Fig: The controversial terminal project
Fig is a tool that adds auto-complete to your Mac terminal. Despite its simple goal, it is infamously known to be controversial, because of collecting de-anonymised user data, spamming emails, open-source (but doesn't, at the same time), and a whole lot of others.
In this post, I will go over through reasons that make Fig controversial.
DISCLAIMER
Before listing the reasons, I want to add a disclaimer here:
- All the reasons listed below are ONLY from points made by HN users and information from Fig's website (Most of the information are from HN). I am not a Mac user and have never used Fig before, so I can't prove if these are right or not. Read this with a grain of salt.
- This is the first time I have ever written something controversial, so if I miss any point or clarity here, feel free to email me.
- This post will include points from both Fig's Launch HN and the newer duped submission
1. Collecting everything from your machine
One of Fig's sus behaviors is that they collect de-anomysied data from you. This is pointed out multiple times by HN users.
While Fig allows users to opt out collecting data, I think this not being mentioned in their privacy policy is one of its major red flags.
2. Fig ❤️ emails
As pointed out by many people, Fig seems to have a passion for emails. It would bombarding your emails with feedback collections, spamming your emails, and worst of all, you need to use the email to install and start using the app, which, in my opinion, is questionable: Why would a company force you to give them your email so you can install their app?
3. Open-source, but proprietary
Fig claims itself as an open-source software, with a GitHub repo to prove that. But some people have also pointed out that Fig is actually NOT open-source, but uses unpaid contributors for their own advantage and profit. However, I haven't found any solid point for this, so this seems less convincing than the other.
4. Downweight negative comments
Based on this comment, Fig also seems to suppress any negative saying about their product. But dang (HN's moderator) has explained the reason why the comment got to the bottom right under that comment.
The image above is from the user who wrote the comment.
5. There are better alternatives
Many people have pointed out that Fig is no better than the auto-completion provided by many modern shells (e.g. zsh, fish, etc.). This one I can't say for sure, but from the video on their landing page, it seems that this is pretty true.
By the way, if you are looking for alternatives to this, then I have found hstr, fzf-tab, and ble.sh while researching for this post. Or, you can just use your shells' auto-completion if that is enough for you.
6. Interviewee abuse
Here's a story of someone who claims to be an interviewee at Fig and has a bad experience at the company. I cannot say if this is true, but if it is, it shows that Fig is not a very friendly company to work at.
Conclusion
From all of the points above, it's safe to say that Fig is a questionable developer tool from a company that claims it to be "open-source". However, we will need to see Fig grow in a few years to see if all of the points made age well.