Hyperbola and Sustainability

Within this article we want to give insights and a generic overview about Hyperbola's stance as project towards sustainability. But before we need for sure to define the word clear as what it is and also what is included.

Generic said sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on the planet Earth over a long time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions: environmental, economic, and social.

Hyperbola is using those three named dimensions already in many fields as for that matter we have also excluded packages and marked them as incompatible with our project-goals. As project we surely have interests on progression and technical enhancements. It would be a lie if we state the opposite. Nevertheless we do not see the solution to include even more software or not even question any included dependency. In fact we do the opposite: We try to exclude as much as possible or ask people to take over packaging, when they want named software included. Users are not only users within the perspective of Hyperbola: Everybody has the chance to be user, developer and also administrating person of the own systems running. We call this technical emancipation!

And this includes also to question always the so-called “status quo”, even on a daily base, to remove packages and software no longer following this way. Some may call this “exclusion”, we call this “inclusion to preserve a clear freedom for people”. The time for cheap and foul compromises is over in our perspective. As always you may see that different, but then Hyperbola is surely not the project and system to work with for you.

Hyperbola as project has as one major goal long-term oriented system-support with packages and included software optimized being most lightweight and oriented on minimalism.

Three dimensions of sustainability

We as project do not recognize parts of the current technological development as use- and helpful. Regarding of the perspective Hyperbola is going even further and define several projects as dangerous.

  • We do not support remote technologies enforcing users to outsource their data and / or services, named as buzzword “cloud-computing”. Remember that there is no “cloud”, just other people's computer.
  • We try foremost to minimize our packaging and also do not include over-engineered projects.
  • We reject projects and software defined as Software as a Service (shortform: SaaS).
  • We support the x86-platform as long as even possible and include furthermore support for 64bit and 32bit.
  • We reject all kind of data generated throughout “machine learning” as we recognize those as complete unethical created.
  • We do not support any kind of “cryptocurrency”.
  • We reject software using the buzzword “big data” as this is only to be defined as unethical collection of a big, not concrete numbered amount of data. Most the time even this data is collected without asking users, so Hyperbola is going that far to exclude software and projects (or as alternative put on hold) when they use those technologies within their tools to communicate. Hyperbola is not accepting non-free platforms like Discord, Steam and others!
  • We oppose any kind of DRM (shortform for Digital rights management), support the campaign Defective by Design and will never therefore include any kind of software-project in favor for DRM.
  • We do not include software for streaming data over the network. Please remember that data is needed to be saved somewhere and the more videos, music or other data is transferred, the more space is needed on server-systems and therefore more electricity with more attending clients is needed. It is a clear lie and illusion that anything is going better or more faster. In fact the data is only outsourced again, without any chance for users to get hands on it, to learn from, to modify and furthermore share their results.
  • We reject projects using questionable tools for communications and attend within company-driven annual meetings (Google Summer of Code). Hyperbola as project is opposing this trend where free, libre software is mistreated, especially when this is done also using tools offering so-called “community offerings” while selling part-wise, enhanced features. Either a software is fully offered and at maximum money is earned with support or the corresponding software is not free and libre, even when the source-code is available because in that point not all features are included.
  • We recognize topics in general and details always political and in many parts also driven by lobby-interests. This to be said is neither negative nor positive. But especially corporate interests driving free, libre software into the complete wrong direction, without any chance to make differences between its roots and what many people nowadays just define as “open-source”. Hyperbola is active opposing that and reject lobbying in any form, but in special perspective towards our packaging and development. Meaning: If you want your interface, project and / or hardware supported, we check on our own and not just you paying us doing so.
  • We do not accept any kind of money as donation in favor to package some software or project.
  • We always look for clear oriented software to enable our users being not just passive and also create their own local infrastructure running. Any user can be also developer and administrator, learning and sharing information to others also. Just to keep open information away is not ethical in our perspective, when people can learn from it. Help yourself to help others.
  • We want to offer every interested user the possibility to at minimum in absolute control of the own local installed system. Therefore we offer clear defined packaging and software without boundaries to any third-party service.
  • We want that every person using Hyperbola as operating-system is under control of the own data. Therefore we ask back to give us feedback and help in the development of our packages.
An important note about open data and information is that for Hyperbola direct private data is clearly not included. We appreciate the right to protect the own privacy. As some people nowadays seem not be able or willing to rethink and just take the point wrong, we need to define this here direct and clear. Also we do not recognize data and information open, when people or groups are clearly endangered.

In general said is Hyperbola not oriented on phrases defined by others and always give topics an own defined, closer look. If you see here issues, we are always open for constructive criticism and messages.