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Someone creates a cool app, a fortune 500 company takes it, makes billions and gives nothing back. That is the issue, there are many examples. Look at OpenSSL
by jmclnx 2y ago
Someone creates a cool app, a fortune 500 company takes it, makes billions and gives nothing back. That is the issue, there are many examples.
Look at OpenSSL, the timezone database issues a few years ago. The developers were pretty much close to being homeless. An issue occurred and companies paniced, did the give, no. I do not know what happened to OpenSSL, but I think some "foundation" took it over and the original developer(s) still got nothing.
OpenSSH is another example, IBM gives 0 to it, but it is used in AIX and Red Hat. Of all companies, Microsoft does donates some $ to OpenSSH.
With Cloud Applications, this is getting worse fast.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jltsiren 2y agoThe real issue is people selecting a license that says something while actually wanting something else. You either develop open source because someone pays for it (in which case it's an ordinary business transaction) or because you find it inherently rewarding and you have another way of paying your bills. If any of these stops being true – if the business fails, if the hobby / volunteer project stops being rewarding, or if you need more time for a normal job – you abandon the project. Maybe someone else picks it up or maybe nobody does, but it doesn't matter. The traditional permissive licenses are named after universities, and they are modeled after the reward structures of the academia. A big company taking what you created and making billions with it (without giving you anything) is exactly the outcome you hoped for. You'll have some real-world impact to show the next time your performance is evaluated. If that's not what you wanted, you need to select a more appropriate license for your project.
- lifeline82 2y ago[dead]