5 ms·

I'm not sure about others but when I publish a piece of software or script it's because I needed it for something and I'm done working on it for my needs. If so

I'm not sure about others but when I publish a piece of software or script it's because I needed it for something and I'm done working on it for my needs. If someone has different needs than mine they can DIY or pay someone to do it. If anyone else needs it, they are free to copy and use it. If they find a problem that I think needs fixing or my stuff will cause me problems, I'll fix it. Otherwise, they are free to fix it and(if kind enough) submit it. I have 0 obligation to fix anything that I don't personally need and anyone that copies it has 0 obligation to give me anything in return. I only published it to save someone else the time for the bulk of the work. I'm not doing it for money or cred. I do it because it's something I already finished(more or less) and it won't cost me anything to share. Anyone elses needs(family and friends exempt) are not my problem unless It's my (paid) job to make them my problem.

mrtksn 5y ago
But why upload it to Github or somewhere similar, do the marketing(a README that often promises something like enterprise ready Atomic transactions) and licensing? If the work was to fulfil your own needs it would have been a private repo or a folder in your drive. The moment you publish it, a social contract is established similar to creators of other free work like youtube videos etc. You receive cudos and fame, they receive a tool, entertainment, knowledge etc. When you fail your part of the contract, people can be very mean as the are mean on a Youtube vide that they don't like.
- andrewzah 5y ago
  No. No. No. There is no such thing as this "social contract". I publish software on github with MIT or (A)GPL licenses for various reasons: * In case someone else has the same issue I did * In case someone is working on something similar and wants to learn from my code * As an external backup in addition to my hard drive / private git repo / etc. * Because I can. (deal with it.) There is NO expectation or "contract" or anything. People can open issues or politely request things, but getting upset or pushy over F/OSS released on someone else's own terms is just entitlement.
  - mrtksn 5y ago
    I'm sorry but there's a social contract. It's implicit, the moment you participate in a society the expectations from you and obligations towards you begin. Even if someone asks you the directions to the gas station, you are expected not to deceive them and give them the best instructions to you your ability and they are expected to show some appreciation for helping out the society. You will face backslash if you don't help a fellow human or deceive them despite the fact that you are not receiving direct payment for your act. Imagine you put a sign that says "The mall is in this way" and the sign is not entirely correct. It was a free sign, no one contracted you to put that sign but if it happens that your sign wastes someones time you will receive negative feedback and probably requests to correct your sign.
    - White_Wolf 5y ago
      A social contract takes place when everyone contributes. If one does the work and others do the demands... it's not a "collaboration", which is a pre-requisite for a social contract. You could argue there is a social contract between the repo maintainer and various submitters. Not so much between the repo owner and users/consumers.
    - andrewzah 5y ago
      I'm not talking about society in general. I'm talking about random F/OSS projects on github. There is zero expectation when looking at someone's project from afar.
      - webmaven 5y ago
        > There is zero expectation when looking at someone's project from afar. Let's say I release some code that is isn't fit for purpose. For example, it corrupts user data 5% of the time. The code has a README that doesn't mention the issue, and I close all issues that refer to the problem. I also reject any PRs that try to fix it, and so on. I don't, however, disable issues or say the code is unmaintained, so there is a steady stream of people whose data gets corrupted when they download and use my code. Since you don't seem to like the term "social contract", would you at least admit that I am violating a few norms and acting like an asshole?

mrtksn 5y ago

But why upload it to Github or somewhere similar, do the marketing(a README that often promises something like enterprise ready Atomic transactions) and licensing? If the work was to fulfil your own needs it would have been a private repo or a folder in your drive. The moment you publish it, a social contract is established similar to creators of other free work like youtube videos etc. You receive cudos and fame, they receive a tool, entertainment, knowledge etc. When you fail your part of the contract, people can be very mean as the are mean on a Youtube vide that they don't like.

andrewzah 5y ago
No. No. No. There is no such thing as this "social contract". I publish software on github with MIT or (A)GPL licenses for various reasons: * In case someone else has the same issue I did * In case someone is working on something similar and wants to learn from my code * As an external backup in addition to my hard drive / private git repo / etc. * Because I can. (deal with it.) There is NO expectation or "contract" or anything. People can open issues or politely request things, but getting upset or pushy over F/OSS released on someone else's own terms is just entitlement.
- mrtksn 5y ago
  I'm sorry but there's a social contract. It's implicit, the moment you participate in a society the expectations from you and obligations towards you begin. Even if someone asks you the directions to the gas station, you are expected not to deceive them and give them the best instructions to you your ability and they are expected to show some appreciation for helping out the society. You will face backslash if you don't help a fellow human or deceive them despite the fact that you are not receiving direct payment for your act. Imagine you put a sign that says "The mall is in this way" and the sign is not entirely correct. It was a free sign, no one contracted you to put that sign but if it happens that your sign wastes someones time you will receive negative feedback and probably requests to correct your sign.
  - White_Wolf 5y ago
    A social contract takes place when everyone contributes. If one does the work and others do the demands... it's not a "collaboration", which is a pre-requisite for a social contract. You could argue there is a social contract between the repo maintainer and various submitters. Not so much between the repo owner and users/consumers.
  - andrewzah 5y ago
    I'm not talking about society in general. I'm talking about random F/OSS projects on github. There is zero expectation when looking at someone's project from afar.
    - webmaven 5y ago
      > There is zero expectation when looking at someone's project from afar. Let's say I release some code that is isn't fit for purpose. For example, it corrupts user data 5% of the time. The code has a README that doesn't mention the issue, and I close all issues that refer to the problem. I also reject any PRs that try to fix it, and so on. I don't, however, disable issues or say the code is unmaintained, so there is a steady stream of people whose data gets corrupted when they download and use my code. Since you don't seem to like the term "social contract", would you at least admit that I am violating a few norms and acting like an asshole?