Ryan Finnieryan@m29.us
Jun 15, 2026, 10:33 PMAnubis has a pretty solid business strategy:
1) Release open source software for free
2) Add catgirl branding
3) Charge companies to remove catgirl branding
Replies
Jun 15, 2026, 10:36 PM@ryan That's genius.
Jun 15, 2026, 11:43 PMThis made me laugh out loud. Thank you.
Jun 16, 2026, 3:46 PM@ryan yup. worked for my library. I suggested to install Anubis, they liked it just plenty, and then ponied up for the non-catgirl. I would have been perfectly happy with catgirl, but I am not.... as professional as some of my colleagues.
julianjulian@activitypub.spaceJun 16, 2026, 8:35 PM@adr@mastodon.social why are Catgirls offensive?
If I were that library I'd commission a couple variants of the catgirl reading banned books 👀
- Jun 16, 2026, 8:41 PM
@julian we're an academic library so we operate a little differently.
vandorb12vandorb12@infosec.exchangeJun 17, 2026, 6:31 AM
MaysonLancastermaysonic@twit.socialJun 18, 2026, 12:23 AM@vandorb12 @adr @julian I wonder what my brother’s opinion would be. (He’s an emeritus hoity-toity librarian who once had to accept a purported lock of Emily Dickinson’s hair for the library’s collection.)
- Jun 18, 2026, 12:29 AM
@maysonic @vandorb12 @julian oh yeah, a good special collections will have tons of weird shit. Mine has Bertrand Russell's entire life, basically. Like I've held the dude's Nobel Prize and a card from John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Also, like, Tom Cochrane's actual guitar, the first draft of Clockwork Orange with extra stuff in it, just total Indiana Jones warehouse.
khmkhm@hj.9fs.netJun 16, 2026, 10:57 PMI mean if I were going to deploy this software I'd pay to rebrand it
I don't really give a shit about catgirls as an artistic mode but that specific art sucks, so I'd rather not have to spend bandwidth money serving it
so this business model works on cowards and also people with taste
CC: @adr@mastodon.social
ǝʌɐpdvshkn@treehouse.systemsJun 16, 2026, 4:05 PM@ryan definitely one of my favorite monetization strategies
🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑brouhaha@mastodon.socialJun 16, 2026, 4:10 PM@ryan
"We need more catgirls!"
Jun 16, 2026, 4:19 PM@ryan look at it another way: deliberately crippling the open-source version to charge for a proprietary solution to your artificial problem is extremely scummy, and anyhow dont use anubis its obnoxious to every user
argv[-1]argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.orgJun 16, 2026, 5:00 PM- Jun 16, 2026, 5:03 PM
@argv_minus_one @ryan iocaine by @algernon is the number one solution
bplbpl@snac.bsd.cafeJun 16, 2026, 5:07 PM- Jun 16, 2026, 5:09 PM
@bpl @argv_minus_one @ryan go-away is better than anubis for sure but iocaine is yet more preferred since its completely transparent to the user in 95% of cases
Whitepaws &?🏳️🌈🇳🇱ruawhitepaw@chitter.xyzJun 16, 2026, 7:46 PM@hsza What's crippled about it? It's fully functional. The branding doesn't affect the function in any way.
- Jun 17, 2026, 6:19 AM
Tulip Blossomtulilirockz@ursal.zoneJun 16, 2026, 11:17 PM
vvesen@chaos.socialJul 3, 2026, 9:17 AM@hsza paywalling features is a valid way to finance open source development, nobody owes you their work. this isn't even a "enterprise first" company, which are prone to switch later and make future versions proprietary (which is still valid, even though this makes me not want to use the software), but a solitary developer.
(also: using "crippled" with the implied meaning of "inferior" is ableist language. please, don't do that)
withinitywithinity@mastodon.gamedev.placeJun 16, 2026, 4:23 PM@ryan I wonder if you can pay but still keep the cat girl because why not?
Jun 16, 2026, 7:03 PM@withinity @ryan I hope one can pay but have EXTRA catgirls. And foxgirls, and dogenbies, etc.
ShnizmuffiNshnizmuffin@toots.inbutts.lolJun 16, 2026, 4:26 PM@ryan I read this upcoming feature as, "Thot-based advanced checks."
The Orange 4theorangetheme@en.osm.townJun 16, 2026, 4:19 PM@ryan So many HN comments were butthurt over the logo. I can't tell if they're weird puritans or secretly into catgirls and unable to process those emotions (or both).
Jul 3, 2026, 1:45 AMI like the "or both" option because the two are definitely not mutually exclusive.
Jun 16, 2026, 4:30 PM@ryan I would have paid to get this catgirl branding ! Happy everyone can get it :neocat_uwu:
Jun 16, 2026, 4:38 PM@ryan You can still remove the branding without paying, right? 'Cause I could see running Anubis on our sites but I'd want nonhuman wolf branding instead of basically-human catgirls, hehe. Possibly even /less/ socially acceptable! But still different.
