Framework looking for unpaid workers to be 'Linux Community Ambassadors'
Framework looking for unpaid workers to be 'Linux Community Ambassadors'
Framework is looking for Linux Community Ambassadors! We are looking for active members of the Linux community who frequently visit Linux and open-source events throughout the year to help us connect with the larger Linux community. Our volunteer ambassadors will attend local Linux and open-source...
I agree there's a lot of problems with unpaid internships and work and such, but I don't think this is that bad?
It feels like "hey, if you really like our product and want to show it off, we can send you information and merch, and put you in touch with higher ups."
I'd complain if Microsoft or Google started doing this, because they are huge megacorps with deep pockets, but Framework seems like a small company that can't really afford huge marketing departments. If people want to devote their time to a cause they beleive in, more power to them.
They also aren't doing it with the promise or threat of something, which is an issue with a lot of unpaid work. The people they're targeting know exactly what they are getting into, and that they are doing it for their own reasons.
Yeah, I'm fine with it.
can't afford huge marketing departments
Then they need to market within their budget. That's not an excuse.
a cause they beleive in
profitable companies are causes now
Profitable companies don't get to have "volunteers." Non-profits and charities get to have those. This is data collection for product development, and advertising for products.
This is a reason for me to not buy a Framework laptop.
Fix Consumer Electronics
We know consumer electronics can be better for you and for the environment. Unlike most products, ours are open for you to repair and upgrade.
That's the "cause" that people believe in. And the volunteers that they are looking for are those that think Framework are the way to accomplish it. Realistically, that problem can't be solved by a non-profit - Materials, logistics and R&D can't be done by volunteers. So a corporation is the only reasonable choice for the goal they want to accomplish.
I'm sure they would love to be able to pay all the people that will volunteer, but they likely just don't have the money. So it's either give volunteers something for helping out, or just do nothing and ignore them.
You might want to actually read the article, cause that's completely missing the point of the program, and ignoring all context. As with all things, context matters.
It's a free market though. You can just buy from the wonderful companies that are Dell or Lenovo instead. Don't try to look to closely at them, or you won't be able to but a laptop ever again.
I think the jury is still out on whether Framework can be profitable. And by that definition, literally asking someone what product you want them to make is data collection.
I'm not a fan of a for-profit organisation having unpaid workers, but I get it if they want to see an otherwise unprofitable, yet passionate demographic. If they can compensate the person in other ways like was mentioned above (merch, contact with decision makers, possibly info on future products) then there is some exchange happening there and maybe that's worth it to the right person.
Unpaid Linux ambassadors? Isn't that just Lemmy?
May the Penguin be with you!
Unpaid Linux ambassadors?
No, unpaid Framework PR people at Linux events.
Like many others, I have mixed feelings on this. If anyone is stopping by and doesn't want to read through the linked forum thread, this is frameworks goal:
This isn’t a program to get people to go to conferences and rep Framework, it’s a program to give people who are already going to conferences and showing off their Framework some swag and opportunities to talk with the team. It’s not assigning work, it’s just saying thank you to people who are excited about Framework and active in the Linux community.
That is how they should have described it right away, nobody would have been upset about it.
From my read, this is not even for marketing, but mainly for feedback to improve framework products. Framework will also have merch packages for the ambassador.
These ambassadors would attend linux conferences anyways, framework just want them to communicate to frameworks when anyone have any feedback.
I am okay with this.
Oh nice!
Then it's really just a bad name. Volunteer ambassador implies a lot of other responsibilities.
Other industries call it like VIP or Insiders Club. And their responsibilities for being a part of it is to also share the excitement of the product.
I can understand why this may be a issue to some people. I think if they asked Windows users this, there wouldn't be as much of a strong reaction to this. Maybe it comes off as exploiting the good will of the Linux community, but I can't read minds.
I'm personally ok with this. If someone willingly volunteers and enjoys doing this, then what's the problem? But again, I'm not sure if that's the core issue at hand here.
it feels to me, like they're less looking for new people to start doing this "work", but more to connect with people who already happen to be enthusiastically going to events and showing off their laptops.
Windows did have something liked this. It was the MVP program.
Not passing judgement at this volunteering specifically but willingly doing something doesn't necessarily mean there's no problems. It could still be exploitative.
Framework clarified they are looking for people who already own Frameworks and are already attending Linux events and happy to talk to people about their laptop. They’re not really asking people to do anything additional, but they will be giving them some free merchandise.
What I feel would be acceptable:
If you're proud of your Framework laptop and want to brag about it, we'll give you some swag for free that you can show off with when you're out and about!
