I can conjecture some things, though I can’t be 100% sure on either:

First, maybe it’s fanatics/fanboys that don’t like competition making their platform less relevant. Second, it’s paid actors complaining. Third, it’s robot accounts making posts. Fourth, as proposed in the OP, people are getting the wrong impression due to noisy and problematic bubbles. Fifth, people being scared of leaving their comfort zone. Sixth, a mix of either some or all the previous possibilities.

“Auster is the king of Mars!”

Source: myself

Whether it’s a rage-click community, a community made for an agenda, or both, I don’t know, but in either cases, I wouldn’t see as surprising for the mods in such a community to be very trigger-happy. Best you can do, I think, is to block communities and individuals with such a profile, and to recommend others to not engaging (remember to explain why if you do it, btw).

I’d have 4 main solutions I can think of, and that can be used together if needed:

• VMs for running Steam and for games that MUST use Steam.
• Emulators, wrappers and source ports for games that allow that, e.g. BSNES for running River Girls Zero, Joiplay / Artemis / EasyRPG / AquariaOSE for games that use compatible engines, etc.
• Having a separated computer you can use 100% offline (requires sideloading games)
• The annoying idea some users give that strays from the original question, but that I think that is valid for once - to get the games from places that openly distribute it DRM free

Mint seems decent all around. No cutting edges nor it’s specialized in any areas, but it’s a jack of all trades, and rather stable.

Was going to ask if you’re a bot due to spamming the exact same post in 55 different communities if I counted it right, but looks like by this comment above you’re not. Still, seeing the exact same post several times through the week is a great way not to promote those games, but to scare or anger people away from them.

Blocking, yeah.

Putting the tone aside, I usually browse the All tab for that reason, and also because subscribing in Lemmy is weirder than it was on Kbin (even if it doesn’t crash the page like Kbin did). Nothing personal against the communities, and sure, it’s an exercise on patience, but after some time, the results become noticeable as my feed gets fine-tuned into what I want to see.

Been using NoPhoneSpam. While it won’t automatically block any numbers, it will cancel incoming calls not matching its filters. Only issue is that, some times, it takes a few seconds for it to recognize not passing calls, but I think it happens when the phone is under a higher load and the system starts lagging a bit, like when downloading bigger files and playing games.

Something I personally do is to load games from their entries in the start menu. And when there’s no installer to set the start menu item, a program like Alacarte, or manually editing the files that handle those entries on Linux, the .desktop files. Alternatively, linking the executable files to either Heroic or Steam can also be viable.

As for how Linux handles executables, if it’s a native Linux program, you usually need to set the read-write-execute permissions to be able to launch them. Tutorials usually suggest to run chmod 777 /path/to/executable, or other variants that set full permissions to all users and user groups, but as a security concern, I would suggest running chmod 700 /path/to/executable, as this would give the full permissions only to the current user (there’s a bit of a formula to come up with this number, btw).

And regarding VMs, they are as fast as the hardware allows minus the host system’s demands, so it will always be slower than baremetal installs. But in some specific cases, it’s still the best option.

Regarding gaming support, Heroic Launcher also help a bunch, since you can easily set up multiple versions of forks of Wine (Valve’s Proton being one), or even to use the system ones.

About the wifi issue, maybe it is some oddly specific hardware that the devs tackled only in Mint 22. And in a bit of a humorous tone, what’s learning without a bit of struggle? 😅

And lastly, besides dual boot, you could also set up a VM with the secondary system(s) you want. Just worth noting hardware-dependent games, e.g. many from the Windows 9x time, will struggle on VMs.

Also great for finding channels in alternative services, and even more so since Google breaks Youtube’s compatibility to 3rd party tools every once in a while.

Launchers should do just that, to launch the game. Doing anything other than that is, before anything, a repurposing of the word.

And regarding this specific game, I didn’t see the whole struggle so I don’t even know which game it is, but in case it is officially sold anywhere DRM-free, I strongly suggest going for that, wherever it may be.

[Copypasta of the other repost] While I know the situation described in the article can set a precedent, the title feels misleading at best, given the article describes a single case, and not (yet) a widespread practice.

On the joke, define “sane”. 😬

On a serious note, I think there are valid reasons to have several VMs other than “I was bored”. In my case, for example, I have a total of 7 VMs, where 2 are miscellaneous systems to test things out, 2 are for stuff that I can’t normally run on Linux, 2 are offline VMs for language dictionaries, and 1 is a BlissOS VM with Google programs in case I can’t/don’t want to use my phone.

Link for the platform: https://bandwagon.fm/

And lastly, some UbO filters I made since I commented so much about them:

! Denpasoft - hiding stuff already in the account (make a new filter for each title):
!denpasoft.com##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(article[class="x-col e244827-e17 m58wr-d m58wr-e m58wr-f m58wr-i"])

! DLsite - hiding stuff already claimed and owned (may need to expand since DLsite has its store sections all split):
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_ios_android "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_04 "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_ios_android "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_st"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_android "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_android "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_ios "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_st"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_02 "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_dl disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_pc "])

! DLsite - hiding what's already in the cart (also may need to expand):
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_ios_android "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_01 for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart_in"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner type_exclusive_02 "])

! DLsite - hiding what can't be activated or bought (also may need to expand):
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner for_pc "])
www.dlsite.com##a[class="btn_cart disabled"]:upward(li[class="search_result_img_box_inner  "])

