With the widespread support for Steam/Valve on this forum because of their contributions to making Linux gaming easier, I’m now confused as to why people here are using Linux in the first place.

I personally do so out of support for FOSS software, the customizability, and actual ownership of software, which I thought were most people’s primary reasons for using any Linux distro. Steam seems antithetical to all of these. The software in the first place became popular as a form of DRM, and it gets publishers to use it for the allowance of DRM on the platform. The Steam client has the absolute minimum customizability. Your account can be banned at any point and you can lose access to many of the games you have downloaded.

Whenever I game on Linux I just use folders to sort my game library and purchase any games I want to play on itch.io or GoG. On my Linux PC I stay away from clients like Steam because I want a PC that works offline, and will work if all of my accounts were banned. It’s more of a backup PC.

Since Steam has every characteristic of Windows, 0 customizability, DRM, plenty of games that are spyware, I see no reason to really not use Windows instead for the much easier time I can have playing games.

Yes, I prefer many of the features of Linux distros, but using a client like Steam defeats the purpose of them. Ridiculous storage requirements due to unoptimized dependencies, having to have a background client running for some games and wasting resources on doing so.

So, why use Linux and support Steam, or use Linux and use Steam?

  • citrusfaceEnglish
    13•9 months ago

    I switched for a few reason:

    • I didn’t like Windows advertising to me on my desktop.
    • Lemmy exposed me to a lot of options.
    • I felt like if I had any issues, the community would assist, and they did.

    Now that I have switched

    • Pop!_os feels like home.
    • Many of my games run BETTER on Linux.
    • I know I will not be a product.
    • I feel more secure
    • It has been fun learning something new
    • There are so many choices beyond iOS and Windows
    • I wish I switched sooner.
    • @[email protected]English
      5•9 months ago

      Yeah. Having used Linux for quite some time, I’ve watched it slowly go from being the better option for geeks and nerds to just being the better option.

      One of the biggest, most useful Linux tips is:

      • use supported hardware

      Don’t mess around forever trying to fix things that almost work. Get supported hardware instead. It’s worth it, and once it’s supported, usage is generally plug-and play - far more so than in Windows.

      That aside, Linux won’t shove crap in your face, sell your data, mine your data, cause major problems for you, force you to do installations when you don’t want to (except Ubuntu’s Snap), nor will it degrade in install quality over one year to the point where you think you need a new computer.

      Linux allows you to make a hardware investment, rather than driving you towards cycling out to the newest thing ASAP.

      The old ThinkPads I have become media servers or home automation rigs. They sip power and chug along for years.