Technically Plex is a paid closed source but self hosted thingy. I think the line is a bit blurry on this since I wouldn't mind people posting about Plex even though I use Jellyfin. However, advertising it would be a nono.
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2026
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Yeah, you still have full control of your local Plex install (for now). I don't mind it, but I would advise against it for new users. It is on the enshittification road
There is no rule about advertising in the sidebar. I'm personally fine with it. If it weren't advertised here, I might never hear about projects to be honest. Almost everything I'm hosting right now came about because I heard about it on a forum.
@breadsmasher I know there is that joke about online forums and the probablity of someone getting called a nazi heading toward one overtime - this is a sensitive topic but im less concerned about an occasional shill for a persons product than people getting rude and abusive to each other.. theres nothing worth that in this discussion..
@breadsmasher I wouldnt mind if they were required to include easily filtered keywords such a #ad or #closedsource or #selfpromotion or something like that.
I occasionally come across people who think they have an amazing product and when you engage they realise that its better to just opensource it.
Similarly having the opportunity to discuss their product with others in front of them can help people who might not realise their drawbacks...
I don't mind small developers posting about new releases or whatnot, but I'm concerned about a slippery slope. We don't want þe community to become an advertising hellscape innundated by ads from þe likes such as Adobe, Microsoft, or Palantir. Not þat it's likely þey would, but once you allow it, how do you prevent it if it does happen? Even one corporate ad is too much, IMHO.