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Monsanto provides you genetic code packed into a seed and forbids you from profiting from new seeds derived from it by your own work. Is this ethical? Mongo pr

Monsanto provides you genetic code packed into a seed and forbids you from profiting from new seeds derived from it by your own work. Is this ethical? Mongo provides you computer code packed into a tarball and forbids you from profiting from new code derived from it by your own work. Is this ethical? Is either example more or less ethical if the price is, or is not, $0? That’s the debate in a nutshell. (I declare no position on either scenario presented, and will not, so that the explanation stands apart from my ethical opinions.)

gwd 7y ago
> Mongo provides you computer code packed into a tarball and forbids you from profiting from new code derived from it by your own work. Is this ethical? I don't have any problems with it ethically: if they did the work and own the copyrights, they can make whatever conditions they want as far as I'm concerned. It's just not open source.
threeseed 7y ago
Is the GPL ethical ? It also gives you source code but attaches some pretty significant conditions that in most cases would prevent you from profiting from new code derived from it.
- chii 7y ago
  only if your source of profit is obtained by restricting the customer from being able to use your code in any way they see fit (including modifying it).
  - threeseed 7y ago
    Most businesses make a profit by offering some unique product or service. With the GPL someone could take your unique product, make it their product, undercut you on price and then put you out of business. GPL is unquestionably great for consumers. Not so great for commercial businesses.
    - cycloptic 7y ago
      If someone can undercut you so easily then your products are overpriced. I would not say this is "not so great for commercial businesses" just because the GPL does not make an effort to prop up phony business models.
      - DangitBobby 7y ago
        Or they can undercut you because you made your core competency freely available. It cost you a great deal of time and money to make, and it cost then nearly nothing to use. However, while you were pouring time and labor into developing the product, they were doing the same with infrastructure that could support managed offerings of your product and products like yours (without necessarily ever having to do any real innovation or takin on any risk themselves!). Voila, you were undercut without being overpriced.
        cycloptic 7y ago
        That still isn't undercutting when you don't even have the infrastructure to sell the proposed service. Those companies are not your competitors.
        DangitBobby 7y ago
        They are if the way you monitize your platform is by offering it as a managed service, as is the case with MongoDB. Company A spends 75% of it's resources developing a product and 25% on a platform, Company B spent 75% of Company A's budget just on its platform and uses A's product for free. Who will most likely have a better platform that they can offer at lower cost? In the AWS case, Amazon already spent many multiples of MongoDB budget on their platform, so they were easily able to undercut.
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  You’re asking one of the right questions for this Mongo post’s debates. I can’t say what the right answer is, as it’s an ethics and beliefs debate, but you’re definitely asking a relevant question.

gwd 7y ago

> Mongo provides you computer code packed into a tarball and forbids you from profiting from new code derived from it by your own work. Is this ethical? I don't have any problems with it ethically: if they did the work and own the copyrights, they can make whatever conditions they want as far as I'm concerned. It's just not open source.

threeseed 7y ago

Is the GPL ethical ? It also gives you source code but attaches some pretty significant conditions that in most cases would prevent you from profiting from new code derived from it.

chii 7y ago
only if your source of profit is obtained by restricting the customer from being able to use your code in any way they see fit (including modifying it).
- threeseed 7y ago
  Most businesses make a profit by offering some unique product or service. With the GPL someone could take your unique product, make it their product, undercut you on price and then put you out of business. GPL is unquestionably great for consumers. Not so great for commercial businesses.
  - cycloptic 7y ago
    If someone can undercut you so easily then your products are overpriced. I would not say this is "not so great for commercial businesses" just because the GPL does not make an effort to prop up phony business models.
    - DangitBobby 7y ago
      Or they can undercut you because you made your core competency freely available. It cost you a great deal of time and money to make, and it cost then nearly nothing to use. However, while you were pouring time and labor into developing the product, they were doing the same with infrastructure that could support managed offerings of your product and products like yours (without necessarily ever having to do any real innovation or takin on any risk themselves!). Voila, you were undercut without being overpriced.
      - cycloptic 7y ago
        That still isn't undercutting when you don't even have the infrastructure to sell the proposed service. Those companies are not your competitors.
        DangitBobby 7y ago
        They are if the way you monitize your platform is by offering it as a managed service, as is the case with MongoDB. Company A spends 75% of it's resources developing a product and 25% on a platform, Company B spent 75% of Company A's budget just on its platform and uses A's product for free. Who will most likely have a better platform that they can offer at lower cost? In the AWS case, Amazon already spent many multiples of MongoDB budget on their platform, so they were easily able to undercut.
floatingatoll 7y ago
You’re asking one of the right questions for this Mongo post’s debates. I can’t say what the right answer is, as it’s an ethics and beliefs debate, but you’re definitely asking a relevant question.