• @Takumidesh
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    101 month ago

    It needs a definition because it is a thing that happens though.

    You need to differentiate between installing from the app store and installing from other sources, you might not like the choice of word, but we need a word to define it.

    • @Grimy
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      101 month ago

      Yes but sideloading makes it sound like something dangerous to people that don’t know any better. This is by design.

        • @Grimy
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          21 month ago

          For tech illiterate people, it sounds bad.

            • @Grimy
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              -21 month ago

              Go ask your mom who had to deal with your limewire phase in high-school if you can “sideload” apps on her phone.

              You want sources or something, what are you expecting dude?

              • @Takumidesh
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                41 month ago

                I think any unknown phrase and method to install an app will be scary to a person who is that unknowledgeable about it. At that point there isn’t any phrase that you could use that wouldn’t sound sketchy to them, it isn’t the phrase that is the problem, it’s the fact that it’s unknown and the process is scary.

                The people you are describing would still be skeptical even if you explained it to them (and they should be, since they likely don’t have the knowledge or resources to properly vet an application from an unknown source)

                • @Grimy
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                  1 month ago

                  Side loading makes it seems like it’s not going through the proper channels. You are loading it from the side while the play store is the right way.

                  It implies the play store is the center.

                  Sideload Sideroad Sidekick Sidecar

                  Using side infront of something means it’s lesser for the most part.

                  • @Zeoic
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                    1 month ago

                    Since when are any of those examples considered dangerous lmao

                    Sideloading is exactly the same as a side road. It’s a less polished and a less intended road for people to take.

      • ivanafterall ☑️
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        71 month ago

        Now that there’s a Microsoft/Windows app store, any app not sourced there is sideloaded.

    • DarkThoughts
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      -21 month ago

      It has a definition already, which is the same it always has been. And no, you don’t need to differentiate this. We’ve always installed applications from outside sources. Hell, until recently there weren’t even official app stores and shit. Locked down operating systems where you only get what the tech giant wants you to get is a very recent development in order to take control away from the user.

      • @Takumidesh
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        81 month ago

        The reality is that there is a difference now, and it needs to be clarified. How would you, talking to another regular human being communicate to install an app that isn’t in the official app store succinctly? If you just tell someone to ‘install the app’ then you are doing a bad job communicating. Economy of language means that new words are going to form to distill common concepts.

        Package managers have existed for a long time, so the concept of app stores isn’t new and is actually generally the accepted solution by the open source community. It’s typically regarded as the safest way to install software as it comes with auditing and active management.

        Side loading does a great job at communicating what is being done, and it helps consolidate the various ways you actually install applications into a nice generic term.

        A store being locked down doesn’t really have much to do with the concept of side loading anyway, since a locked down device doesn’t support it in the first place.