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There is another side to it. Instead of using open solutions, big business then copies the open solution to a degree that is permissable or a copyright vioaltio
by raxxorraxor 1y ago
There is another side to it. Instead of using open solutions, big business then copies the open solution to a degree that is permissable or a copyright vioaltion deniable. It can easily stomach the development costs. And in that case would outcompete you as well, as they offer service level agreements and build a consumer product around you solutions.
On the contrary, you would penalize small business, because they cannot stomach the increased developing costs. Large businesses wouldn't even notice the change.
Sure, for software exclusive businesses there were cases were a too permissive licence was counter productive for economic success.
- sensen7 1y agoDo you have any examples?
- em-bee 1y agoInstead of using open solutions, big business then copies the open solution i highly doubt that. sure technically they can copy it, but they could not guarantee 100% compatibility. yes, the model would work, but at least they would compete on somewhat equal footing. what happened to redis, elastic search, mongodb etc was way worse. people switched to amazon and others because they got the original and did not have to risk issues when switching. further more, they also didn't have to risk lock in. (or at least had the impression of not risking lock-in) in other words offering a functional copy vs taking the original (without paying for it) are two very different value propositions. but amazon could have made the same offers using GPL software, or even AGPL. yes, it would have cost them more, but not as much more as developing their own. so the fact that they could afford to develop their own clone is not an argument for the original developer to just allow them to use their software without restrictions. "you should just give this to me because i could afford to just clone it and put you out of business." what kind of choice is that? small businesses can use GPL licensed software just as they can use permissible licensed software. if using GPL software hurts your business model more than spending the money to develop your own well then maybe it's the wrong model. i'd argue that using GPL software can jumpstart your business faster than developing your own, and once you make enough money you can develop your own like everyone else who doesn't want to use GPL software. permissible licensed software doesn't provide that much of a jump-start. it also makes it easier for your competition. and most importantly, it all happens at the expense of the original developer. why should they accommodate that?