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I'll never understand this attitude. Are some people contributing to open source principally for a kind of quid-pro-quo? I think it's nice when people contribut

I'll never understand this attitude. Are some people contributing to open source principally for a kind of quid-pro-quo? I think it's nice when people contribute back, but it's certainly not a motivation for me to open source stuff - other than to set an example. People can do what they want with the software, that's the whole point. Full disclosure, I'm a shitty open source contributor, but I have some projects on github that I know others have gotten use from, and that makes me happy, not concerned someone is "freeloading".

hashtag-til 3y ago
It’s not quid-pro-quo. At the same time, does that seem ethical (even if it is legal) to build some dysfunctional business models exploiting somebody’s open source for profit and not contributing back? There are many motivations such as mindshare, not reinventing the wheel and creating standards that motivate people and companies to contribute to open-source. Ripping-off other’s work - even when legally ok - is not right. The system is designed to foster collaboration and not to enable shitty business models.
- deleted 3y ago
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- pessimizer 3y ago
  > does that seem ethical (even if it is legal) to build some dysfunctional business models exploiting somebody’s open source for profit and not contributing back? You're describing a thing that happens here, and not even bothering to make an ethical argument against it. People are just supposed to accept the premise, and go on to discuss the implications of it. > The system is designed to foster collaboration and not to enable shitty business models. "Spirit of open source" people are arguing that the system wasn't designed at all. You're arguing that open source licenses themselves have little or nothing to do with open source licensing. Instead, it has something vaguely to do with freedom and friendly and collaborative and other nice words. You don't have to be friendly or collaborative to produce either open source or Free Software.
api 3y ago
It's not so much quid-pro-quo as freedom. I like creating open source to give users freedom, not to contribute to billion dollar companies jailing everyone's data in SaaS and creating a surveillance dystopia.
- Aeolun 3y ago
  So it’s about freedom, but not when applied to billion dollar companies?

hashtag-til 3y ago

It’s not quid-pro-quo. At the same time, does that seem ethical (even if it is legal) to build some dysfunctional business models exploiting somebody’s open source for profit and not contributing back? There are many motivations such as mindshare, not reinventing the wheel and creating standards that motivate people and companies to contribute to open-source. Ripping-off other’s work - even when legally ok - is not right. The system is designed to foster collaboration and not to enable shitty business models.

deleted 3y ago
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pessimizer 3y ago
> does that seem ethical (even if it is legal) to build some dysfunctional business models exploiting somebody’s open source for profit and not contributing back? You're describing a thing that happens here, and not even bothering to make an ethical argument against it. People are just supposed to accept the premise, and go on to discuss the implications of it. > The system is designed to foster collaboration and not to enable shitty business models. "Spirit of open source" people are arguing that the system wasn't designed at all. You're arguing that open source licenses themselves have little or nothing to do with open source licensing. Instead, it has something vaguely to do with freedom and friendly and collaborative and other nice words. You don't have to be friendly or collaborative to produce either open source or Free Software.

api 3y ago

It's not so much quid-pro-quo as freedom. I like creating open source to give users freedom, not to contribute to billion dollar companies jailing everyone's data in SaaS and creating a surveillance dystopia.

Aeolun 3y ago
So it’s about freedom, but not when applied to billion dollar companies?