What this looked like to me:
If you're attending a conference we'd be paid to attend, but can't go to, will you show off your Framework laptop to attendees in an effort to convince them to buy one from us too, and we'll send you some stickers?
The issue isn't even what they're asking for, but how their asking it.
Ubuntu has had ambassadors for a very long time, the first is essentially how they did it. Also, local events was mostly things like LUG meetings or actual events in the area.
This seems very poorly conceived and exploitative. Or at the very least, very poorly communicated.
Send me a laptop and I’ll spend a few hours a week helping on your forums or even tickets. But no one should work for free
I don’t have a Framework Laptop, can I still apply? Our ambassadors need to be active users and owners of Framework Laptop(s)
I wonder if volunteer ambassadors have to report to someone and if they have deadlines...
I thought that there was no way this was unpaid and that the ambassadors would get Framework tech. Nope. You have to already own it. Doesn’t even seem like it comes with a discount even?
I am a product “ambassador” for several things in the gaming world. I get access to new things earlier and at a discounted rate. I get free promotional items that actually have some value. I sometimes get a per diem if I do certain events. I feel valued. I don’t get that vibe at all from this.
And how much do these products you're an ambassador of cost?
And are these new start-ups, or mega-companies?
Game promos are usually expensive long-term because they’re produced in limited batches.
Most board game companies run off Kickstarter. Your distinction doesn’t really apply because it’s not normal to get external funding. Framework just hit their Series A which, usually, includes money for marketing and running in the red. Board game companies usually can’t run in the red.
They are specifically searching for volunteers. So it makes sense that they are searching for an owner and active user of their product instead of a random person that may or may not understand their product value. If you are requiring payment to be their ambassador then you are working for them not volunteering.
Two rules:
Your second link is honestly should be a sticky on a lot of communities and I try to always show people that video to illustrate how hard things are for people.
If you're working for a privately owned for-profit corporation, you're not a volunteer.
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They could've worded it better, and make it clearer in the first couple of sentences that this is intended for owners of FWs who already go to these events.
I had bigger issues with, say, Ubisoft and JGL getting artist to work for exposure on Beyond Good and Evil 2 back when that was a thing.
But I also 100% that it feels like asking for free labour, intended or not.
I have a Framework 13" DIY running Linux. It is functional. I am reasonably confident I will be able to buy replacements for anything that breaks which is important to me. It is well designed for repair and upgrade but other devices offer better price/performance/features. If you are on a tight budget and care about the environment buy used.
If you are on a tight budget
Not for tight budgetsSorry i didn't read the whole statement
If you are on a tight budget and care about the environment buy used.
Long-term?
I purchased in December 2022. I have not needed to buy any replacement parts but availability appears good.
At the same time I bought one of my kids the cheapest MSI laptop I could find for school. I just learned some of the keys on the MSI have been working intermittently. I have no idea what to do with it. We didn't value a laptop for running Microsoft Word very highly and spent the savings on linux desktop upgrades. I can't say it was the wrong choice. With the Framework it is trivial to check the connector or order a replacement but there was a substantial price difference.
Out of selfishness I would like people to keep buying Framework so they keep their replacement parts stocked but blind brand loyalty is stupid. People don't need remuneration to engage in a hobby but if they are working for a company then unpaid labour is generally an abuse.
There's nothing wrong with volunteering with a FOSS project
I think the "Showcasing Framework Laptops" is what rubs me the wrong way. I like the idea of trying to get feedback and learn the need of real linux users but anything that qualifies as marketing should be paid.
Hm. I don't have anything against volunteer roles (there's a difference between volunteer roles and "unpaid work", "unpaid work" implies a form of coercion—if it's a volunteer role you can say no with no punishment or consequence), but the way it's described, e.g. the implied expectation of conducting yourself professionally at Linux conferences, makes it sound like it will have quite a bit more responsibility than most volunteer roles in the Linux community. And Framework isn't a nonprofit; they produce and sell commodities, so they should be able to pay their own workers.
I'm not rioting over it, I don't ultimately care too much and if people want to volunteer for this role that's their choice. I think I'd prefer they paid these ambassadors but ultimately if you don't want to do this for free there's not really anything coercing you into doing it, so.
I don’t have a Framework Laptop, can I still apply?
Our ambassadors need to be active users and owners of Framework Laptop(s)
That's pathetic. In place of financial compensation, the least they could do is to give Framework notebooks away. Doesn't even have to be a gift right away. There could be strings attached. "On loan first but you can keep it after X amount of time."
Maybe they could at least establish a way of tipping people who help solve issues.
