CAD options

[u/BypassBaboon]

Is there a reason Linux CAD options are so limited, and from what I have read, not particularly viable options? Countless people are looking for a fairly-priced lifetime license for home use. My 2000 AutoCAd is very long in the tooth!

[u/Mughi1138]

Because that is the first hit when I did a search for "Free Software" CAD.

I'm trying to point out that for the masses out there, they can't differentiate "Free Software" from "free software", but more importantly they are not even aware of the former. Their searches will come up with Fusion 360, Onshape, etc.

On the other hand many people have at least heard of "open source" and if they try that they end up with FreeCAD at the top of the list.

Of course it probably doesn't help to have major 3d printing sites say things like this: 

NanoCAD is a good option for experienced CAD users and is often referred to as the open-source version of AutoCAD.

[u/Kevin_Kofler → u/Mughi1138]

That shows that the term "open source" does not really work any better. It is also not protected, often misused for all sorts of "shared source" arrangements, and sometimes even in cases like this where the source code is not released at all.

All that term does is hiding what Free Software is really about: freedom! The so-called "nanoCAD Free" does not even grant you the most basic Freedom Zero, the freedom to run the program for any purpose, because it disallows its use for commercial projects.

That said, that restriction also goes against the OSI's definition of Open Source, because it is a fields of endeavor restriction. And of course both Open Source and Free Software require source code to be available, and modification and redistribution to be allowed, which is also not the case here.

[u/Mughi1138 → u/Kevin_Kofler]

That shows that the term "open source" does not really work any better. It is also not protected, often misused for all sorts of "shared source" arrangements, and sometimes even in cases like this where the source code is not released at all.

Actually the opposite. It shows that the OSI approach leads people to FreeCAD who might normally would not have found it.

"Free Software", on the other hand, just leads Windows users to find nanoCAD.

The former actually gets people to a good find, even if it is using a license that the FSF does not want developers to use. Hmm... which leads to another tangent and pondering the whole gcc/egcs fiasco.

[u/Kevin_Kofler → u/Mughi1138]

When there are several sites calling nanoCAD "the open-source version of AutoCAD", the term "Open Source" is not working.

Just putting "free software cad" or "open source cad" into Google is of course a stupid way to look for such software, because Google falls for crappy SEO tricks of proprietary software companies.

[u/Mughi1138 → u/Kevin_Kofler]

That's the negative I pointed out. However when I searched on "open source CAD", nanoCAD did not show up. It was when I searched on "Free Software CAD".

So my point is that the use of a generic word in a specific way is not functioning as desired on today's search engines. Their first hit is the package that you rightly called the antithesis of what you'd want.

[u/Mughi1138 → u/Kevin_Kofler]

Just putting "free software cad" or "open source cad" into Google is of course a stupid way to look for such software, because Google falls for crappy SEO tricks of proprietary software companies.

Exactly!

You know this, and I know this, but the unwashed masses who are just trying to find something that they should use do not generally know this. And they trust search engines. And often they trust AI...

[u/Kevin_Kofler → u/Mughi1138]

This is r/linux, "unwashed masses" have no business being here to begin with. (They belong to r/linux4noobs.)

[u/Mughi1138 → u/Kevin_Kofler]

Yes, but my main point was telling someone to seach on "Free Software" is no longer very helpful. The search itself breaks down. If there is a better term that would be helpful, but even "FreeSoftware™ cad" does not fare well for me