I wonder why companies don't just do that too. I guess paying is easier or just the non-catgirl version is easier to bring up to your boss.
- vvesen@chaos.socialJul 3, 2026, 9:50 AM
@IceWolf the link contains instructions how to customize. I think this is mostly about selling the expense to the boss.
"it's open source, but replacing the cat girl with our company logo is a paid feature" "ugh, OK. put it on the budget" - Jul 3, 2026, 3:09 PM
@vesen Oh good! That makes total sense.
artemistartemist@mildlyfunctional.gayJun 16, 2026, 4:38 PM@ryan the loongarch community uses anubis patched to use a different anime girl.
- artemistartemist@mildlyfunctional.gayJun 16, 2026, 4:47 PM
@ryan illustrator seems to be https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/962304
- argv[-1]argv_minus_one@mastodon.sdf.orgJun 16, 2026, 4:59 PM
But…the license is MIT. People can just change the branding themselves. 😵💫
Their new Thoth product sounds more like what would appeal to businesses…but it also makes me uneasy as that sounds an awful lot like “meet the new Cloudflare, same as the old Cloudflare.”
Jun 16, 2026, 5:30 PM@ryan Except it doesn't work because AI bots have a gazillion nvidia units behind them and laugh at your silly compute quest?
Jernej Simončič �jernej__s@infosec.exchangeJun 16, 2026, 6:18 PM
Xe :verified:cadey@pony.socialJul 3, 2026, 2:26 AM
Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioJun 16, 2026, 6:03 PM@ryan Paid version for losers and cowards. I love it.
- khmkhm@hj.9fs.netJun 16, 2026, 6:40 PMnow if only they offered a premium nonslopped subscription https://github.com/TecharoHQ/anubis/blob/main/AGENTS.md
CC: @ryan@m29.us 
cgnarnecgnarne@hj.9fs.netJun 16, 2026, 7:32 PM- khmkhm@hj.9fs.netJun 16, 2026, 7:48 PM
- Cassandrichdalias@hachyderm.ioJun 16, 2026, 7:50 PM
ClickyMcTickerClickyMcTicker@hachyderm.ioJul 12, 2026, 5:21 AM
fozunjafozunja@glamour.ovhJun 16, 2026, 6:04 PM@ryan@m29.us why would anyone remove free catgirls?
Gytis Repečkagytisrepecka@social.gyt.isJun 16, 2026, 6:22 PM@ryan It would be cool to pay for Anubis and get even more catgirls on screen :blobcat3c:
alcinnzalcinnz@floss.socialJun 16, 2026, 6:48 PM@ryan To subtoot some of the replies to your toot: Sure its not much trouble to replace the catgirl pictures yourself in Anubis, but this gives enough of an excuse for employees to get their businesses to pay!
- Jun 16, 2026, 6:51 PM
@ryan
lawful good 
Noxy 🐾🏳️🌈noxypaws@packmates.orgJun 16, 2026, 7:46 PM@ryan If I can't replace catgirl branding with gay endangered canine species branding for free tho, that's a bit saddening. I personally strongly dislike anime human-with-animal-ears aesthetic, and I (whether rightfully or wrongfully) tend to associate such aesthetics with edgy fashy 4chan internet culture
- Xe :verified:cadey@pony.socialJul 3, 2026, 2:25 AM
- Noxy 🐾🏳️🌈noxypaws@packmates.orgJul 3, 2026, 7:00 PM
Simon Zerafasimonzerafa@infosec.exchangeJun 16, 2026, 7:57 PMI'd probably pay for more catgirls! 🙂👍
Jun 17, 2026, 2:49 AMIf it's open source, can't anybody modify it for their liking?
lime!lime@hachyderm.ioJun 17, 2026, 5:48 AM@hyzen not if they want to be compliant with the license!
Jul 3, 2026, 2:48 AM@lime @hyzen What license? The one in their github repo is just the MIT https://github.com/TecharoHQ/anubis/blob/main/LICENSE
- lime!lime@hachyderm.ioJul 3, 2026, 6:22 AM
ranlvorranlvor@queerchen.deJul 3, 2026, 9:59 AM@hyzen Well, you can. But the funding page nicely asks you not to do that. So it would be rude to do that.
Jun 17, 2026, 5:36 AM@ryan why would anyone wanted to remove the catgirl??!! 🙀🙀🤦♀️
Josh Bressersjoshbressers@infosec.exchangeJul 3, 2026, 2:14 AMWhen I chatted with @cadey about Anubis, they called it a "waifuectomy", which is the best name for anything ever
mirabilos🐈⬛mirabilos@toot.mirbsd.orgJul 3, 2026, 3:04 AM@ryan it’s also slop, reportedly
- Jul 3, 2026, 3:08 AM
@ryan Wait, you mean it does something other than putting catgirls on my website?
StomataStomata@procial.tchncs.deJul 3, 2026, 8:59 AM
arcayrarcayr@mischief.expertJul 3, 2026, 11:31 AM@ryan i have it on good authority that it's worked really well so far.
