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Using someone's code (for free) doesn't mean you can dictate terms to them.
by okl 5y ago
Using someone's code (for free) doesn't mean you can dictate terms to them.
- simlevesque 5y agoCould you please tell me how to avoid ever using your code ?
- starwind 5y agoIf I voluntarily share my lunch with someone at work, I can't poison it even though they got free food. Even if someone at work is stealing my lunch, I can't poison it. We have a right to basic safety even in situations we aren't paying for things. That extends to the digital world. You can't put malware in your open-source project without a giant disclaimer "THIS IS MALWARE. USE ONLY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES" or something like that
- phkahler 5y ago>> . That extends to the digital world. You can't put malware in your open-source project without a giant disclaimer "THIS IS MALWARE. USE ONLY FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES" or something like that sourceforge?
- torstenvl 5y agoMy understanding is that he wasn't voluntarily sharing it. In November he pretty clearly told people to fork his code and move off his repository, and not to rely on his packages anymore. He used a graphic clearly warning of an impending "strike." GitHub Post: https://archive.fo/9fwGz https://archive.fo/9fwGz HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25032105&p=2 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25032105&p=2 That doesn't make it not a dick move. But let's not pretend they still had permission to remote load directly from his repo. If I own a personal storage facility and I decide to demolish it, and I say months in advance for everyone to take their stuff out and store it somewhere else, and then I demolish it and people lose their property... the harmed individuals are not faultless. Would the professional and responsible thing to do be to announce a cut-off date explicitly and make very clear that Bad Things were going to happen if you didn't stop relying on him? Yes, 100%, and I have a low opinion of him for not doing so. However, while what he did was bad, it isn't quite as bad, in my opinion, as people are making it out to be.
- salawat 5y agoYou do not have a right to basic safety when you divest yourself of basic precautions any reasonable actor would have taken. A reasonable actor checks new code pulled down to ensure it actually works. You accept the risk integrating in a stranger's code without mirroring/audit.
- wtallis 5y agoThe legal profession tends to take a more permissive stance when determining the limits of what's "reasonable", as can be seen from how the phrase "moron in a hurry" has become a term of art.
- WJW 5y agoNobody is forcing them to rewrite it or anything. Github canceled his account because knowingly posting malicious software is against the TOS, and it is not difficult to argue that putting infinite loops in the startup code of all your users is malicious. He still has the code on his computer to do whatever he pleases with. The rest of the world is just looking at it askew and calculating the odds something like this is going to happen again and what they should do about it. If you are going to be a dick to your users you should not be surprised that they will refuse to use your software afterwards. In a way, it is kinda sad that this behavior drives him away from the financial security he so seemed to crave. "Yes I just caused your dev team to do hotfixes during the weekend and cost you XYZ dollars in downtime, can I have a senior dev position now plz" is not a very convincing line when interviewing.
- okl 5y agoI agree that it was a dick move from his side. Fork his project, or use an older version. I am not convinced that him breaking his code is something that ought to be punished. GitHub gets the right to close their hand while Marak doesn't.
- watwut 5y agoI see it more as attempt to protect against another similar action. Not so much to punish as in "teach him" or "get revenge".