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Open source it if you want to open source it. Don't open source it because you want/need/expect other people to work on it because statistically, that is not g

Open source it if you want to open source it. Don't open source it because you want/need/expect other people to work on it because statistically, that is not going to happen. Open sourcing your project will create more work for you, not less. Good luck.

keepamovin 2y ago
Sometimes people work on it, but even with my popular projects, it’s rare. Most of our code is written by contractors. Initially (2021?) one project had a bunch of OSS contributors who wanted to take part, but I felt scared to let go the reins and possibly needlessly suspicious of their praise and enthusiasm.. so I basically turned them all away, didn’t care for them, and they never came back. Felt sad. Hahaha! :) But I agree in the case of this licensing server in seems it might be rare to get people working on it. But if you do a show HN, you might get people picking apart security flaws, which is useful. From perspectives we haven’t thought about. Probably gonna test it more, consider open sourcing later after a few proven deployments of this self hosted version. Thanks for your practical comment. BTW- i like your writing and poetry at your blog, it’s cool. You have a style I’d feel happy read in fiction I think. Kind of elided, modern Ginsburg-ish, idk, but it’s good :)
- brudgers 2y ago
  Thank you.
- bigiain 2y ago
  > Initially (2021?) one project had a bunch of OSS contributors who wanted to take part, but I felt scared to let go the reins and possibly needlessly suspicious of their praise and enthusiasm. I don't suppose one of them was Jia Tan? ;-)
didgetmaster 2y ago
I agree with this. I have a personal project that, even after years of working on it, still has as many features on the 'to do' list as have been completed. I would love to get help implementing them or testing the completed ones. People will tell me that simply open sourcing it will make help magically appear. Not to say that cannot happen (sometimes it does), but the odds are against it.
a1o 2y ago
I agree with this sentiment. Looking at my own stuff people likely never appeared and contributed some code simply because my stuff is open source - and my stuff is much simpler, see for yourself: https://github.com/ericoporto?tab=repositories&q=&type=source&language=&sort= https://github.com/ericoporto?tab=repositories&q=&type=sourc...

keepamovin 2y ago

Sometimes people work on it, but even with my popular projects, it’s rare. Most of our code is written by contractors. Initially (2021?) one project had a bunch of OSS contributors who wanted to take part, but I felt scared to let go the reins and possibly needlessly suspicious of their praise and enthusiasm.. so I basically turned them all away, didn’t care for them, and they never came back. Felt sad. Hahaha! :) But I agree in the case of this licensing server in seems it might be rare to get people working on it. But if you do a show HN, you might get people picking apart security flaws, which is useful. From perspectives we haven’t thought about. Probably gonna test it more, consider open sourcing later after a few proven deployments of this self hosted version. Thanks for your practical comment. BTW- i like your writing and poetry at your blog, it’s cool. You have a style I’d feel happy read in fiction I think. Kind of elided, modern Ginsburg-ish, idk, but it’s good :)

brudgers 2y ago
Thank you.
bigiain 2y ago
> Initially (2021?) one project had a bunch of OSS contributors who wanted to take part, but I felt scared to let go the reins and possibly needlessly suspicious of their praise and enthusiasm. I don't suppose one of them was Jia Tan? ;-)

didgetmaster 2y ago

I agree with this. I have a personal project that, even after years of working on it, still has as many features on the 'to do' list as have been completed. I would love to get help implementing them or testing the completed ones. People will tell me that simply open sourcing it will make help magically appear. Not to say that cannot happen (sometimes it does), but the odds are against it.

a1o 2y ago

I agree with this sentiment. Looking at my own stuff people likely never appeared and contributed some code simply because my stuff is open source - and my stuff is much simpler, see for yourself: https://github.com/ericoporto?tab=repositories&q=&type=source&language=&sort= https://github.com/ericoporto?tab=repositories&q=&type=sourc...