> us Linux users have opinions about how the business should be run

I have plenty of public and private opinions about software that aren't Linux-centric too, and you're assuming that I only use Linux, when no, a good chunk of my workflow is on Windows because that's where the software and driver support is for cutting-edge DSP and video game middleware. Some companies even pay for consulting. Businesses that rely on selling licenses to customers for new features heavily rely on feedback.

You only have to look at the likes of the Native Instruments forum or their Centercode to see that providing feedback isn't some kind of Linux-exclusive phenomena, and most reasonable businesses encourage that feedback. However, triaging and actioning that feedback is an entirely separate matter.

> it generates a ticket or a discussion or a decision that they have to deal with

They don't need to do anything. That's entirely a business decision whether or not a company acts on user feedback, or feedback from potential customers. A lot of biz pay handsomely to run focus groups and and actually get feedback whatsoever, but there's a big difference between a social media discussion, a feature request, a bug report, or a support request.

Who is seeking support for an audio product via Slashdot? Nobody. It's an audio product on Linux. You go where the devs are, where you'll get help, if they're indeed offering it.

If somebody buys a license for x on Linux, you ask them what OS they use on the contact form in a dropdown or text field on a webpage, you use conditional logic where if it isn't the supported OS, you tell them "sorry, this isn't a supported configuration, if you would like support, please use the recommended/supported distro, here's a link for more info". This eliminates almost all cases of this. Prior to selling them a license, you have them tick a box that acknowledges that Linux support is limited and that unless they use x, they're SOL on getting support unless they go to the forum or elsewhere and figure it out either on their own, or with others.

> The intersection of these decisions is very small.

Then those customers or potential customers make a decision as to whether it is appropriate for them, if they are willing to compromise by changing x, or if Linux as a whole is appropriate for them in the same way that people who want to use Logic Pro will need to buy a Mac, and that might mean that some plugins aren't available on macOS, or aren't yet natively supporting Apple Silicon, and if you want to exclusively use Windows then you aren't going to be using MetaSynth.

Renoise users on Linux seem to be able to navigate this without problem in terms of understanding `glibc >= 2.27 (e.g. Ubuntu 18) on x86_64 based systems`. Same goes for Bitwig Studio users understanding Flatpak and PipeWire support.

If people want to have their cake and eat it, they use Windows or macOS. Linux users are accustomed to compromise, it goes with the territory.

> That's what they're already doing though

And he dismissed my response as being an example of the problem when that wasn't what I was saying whatsoever, thus was not an example of his problem, and now you're latching onto that like I didn't already understand this.

Furthermore, this entire discussion ignores the potential for a return by supporting an influential power user on a niche OS. It may actually bring significant sales of something in. That's strategy.

E.g., DaVinci Resolve may not have the majority of its userbase on Linux, but because x major director or studio uses DaVinci Resolve on Linux on y film, they will sell a lot of software and hardware to z users on other operating systems. Audio has some of the most influenced people niche-wise because they want to use what their hero uses, hence signature versions of guitars, hence signature guitar pedals, hence VST collabs, and preset and sample packs from x producer.

tl;dr: it's a misconstrued and misrepresented throwaway comment that of course turned into an irrelevant tangent because it's HN. On an interesting thread for an interesting product launch, and this is what people focus on? Exhausting.