make the source code available. There is a loophole in the GPL where a company can use your GPL software to create an output (such as an HTML page), and by delivering the output and not any of the GPL code used to generate the output they are not required to provide any source code and can use and modify your source code for evil. AGPL covers this loophole, by requiring any delivery of output produced by AGPL covered software to provide the source code used to generate the output. If someone uses AGPL code to generate an HTML page, they would be required to provide access to the source code (unlike with the GPL). AGPL's virality clauses are so disliked by corporations that some like google outright ban the use of AGPL software. While you can still make objectively harmful software with AGPL (like OBS in your case), the viral nature of the license scares corporations from using it and magnifying harmful effects of the software, but for ordinary folk like us we can use AGPL software as we see fit since we aren't making a profit off it. For actual projects, these ones will almost always cause no harm and may even do good: >Reverse Engineering. A lot of critical software like firmware is closed source. If you clean room reverse engineer and create a new implementation of the firmware under an AGPLv3 license a lot of good can come from it. AGPL carves out exceptions for medical contexts. There is a scenario here where with an AGPL piece of firmware for a critical piece of medical hardware, new cheaper manufacturers can enter the market and lower the cost of life saving medical devices because they have firmware available. Generally, if you reverse engineer anything and document the process you'll at least not do any harm, and may end up doing good >Command line apps for obscure things. Something that is obscure generally doesn't have much of a market, so corporations won't interfere with it, and the few people who need the command line apps with have access to something helpful for them. >For GUI apps, make sure 100% they are portable and DO NOT USE ELECTRON! If your GUI app is portable, it gives users who become comfortable with your app the power to leave their current operating system more easily. this makes it more difficult for a company to do evil via vendor lockins. Don't use electron since its a resource hog, making it difficult for the poor and 3rd world country to use your GUI app on their older or low powered devices. Also NEVER MAKE ANYTHING FOR MOBILE! The mobile market has been cornered by companies, leaving very little alternatives for users to use a free system, and mobile just encourages users to become lazy (the form factor of mobile is meant for pure consumption, not production). good luck OP, you can still do good for the world with code, but be smart about it, dont fall for new technologies backed by corporations, look for areas where people need a stable software that can actually free them from an evil company or save them time without leading them towards a path of mindless consumption.

OP, you could contribute to a stacking Wayland compositor (and other FOSS projects). There already is Sway (a i3-clone) that just works, but no one has made a good stacking Wayland Compositor. yet. >>58637 >AGPLv3 this!

>>58637 Reverse engineering is a great call and something I totally hadn't thought of, I think maybe I should look into writing open source drivers for something as there's no reason I can think of for people doing bad to use open source drivers for a device when it just gives them more freedom, not more power (I thought about reverse engineering old games but that runs into the waste of time issue and reverse engineering old software does pose an issue still because many companies run old as fuarrrk software for no reason). I've also become really fond of C lately so such a project will also be great fun for me. I agree with your views on licensing, I should make it as strict and freedom creating as possible so I'll look into AGPL and alternatives. I also think the same ideas apply to free replacements to software, as long as they only mimic functionality and don't improve it (as insane as that seems but because then it can benefit 'evil' usage) but then someone can fork and improve it and then it's back to causing issues. I'd love if anyone could suggest something where open source / reverse engineered drivers are needed, even if it's really niche (though the drivers need to not be able to go beyond the scope of the original). If not if anyone has anything else that's similarly harmless I'd love to hear it. I still think maybe I should do more with myself but if I can't muster up the willpower at least I can do something vaguely good.

>>58637 >>58616 Please add the +NIGGER modification to AGPLv3 so that it benefits human individuals instead of corporations. Companies tend to stay away from non-PC software in fear of being cancelled. This will essentially prohibit all of FAGMAN from using your code while allowing individuals to benefit from it. Here's the website for the license and motivations behind it. It has a lot of utility if you're willing to use it. plusnigger dot autism dot exposed

>>58667 fuarrrk off you fuarrrking /g/ tourist, nobody gives a fuarrrk about your edgy bullshit.

>>58673 >word filtered new user detected

>>58667 >+NIGGER Interesting approach. The problem is most anti-capitalists are rabidly egalitarian. Both capitalism and racism depends on the assumption that human beings are inherently unequal. So trying to fight one with the other doesn't really make sense. >Companies tend to stay away from non-PC software in fear of being cancelled. Companies need to adhere to political correctness to maintain their Environmental Social Governance (ESG) score otherwise it is harder for them to get money from central banks and their associated investment partners. But that's kind of a tangent. In theory I think you're right that being obnoxiously anti-PC will drive away corporate interest, regardless of your schizo motivations.

>>55751 any tool you create can and will cause harm. even 7zip and pacemaker firmware cause harm, you just lack the creativity to see how. ideology will always betray you like that, because all ideology is lossy.

>>58673 hey man I have some longtime lainfriends who are big fans of +nigger licensing. Its a clever hack. You don't have to like niggers to see that. >>58678 >most anti-capitalists are rabidly egalitarian well there's nothing stopping them from using it, and you'd think they'd appreciate making things legitimately toxic to corps. If +nigger works, +nigger works. Can't beat results.

>>58637 >If you write code, release the source code under the AGPLv3 license You know, people can use your source code released under AGPLv3 license and you would never know about it, nor ever see their code, since not every software is known to everyone. You could use it for some war-related soykaf and people would never know this software has open-source code and is not releasing any modification they made for the public. Plus, if you live in China you don't need to care about this at all. The only way of making something good is by not programming anyway.

>>55774 >The nuance is that far less people would stream or make youtube videos without obs No, they'd find or make something else.