3 ms·

Counter point: the more the government gets into funding OSS, they will essentially become a competitor to other software companies. Now the government both has

Counter point: the more the government gets into funding OSS, they will essentially become a competitor to other software companies. Now the government both has the power and incentive to hinder private companies with rules and regulations. I think that if the government needs OSS software for actual use by the government, then that's fine. Don't make the government become a competitor to private industry. Look how that turned out with Uber vs. Taxis. OSS is just like anything in the free market. If people and companies want it that much, they will spend time and energy on it.

usefulcat 7y ago
> Now the government both has the power and incentive to hinder private companies with rules and regulations. What incentive? In the scenario you describe, I don't see an obvious mechanism for the government to receive additional tax revenue as a result of funding OSS, and that's the usual mechanism for such an incentive. I mean, I guess you could argue that tax revenues will tend to increase as the economy grows, but that seems like a case where the interests of the government are aligned with the interests of the nation(s) as a whole, which is generally considered a good thing.
cma 7y ago
The same is true of the government using proprietary software thus funding it against open source. The work can be outsourced to open source companies, etc. as well, just like it effectively is with proprietary.
WWLink 7y ago
As long as they don't forbid companies from using OSS inside of (or to produce) a commercial product, I don't really see the problem? It'd actually give companies a competitive advantage. Speaking of that, it's absurd how many private companies benefit from Linux! I bet only a tiny percentage of those companies contribute back into the open source projects they benefit from.

3 ms·

Counter point: the more the government gets into funding OSS, they will essentially become a competitor to other software companies. Now the government both has

by Nightshaxx 7y ago

usefulcat 7y ago
> Now the government both has the power and incentive to hinder private companies with rules and regulations. What incentive? In the scenario you describe, I don't see an obvious mechanism for the government to receive additional tax revenue as a result of funding OSS, and that's the usual mechanism for such an incentive. I mean, I guess you could argue that tax revenues will tend to increase as the economy grows, but that seems like a case where the interests of the government are aligned with the interests of the nation(s) as a whole, which is generally considered a good thing.
cma 7y ago
The same is true of the government using proprietary software thus funding it against open source. The work can be outsourced to open source companies, etc. as well, just like it effectively is with proprietary.
WWLink 7y ago
As long as they don't forbid companies from using OSS inside of (or to produce) a commercial product, I don't really see the problem? It'd actually give companies a competitive advantage. Speaking of that, it's absurd how many private companies benefit from Linux! I bet only a tiny percentage of those companies contribute back into the open source projects they benefit from.