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We'll likely make a formal guarantee to open source in the case of us shutting down. Didn't realize that was a possibility, thanks for the suggestion!

by ericax 6y ago

loughnane 6y ago
that sounds good in principle but I still wouldn't feel comfortable with it unless I was aware of similar setups that worked out well for the users. Not saying such examples aren't out there. I just am unaware of any.
unknown2374 6y ago
You may want to look into the Gitlab [1] model of open source monetization, as it has strong resemblance of what you are trying to achieve with Obsidian. [1] https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/#self-managed https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/#self-managed
prepend 6y ago
That’s pretty cool and it’s good of you to think about the scenario. The problem is the bankruptcy court/buyer/ex-spouse/whatever may have a different preference. So you may want to set up something legally binding now when everyone is the same agreement. Could you also solve this by GPL+Commercial license for those that pay?
sneak 6y ago
Standard Notes is open source (and free software) today, while still in business with a business model similar to yours. It also allows people to read, audit, and trust the crypto code, which your model does not. For people like me, that’s a hard pass.
ken 6y ago
"Open source" is both a license and a development model. You're talking about a license, but someone interested in workflow longevity will probably not be satisfied with a source dump from a dead company. They're looking for a community which knows how to maintain it. As JWZ once said: "You can't take a dying project, sprinkle it with the magic pixie dust of 'open source,' and have everything magically work out." Has there ever been a case where a company as its last act released their software as open-source, and a community formed and picked it up?
- MayeulC 6y ago
  I can recall a few on the top of my head, but those are the exception rather than the norm: Blender & Mozilla, though that last one wasn't really a last act. I think I saw a few others, but can't recall which ones, I'd be interested in such a list. Now, there are interesting communities that form around games, that tend to be a "dead product" after release, and for which there was a source dump (or not, actually): doom, openMW, openRA, etc.
- bmikaili 6y ago
  You do realize communities can die out as well?
  - ken 6y ago
    By definition, that's what happens when its developer community dies off down to size n=0. A source dump without a community is essentially fast-forwarding a (potential) developer community to its death. It should be clear why this is strictly worse.
- quickthrower2 6y ago
  Parse?
roryokane 6y ago
If anyone is wonder what this comment is in reply to, this comment is a dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325105 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325105, replying to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325035.

We'll likely make a formal guarantee to open source in the case of us shutting down. Didn't realize that was a possibility, thanks for the suggestion!

by ericax 6y ago

We'll likely make a formal guarantee to open source in the case of us shutting down. Didn't realize that was a possibility, thanks for the suggestion!

loughnane 6y ago

that sounds good in principle but I still wouldn't feel comfortable with it unless I was aware of similar setups that worked out well for the users. Not saying such examples aren't out there. I just am unaware of any.

unknown2374 6y ago

You may want to look into the Gitlab [1] model of open source monetization, as it has strong resemblance of what you are trying to achieve with Obsidian. [1] https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/#self-managed https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/#self-managed

prepend 6y ago

That’s pretty cool and it’s good of you to think about the scenario. The problem is the bankruptcy court/buyer/ex-spouse/whatever may have a different preference. So you may want to set up something legally binding now when everyone is the same agreement. Could you also solve this by GPL+Commercial license for those that pay?

sneak 6y ago

Standard Notes is open source (and free software) today, while still in business with a business model similar to yours. It also allows people to read, audit, and trust the crypto code, which your model does not. For people like me, that’s a hard pass.

ken 6y ago

"Open source" is both a license and a development model. You're talking about a license, but someone interested in workflow longevity will probably not be satisfied with a source dump from a dead company. They're looking for a community which knows how to maintain it. As JWZ once said: "You can't take a dying project, sprinkle it with the magic pixie dust of 'open source,' and have everything magically work out." Has there ever been a case where a company as its last act released their software as open-source, and a community formed and picked it up?

MayeulC 6y ago
I can recall a few on the top of my head, but those are the exception rather than the norm: Blender & Mozilla, though that last one wasn't really a last act. I think I saw a few others, but can't recall which ones, I'd be interested in such a list. Now, there are interesting communities that form around games, that tend to be a "dead product" after release, and for which there was a source dump (or not, actually): doom, openMW, openRA, etc.
bmikaili 6y ago
You do realize communities can die out as well?
- ken 6y ago
  By definition, that's what happens when its developer community dies off down to size n=0. A source dump without a community is essentially fast-forwarding a (potential) developer community to its death. It should be clear why this is strictly worse.
quickthrower2 6y ago
Parse?

roryokane 6y ago

If anyone is wonder what this comment is in reply to, this comment is a dupe of https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325105 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325105, replying to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23325035.