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This is true, and a corollary is that the observation that the value proposition for many SaaS companies is just the simplicity over open-source underpinnings.

This is true, and a corollary is that the observation that the value proposition for many SaaS companies is just the simplicity over open-source underpinnings. For example, anyone who's tried to implement SAML SSO by hand or self-hosting a shibboleth server will appreciate the relatively simpler services provided by OneLogin / Okta. I'm not sure, however, that this is a problem. The freedom of open source to develop without constraints has to come first, so that someone can later take existing code and impose guardrails to simplify. In other words, freedom itself is at odds with simplicity.

deleted 5y ago
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api 5y ago
Economics, not freedom, is at odds with simplicity. Nothing is actually free, so you have to have a paywall somewhere. For for-profit open source the paywall is usually at the UI/UX layer where that's typically SaaS-based or for enterprise software available in the form of consultants to hold your hand and train your team. Make a free, open, easy to use app and you'll go bankrupt.
- mushufasa 5y ago
  I meant freedom as in liberty, not free as in 'free beer.' In other words -- if you are free to write code any which way, complexity will result. Or conversely, in order to keep code consistent, someone would need to enforce rules.
  - api 5y ago
    I 100% agree, but the problem is that most people care a lot more about free as in free beer than free as in liberty. I have for quite some time seen the two as being at odds. Free as in free beer undermines free as in liberty by destroying the economic basis for anything other than surveillance or closed business models.
- suifbwish 5y ago
  I frequently run across codebases that appear to have purposely “broken” tiny things that need to be fixed before the code can be used. This seems to be a type of lock/key mechanism to prevent just anyone from using it even though it’s open source

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api 5y ago

Economics, not freedom, is at odds with simplicity. Nothing is actually free, so you have to have a paywall somewhere. For for-profit open source the paywall is usually at the UI/UX layer where that's typically SaaS-based or for enterprise software available in the form of consultants to hold your hand and train your team. Make a free, open, easy to use app and you'll go bankrupt.

mushufasa 5y ago
I meant freedom as in liberty, not free as in 'free beer.' In other words -- if you are free to write code any which way, complexity will result. Or conversely, in order to keep code consistent, someone would need to enforce rules.
- api 5y ago
  I 100% agree, but the problem is that most people care a lot more about free as in free beer than free as in liberty. I have for quite some time seen the two as being at odds. Free as in free beer undermines free as in liberty by destroying the economic basis for anything other than surveillance or closed business models.
suifbwish 5y ago
I frequently run across codebases that appear to have purposely “broken” tiny things that need to be fixed before the code can be used. This seems to be a type of lock/key mechanism to prevent just anyone from using it even though it’s open source