I think it's helpful before open-sourcing something to understand, and ideally, articulate your reasons for doing so. In this case "I'm releasing the code beca

I think it's helpful before open-sourcing something to understand, and ideally, articulate your reasons for doing so. In this case "I'm releasing the code because you might find it useful. I don't plan to maintain this project" is clear, and doesn't lead to others wasting effort (unless they want to fork it and maintain it themselves. ) Equally something like "this is open source because I'm actively looking for contributers" is a great signal for someone looking to get involved and help move something forward. Perhaps more cynically I'd even appreciate "this is open source because marketing - I'm not planning to interact with hopeful contributers" is also useful to me, although maybe less useful to you. As an aside; if you do release it as open source for marketing or contributer reasons be sure you pick a license that aligns with your other goals - specifically note that others can, and will, sell your product to make money for them, not you. That's fundamental to the open source concept.