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The general public doesn't care about "open source" so marketing a product as "open source" is pointless unless you're marketing it to a purely technical audien

The general public doesn't care about "open source" so marketing a product as "open source" is pointless unless you're marketing it to a purely technical audience. The ability to modify the source code of Linux or to run your own Mastodon server isn't appealing to most people. Most people don't even care that iOS has an App Store monopoly where Apple decides what apps they can and can't put on their iPhone and iPad, at least until Apple bans an app they want. With venture backed startups, the goal is to sell the company either to a large incumbent or to the public stock market. An IPO is a de-facto sale to large pension funds like Vanguard and Blackrock. Ultimately, their long term goal is going to be maximizing shareholder value not some kind of open source idealism. In fact, open source often stands in the way of profit so market processes will encourage companies owned by the stock market to go with closed source whenever possible. The most reliable way to keep software open source in the long term is to license it under AGPL or GPL and accept contributions from as many contributors as possible under as many different copyrights as possible. Permissive licenses like MIT and BSD allow companies to use open source for proprietary software without sharing their changes. Even GPL licenses, if the copyrights are all assigned to a single entity, permit that entity to re-license it as proprietary. The more copyright holders, the harder it is to get the necessary permissions or replacement code to re-license.

duped 3y ago
I'd liken it to car repair. I don't work on my car or fabricate replacement parts, but I can take it to any repair shop I want and the manufacturer can't stop me. And if my car was designed in such a way that I had to take it to the dealer for routine service and repairs, I wouldn't have bought it. None of that is because me, the consumer, knows the ins and outs of car part supply, regulations, or car maintenance. I just take it for granted that I can buy something and expect it to work for awhile and get it fixed when it breaks. The analog for that in software is open source. The public doesn't need to care. If it's open, anyone can go fix it when the developer stops. Those people aren't average consumers, they're the 3rd party car mechanics.
- godelski 3y ago
  This is a very similar analogy I use for boomers and it sticks. They are often complaining about how no one fixes things anymore and so when you relate the abstracted software to hardware they actually understand. When they get it, they care too.
- nox101 3y ago
  But it also fits the op's pov that most people don't care. Most people don't care that you have to take Apple device to an Apple authorized service center. We had to get governments to pass laws to deal with that. I suspect we'll have to do it with lots more things as it gets easier and easier to cryptographically lock them down. As an example, I recently bought some smart light bulbs. They were "Matter compatible" so I thought they'd just work. Turns out, AFAICT, the manufacture ships them in a barely working state, this is so they can force you to download their app, register, and then they'll update something in the bulb that makes it work at full brightness.
  - ta1243 3y ago
    I've had an iphone for nearly 15 years, I've never had to take it to a service centre. Local shops are dotted around towns that would replace screens if I broke one, which I guess is the most common problem. I daresay that's the norm. People don't care that they would theoretically have to take their phone to the apple store because they don't have to. A car however does need servicing and generally fixing -- you can get a puncture 5 miles after leaving the lot if nothing else, so people are more aware.
- CatWChainsaw 3y ago
  Plus, society takes all kinds. If everyone is required to have the expertise of a software developer in order to enjoy the "right" not to be screwed over by closed-source software, other areas will suffer lack of personnel. Healthcare definitely comes to mind.

duped 3y ago

I'd liken it to car repair. I don't work on my car or fabricate replacement parts, but I can take it to any repair shop I want and the manufacturer can't stop me. And if my car was designed in such a way that I had to take it to the dealer for routine service and repairs, I wouldn't have bought it. None of that is because me, the consumer, knows the ins and outs of car part supply, regulations, or car maintenance. I just take it for granted that I can buy something and expect it to work for awhile and get it fixed when it breaks. The analog for that in software is open source. The public doesn't need to care. If it's open, anyone can go fix it when the developer stops. Those people aren't average consumers, they're the 3rd party car mechanics.

godelski 3y ago
This is a very similar analogy I use for boomers and it sticks. They are often complaining about how no one fixes things anymore and so when you relate the abstracted software to hardware they actually understand. When they get it, they care too.
nox101 3y ago
But it also fits the op's pov that most people don't care. Most people don't care that you have to take Apple device to an Apple authorized service center. We had to get governments to pass laws to deal with that. I suspect we'll have to do it with lots more things as it gets easier and easier to cryptographically lock them down. As an example, I recently bought some smart light bulbs. They were "Matter compatible" so I thought they'd just work. Turns out, AFAICT, the manufacture ships them in a barely working state, this is so they can force you to download their app, register, and then they'll update something in the bulb that makes it work at full brightness.
- ta1243 3y ago
  I've had an iphone for nearly 15 years, I've never had to take it to a service centre. Local shops are dotted around towns that would replace screens if I broke one, which I guess is the most common problem. I daresay that's the norm. People don't care that they would theoretically have to take their phone to the apple store because they don't have to. A car however does need servicing and generally fixing -- you can get a puncture 5 miles after leaving the lot if nothing else, so people are more aware.
CatWChainsaw 3y ago
Plus, society takes all kinds. If everyone is required to have the expertise of a software developer in order to enjoy the "right" not to be screwed over by closed-source software, other areas will suffer lack of personnel. Healthcare definitely comes to mind.