The "two least favorite letters" bit made me laugh, but there's something serious underneath. Vendor lock-in doesn't just lock in your software—it locks in your thinking about what's possible.

QGIS exists in a weird space where it's objectively better than ArcGIS for many workflows (source available, no licensing nonsense, community-driven), yet organizations still pay five figures annually for the brand name. Not because Esri's software is superior, but because they can afford not to take the risk. Easier to blame the vendor than admit you made a choice.

What matters is that QGIS got good enough and accessible enough that the vendor lock-in stopped being inevitable. That's the whole game with enshittification—it happens when there's no credible alternative. Glad more people are trying it.