@amolith@nixnet.social

I hear you, but isn't a docker-compose.yml file plus a pile of Dockerfiles just a codified expression of "how do I set up this app" ?

The same could be said of a collection of ansible roles, .deb/.rpm packages, or raw scripts. Typically one can port/translate between those paradigms easier than one can learn how to set up the app from scratch, i.e. by reading the application code.

No matter which one a developer picks, if they pick just one, it's guaranteed to alienate a portion of their audience. I think folks go for docker because it alienates **a smaller number of people** on average.

There are a lot of reasons why docker got so popular; a lot of it has to do with how hard the "proper" system admin stuff really is. No one ever did the hard work to try to make unix admin easier and more normie-friendly until docker. Hate the game, not the player.

That said, obviously in an ideal world, all open source developers could be well-supported enough to maintain at least a couple different supported installation methods.