This involves travel. I don't know of anyone who is willing to leave their day job and just travel out of pocket without any compensation. I like the company, but this is doable if you're a YouTuber maybe? I don't see anyone doing it, honestly.
I don’t see anyone doing it, honestly.
Brainwashing can achieve so many things. Surely people thinking paid FW employees are their friends and it's merely doing their friends a favor (and in return they get stickers, some to keep, most to hand out).
Good luck brainwashing me out of having to pay my bills and keeping a roof of my kids' heads. Lol
I'll do it for a free laptpp
"We'd love to not pay you for labor!!!"
:)
Linux means free (cost) labor and software right?
Anyway this program is probably going to flop as you will get the bottom of the barrel.
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That's why why I put cost
Pay your workers.
This is an awful and scummy move, in exchange for marketing their product they give out stickers? They aren't giving out Framework laptops and if setting up a framework station at a convention costs money you're supposed to pay for it yourself? If I ever want to upgrade to a modern laptop I think I'll choose System76.
Aren't the just rebranding some generic ones that they vetted for compatibility? I heard that somewhere, so take it with a grain of salt.
That’s what most laptop OEMs do.
Dell is just “rebranded” Compal, Quanta, Clevo…
That’s not a bad thing and the ODM/OEM system is not anything new.
Sometimes the difference is just the badge, sometimes it’s firmware changes too, sometimes it’s completely customized to the OEM specifications.
It has varied a lot over time and mostly depends on how big the OEM is and proportionally how much time/effort/expense they want to throw at a particular design.
Ehh I don't have any beef with this. The best parts of Linux are about unpaid community labor.
Replaceable parts is a good thing. They don't perform well for the price. I considered getting a couple for work, but perf and the 3:2 screen are just a no go.
The best parts of Linux involve unpaid community labor, yes, but framework laptop is a for-profit product, so I wouldn't think it applies here.
Its an open-source product, through. You could make your own laptop with their designs
I agree, but in the other Hand, everyone at framework is just a huge nerd. They all worked as engineers in big other companies before and decided its time for a change. So for me it does not really feel like profit is their sole number one priority. And like the team diacribes quite well in the comments of the post, they are just enthusiastic and want to enable motivated lads to work more closely with the developer team
They closed it to new comments.
People who feel they need to have their travel, hotel, event fees, etc. compensated are not a good fit for this program.
So "NO POOR PEOPLE."
I disliked Framework ever since their "fans" (paid trolls) started bombarding every Thinkpad post on reddit with "frAmEwoRk iS tHe neW tHinKpaD" replies. Normally I support the little guy, but I really hope Lenovo creates their own modular laptop so I can buy one of them instead.
Good luck hoping for anything about Lenovo, they’ve gone down and down the shitter ever since they “split” from IBM.
No I don’t own a framework nor plan to do so, I’m just an average IT guy who is forced to choose between Lenovo and Mac to work, and after the third garbage laptop in a row bit the bullet and got the Mac. I also own an x200 and a t430 that i was in love with - nothing to do with the present day latrines masquerading as computers.
Screw Lenovo really. Hope for some decent competition to framework (I hope for that too, they are currently the only ones in that niche) but don’t hope for it from them.
My T16 is fantastic. I wish it were more moddable, but it's an amazing machine. Extremely quiet and powerful, I love the 16:10 screen. They keyboard is amazing too. Framework also has 16:10 screens and they're more moddable, but I doubt their keyboards are any good. And as a profitable company they should pay people for advertising and data collection.
Pretty much same here - I kept an x230 alive until I had to accept earlier this year that it just is bad for overall productivity, and ended up getting a macbook. None of the newer thinkpads are good - and they're still one of the less bad manufacturers.
There's also enough stuff I don't like about the mac - but the current keyboard is one of the better notebook keyboards available right now, and if you want long battery life, lots of RAM and a lot of CPU power available in a compact device they're the only manufacturer currently offering that.
Or even better have a laptop that can be built from multiple brand parts. I want framework to be a standard.
I think the program specifically targets the people that are an active user of framework AND actively attend those events anyway. So being paid by framework doesn't change whether that person goes to an event or not. That makes a certain sense IMHO since if you are only attending if being paid to do so, then you are not a volunteer.
These guys are the Tesla of PC distributors, and the Framework laptop is trash tier Cybertruck equivalent.
Framework: based on the idea of repair and upgrade ability
Tesla: as anti right to repair as it gets, builds cars that are difficult to repair
🤔 yes these are similar.
Why do you think that?
Because I am dumb and don't know what I am talking about.
Tesla is the antithesis of FOSS.
Tesla likes to lock shit down tighter than a nun's panties.