Usually the open source community is very scattered, there are many groups developing similar projects like operating systems for instance. If all open source developers focused on the same system it would be miles ahead of the proprietary alternative but it’s usually the other way around. I think with the Metaverse is important that we focus early on a single project because if the Metaverse gains traction everyone may end up living in Facebook’s virtual reality and that would be the same as if we considered Mark Zuckerberg to be our god.
Not sure free/libre software should always be running after the next best thing, and try to be “an alternative to…”
If you consider Gimp “an alternative to Photoshop”, it completely sucks, lags 20y behind, etc. If you consider it a graphic editor for mid-range level of activities, it is decent and does the job.
It may be Zuckerberg and the billions he stole from everybody’s lives, still there are chances that Meta be a FLOP. (Maybe he actually knows that himself, but just uses it as empty promises to distract everyone from day to day events that may otherwise make Facebook stock crash?)
Maybe there will never be a Meta that will take over the world (What resolutions in those headsets is even possible that we would have MORE estate in those than on a bunch of screens? How could that be better to present more data than current setups?)
So I wish ppl who care about free/libre software focus on: things we need, things we may need, thinking outside of the box in terms of software that doesnt exist yet (federation and itneroperability is typically along those lines, as there is no interest for such thing in the commercial realm.) rather than running after projects led with billions of (dirty) dollars, with which competition is bound to be defavourable…