! Epic Games/EGS - hiding what's already activated (make a new filter for each title):
!store.epicgames.com##a[href^="href_aqui"]:upward(li[class="css-lrwy1y"])
!E.g.:
!store.epicgames.com##a[href^="/p/thewatch-2c8a8e"]:upward(li[class="css-lrwy1y"])

! Freetchio & Itchclaim - hiding what you already have from Itchio (make a new filter for each title):
!shaigrorb.github.io##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(sl-card[id])
!itchclaim.tmbpeter.com##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(tr)

! IndieGala - hide stuff already claimed/bought (make a new filter for each title):
!indiegala.com##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(div[class="main-list-item-col left"])
!freebies.indiegala.com##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(div[class="col-3 products-col"])

! Kagura Games (EN & JP) - hiding by owned products (make a new filter for each product)
!www.kaguragames.com##a[href="full_link_goes_here"]:upward(div[class^="product-small col has-hover product type-product post-"])
!kaguragamesjp.com##a[href="link_goes_here"]:upward(div[class^="product-small col has-hover product type-product post-"])

! Kagura Games - hiding Kagura Survivors specifically since it cannot be claimed:
www.kaguragames.com##a[href="https://www.kaguragames.com/product/kagura-survivors-endless-night/"]:upward(div[class^="product-small col has-hover product type-product post-"])

! Project EGG - hiding by price (make a new filter for each price):
!www.amusement-center.com##span[class="yen"]:has-text(value_goes_here):upward(ul[class="mode_1"])
! E.g.:
www.amusement-center.com##span[class="yen"]:has-text(330):upward(ul[class="mode_1"])
www.amusement-center.com##span[class="yen"]:has-text(440):upward(ul[class="mode_1"])

! Project EGG - hiding stuff already activated (make a new filter for each title):
!www.amusement-center.com##a[href^="?product_id=ID_aqui"]:upward(ul[class="mode_1"])
!E.g.:
!www.amusement-center.com##a[href^="?product_id=1908"]:upward(ul[class="mode_1"])

! Zoom Platform - hiding stuff already owned (needs to be logged in for it to work):
!www.zoom-platform.com##div[class="absolute bottom-0 right-0 px-2 py-1 z-20 text-xs font-semibold bg-accent-green bg-opacity-80"]:upward(div[class^="flex justify-center w-full max-w-full pr-2 xxs:max-w-1/2 sm:max-w-1/3 md:max-w-cover md:pr-0"])

! Zoom Platform - hiding stuff by price (make a new filter for each title):
!www.zoom-platform.com##span[class="my-0.5 "]:has-text("price_goes_here"):upward(div[class^="flex justify-center w-full max-w-full pr-2 xxs:max-w-1/2 sm:max-w-1/3 md:max-w-cover md:pr-0"])
!www.zoom-platform.com##span[class="my-0.5"]:has-text("price_goes_here"):upward(div[class^="flex justify-center w-full max-w-full pr-2 xxs:max-w-1/2 sm:max-w-1/3 md:max-w-cover md:pr-0"])
! E.g.:
www.zoom-platform.com##span[class="my-0.5 "]:has-text("0.99"):upward(div[class^="flex justify-center w-full max-w-full pr-2 xxs:max-w-1/2 sm:max-w-1/3 md:max-w-cover md:pr-0"])
www.zoom-platform.com##span[class="my-0.5"]:has-text("0.99"):upward(div[class^="flex justify-center w-full max-w-full pr-2 xxs:max-w-1/2 sm:max-w-1/3 md:max-w-cover md:pr-0"])

A few more (SFW) I forgot:

• https://www.gog.com/#giveaway (when a giveaway is present, it just scrolls you to that part of the front page)
• https://gaming.amazon.com/games (a cleaner redirect to https://gaming.amazon.com/home?filter=Game)
• https://www.zoom-platform.com/search/ (filtering in the site is still lacking, so my solution is a set of Ublock Origin filters)
• https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/browse?sortBy=currentPrice&sortDir=ASC&category=Game&count=40 (sorting by lowest price first - UbO helps here too)
• https://www.gog.com/en/games?priceRange=0,0&hideOwned=true (showing only the freebies, permanent or otherwise, from the whole catalogue, and filtering out what the user already has)
• https://randombundlegame.com/ (not directly useful, but maybe people can use it to keep an eye whenever another massive bundle pops up)

Of the NSFW ones, first the DLsite ones (so many because the store is split in multiple sections, and so much noise in the links because filters are hardcoded into them):

Other NSFW sources, all sorted by price so if any freebie pops up, it’s easier to spot:

I have a few more resources noted down, if you’d be interested for the list:

• https://www.indiegala.com/showcase
• https://www.amusement-center.com/project/egg/game/?mode=search&sssort=desc (service itself is paid so kinda like Prime in “free with a fee”)
• https://freebies.indiegala.com/
• https://steamdb.info/freepackages/
• https://www.app-sales.net/
• https://steamdb.info/sales/?min_reviews=0&min_rating=0&min_discount=95&sort=discount_desc
• https://itchclaim.tmbpeter.com/
• https://shaigrorb.github.io/freetchio/
• https://isthereanydeal.com/giveaways/

Should I list the NSFW resources too?

As much as GOG/CD Projekt have more than their fair share of problems, usually their versions of games work, can be preserved, don’t require as much bloat, launchers included, and usually don’t require 3rd party validation. And like others said, besides Wine and related, and installing through Steam as external games, you can also install stuff very easily through Heroic and the sort. So I’d say it’s the better option indeed.