February 21, 2026
Office Wars: The Lock‑In Menace
LibreOffice blasts OnlyOffice for working with Microsoft to lock users in
Open‑source civil war erupts as fans split: 'freedom' vs 'just make my DOCX work'
TLDR: LibreOffice blasted OnlyOffice for defaulting to Microsoft’s formats and warned users about lock‑in and messy file conversions. Commenters split between purists demanding open standards and pragmatists who just need documents to open—sparking snark about aging interfaces, missing features, and whether this decades‑old standards fight still matters.
Open‑source drama alert: LibreOffice’s backers just called OnlyOffice “fake open‑source” for cozying up to Microsoft’s file formats—and the comments went full popcorn. The Document Foundation (TDF) says Microsoft’s Office Open XML (OOXML) keeps users trapped, while the open alternative, Open Document Format (ODF), is the escape hatch. They even dusted off the “browser wars” playbook and warned about “digital handcuffs,” with a dramatic anecdote about a prosecutor’s Microsoft account getting shut off. OnlyOffice, for its part, boasts that it opens Microsoft files pain‑free and runs a free community build plus a paid enterprise version. Full post via a commenter’s link: TDF blog.
But the crowd? Split. Team Pragmatic says, “just make my Word docs work,” with Flavius praising OnlyOffice as the easiest MS‑Office swap‑in and bashing LibreOffice’s dated look and DOCX hiccups. Team Purist fires back that OnlyOffice is “dead,” and that this Microsoft format drama has been obvious for 20 years. A standards‑wonk chimed in, asking whether LibreOffice really plays by the rules when it wants new features—translation: practice what you preach. Meanwhile, spreadsheet survivors traded war stories: LibreOffice’s old‑school vibes vs. OnlyOffice’s missing settings and even a mysteriously vanished sheet. The meme of the day: “Browser Wars 2: Document Drift,” starring Lock‑In vs. Let‑Me‑Open‑This‑File.
Key Points
- •The Document Foundation labels OnlyOffice “fake open-source” and claims it partners with Microsoft to enforce vendor lock-in by defaulting to Microsoft formats.
- •TDF accuses Microsoft of using complex XML schemas and faults ISO for recognizing OOXML as a standard despite interoperability issues.
- •TDF compares the document format situation to the IE6-era browser wars, praising W3C’s resistance that preserved HTML.
- •The article reports persistent formatting errors when opening DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX files outside Microsoft software.
- •OnlyOffice promotes high compatibility with Microsoft Office formats and offers both open-source community and proprietary enterprise editions.