Maybe because VLC is actually useful

Unlike Microslop Outlook, there’s a program that doesn’t break when you lose internet connection.

Years ago I when I wrote software for a living, I had an argument with a colleague, and I tried to explain to him:

The “supported” closed-source library he wanted to use was pretty popular because it was marketed by a huge company with a marketing department, or because it had a first-mover advantage, or because there were training events and books built around it, etc.

The unsupported free open-source library I wanted to use was the most popular library of its kind in the whole world. And it got to that position without any of those advantages.

What does that suggest about their relative usefulness? The world of open source is closer to being a real meritocracy. The number one app or library is probably number one for non-structural reasons.

And VLC is still on Xitter.