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Just like cookie banners, CLAs are one of those idiot lawyer things where some jackass at a big corp invented the idea to justify their paycheck, and now everyo
by coldpie 3y ago
Just like cookie banners, CLAs are one of those idiot lawyer things where some jackass at a big corp invented the idea to justify their paycheck, and now everyone cargo cults it because they think they need it. 99% of projects do not need a CLA and 99% of websites do not need a cookie banner.
- Spivak 3y agoI think I would actually flip that for CLAs -- 99% of projects do need a CLA it's just annoying because assignment isn't the assumed default when contributing to other projects. The number of projects where there is more than one owner (be that a person, foundation, or llc) is insignificant. Almost all outside contributions are from people who have no expectations at all over their code and are just scratching their own itch. Plus unless you're a huge project the legal issues are just ignored when it comes to re-licensing. So maybe you're right but "99% of projects have a CLA in the form of not giving a fuck" is far more accurate.
- coldpie 3y agoYeah. I'm saying "not giving a fuck" is the correct solution for 99% of projects. CLAs are a solution in search of a problem.
- stanleydrew 3y agoThis isn't a good analogy. Copyright is a real thing, and getting explicit consent from your contributors to use their copyrighted material is an important defensive measure.
- coldpie 3y agoDefensive against what? Can you provide some examples of a real-world (not hypothetical) problem that a CLA would have solved?