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I think, as a corporate culture, we find an immense value in it. We use open source stuff like crazy. The problem I see is that, as that same corporate culture

by akulbe 10y ago

I think, as a corporate culture, we find an immense value in it. We use open source stuff like crazy. The problem I see is that, as that same corporate culture, we're not contributing back to the same projects we use code from so freely, at anywhere close to the same rate. I asked about doing that, on one project I'm involved in, and was told not to get involved with OSS contributions, because of potential legal/liability issues. It made me sad.

kluck 10y ago
I had a very similar experience. In some companies I work at, it was/is even considered bad practise to use Free Software because it is believed to be more unstable. That is just a very broken attitude (one should always check if the actual requirements and available money for a software matches the features and costs of a given software, be it free or proprietary).
- akulbe 10y ago
  While I am big on OSS, and giving back to the community... let's be realistic. Some of it really is bad. There are definitely issues on some OSS projects, like inability to reach consensus, and some upstream devs doing things that break stuff for a large group of people, and not caring much about the consequences of some of the technical decisions made. OSS is awesome, and can also be problematic, all at once. I'm not ready to dismiss it as a whole, though. Some orgs have that approach, and just throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think it's important to go in with your eyes open, and be aware of the potential risks.
  - amackera 10y ago
    For the stuff that IS good, and adding a lot of value, are the creators / maintainers recognized (other than through twitter followers, etc.) What are we doing to keep the good projects afloat?
- amackera 10y ago
  Is that also true for projects that have a commercial presence? I'm thinking like sentry.io.
willbenmitchell 10y ago
Interesting. Do you think the legal/liability issue was the underlying reason, or that it was a smokescreen? I could easily see, in some corporate cultures, someone using that as an excuse because they didn't understand the value of giving back to OSS.
- akulbe 10y ago
  I think it was legit. There are a few of us on the team that are very committed to OSS and giving back. They talked to legal, and legal shut it down. Can't go into too much detail, as I don't want to rock the boat, and this is my livelihood. You know... stuff like that. :)

by akulbe 10y ago

kluck 10y ago

I had a very similar experience. In some companies I work at, it was/is even considered bad practise to use Free Software because it is believed to be more unstable. That is just a very broken attitude (one should always check if the actual requirements and available money for a software matches the features and costs of a given software, be it free or proprietary).

akulbe 10y ago
While I am big on OSS, and giving back to the community... let's be realistic. Some of it really is bad. There are definitely issues on some OSS projects, like inability to reach consensus, and some upstream devs doing things that break stuff for a large group of people, and not caring much about the consequences of some of the technical decisions made. OSS is awesome, and can also be problematic, all at once. I'm not ready to dismiss it as a whole, though. Some orgs have that approach, and just throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think it's important to go in with your eyes open, and be aware of the potential risks.
- amackera 10y ago
  For the stuff that IS good, and adding a lot of value, are the creators / maintainers recognized (other than through twitter followers, etc.) What are we doing to keep the good projects afloat?
amackera 10y ago
Is that also true for projects that have a commercial presence? I'm thinking like sentry.io.

willbenmitchell 10y ago

Interesting. Do you think the legal/liability issue was the underlying reason, or that it was a smokescreen? I could easily see, in some corporate cultures, someone using that as an excuse because they didn't understand the value of giving back to OSS.

akulbe 10y ago
I think it was legit. There are a few of us on the team that are very committed to OSS and giving back. They talked to legal, and legal shut it down. Can't go into too much detail, as I don't want to rock the boat, and this is my livelihood. You know... stuff like that. :)