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> They fear being replaced/made irrelevant after Core builds their own infrastructure using Rebble's work. They want guarantees that if they give Core access to

> They fear being replaced/made irrelevant after Core builds their own infrastructure using Rebble's work. They want guarantees that if they give Core access to the app store data, Core won't build a proprietary/walled garden that cuts Rebble out. It's understandable that Rebble fears someone doing this, since this is what Rebble did. Rebble took the original open-source Pebble work of thousands of independent developers, scraped it off the original store, and is re-offering it within their own walled garden and calling it "theirs". It's great Rebble kept things alive but they seem to be fearing a second one of themselves. > being at the mercy of a nonprofit's decisions when his company has customers and obligations. Both Rebble and Core Devices are for-profit companies, neither is a non-profit, so I'm not actually sure which you're referring to here.

apparent 1y ago
> Both Rebble and Core Devices are for-profit companies, neither is a non-profit, so I'm not actually sure which you're referring to here. Looks like Rebble is now a nonprofit? > have evolved along the way from a loose collection of co-conspirators, to Rebble Alliance, LLC, to our current non-profit Rebble Foundation [1] 1: https://rebble.io/2025/10/09/rebbles-in-a-world-with-core.html https://rebble.io/2025/10/09/rebbles-in-a-world-with-core.ht...
- margalabargala 1y ago
  I did some digging in a reply to a sibling comment. Basically, they are not a 501c3. They are a Michigan state specific nonprofit. My original comment was made after a 501c3 search turned up nothing. I don't know why they would decline to be a 501c3 and instead only be a Michigan nonprofit.
  - apparent 1y ago
    Huh that seems very odd. And it's strange (and possibly misleading) to say you are a "non-profit" under these circumstances. Any chance they recently changed status, and it's just not showing up yet?
    - margalabargala 1y ago
      > Any chance they recently changed status, and it's just not showing up yet? The Rebble Foundation incorporated in 2023, so I don't think so. I agree it's strange. The advantages of being a 501c3 in the US are immense, and if you meet the criteria, it is not difficult to become one. Essentially every organization larger than 6 people in the US that could be a 501c3, is one, for this reason. So if they aren't, I assume it's because they can't be. Which makes me wonder why.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
      Just FYI. 501(c)(3) is not the only federal nonprofit designation. I have dealt with 501(c)(7) (basically a club), and I suspect there are others.
      - margalabargala 1y ago
        There are a lot, but most of them are extremely narrowly defined. There are not many into which Rebble could fit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types
        renewiltord 1y ago
        Rust Foundation is pretty reputable and is a 501c6 and they say they're a non profit
        margalabargala 1y ago
        Sure, Rust Foundation fits the criteria of a 501c6. It is not itself a commercial enterprise, but is an advocacy body for the Rust language and its users. Rebble is not that. One of the key defining features of a 501c6 is that it exists to support other businesses that are associated, like a Chamber of Commerce. If Rebble did this then this whole issue we're commenting on the thread for wouldn't be an issue.
        mrlambchop 1y ago
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - pavon 1y ago
    The 501c3 tax exception is specifically for charitable organizations, and the law and IRS interpretations exclude a number of groups that would colloquially fall under that description. On top of that there are many groups who aren't doing charitable work, but want to reinvest all revenue back into the organization and not be beholden to shareholders (private or public).
    - margalabargala 1y ago
      That's not true. Charitable organizations are just one of many groups that qualify as a 501c3. Groups dedicated to scientific, literary or educational purposes also quality. The reason this is a problem is that Rebble is using their being a "non-profit" as a point of advertisement but there is essentially no difference between someone owning a for-profit company, and someone controlling and heading a non-profit company where they set their own salary and are not a 501c3.
shreddit 1y ago
Rebble sounds pretty much like a non profit to me > The Rebble Foundation is a non-profit organization that keeps the Pebble community alive. rebble.io https://rebble.foundation/ https://rebble.foundation/
- margalabargala 1y ago
  They aren't a 501c3. When I wrote my original comment I did a search for Rebble among all 501c3 ores and they are not there. I looked closer after your comment. They appear to be a "Michigan Domestic Non-Profit Corporation". Why aren't they a 501c3? I have no idea. It makes me trust them less to be honest, that they are some sort of nonprofit but not a 501c3.
  - c22 1y ago
    501c3 offers one narrow form of tax exempt status for a very specific type of non-profit organization with specific privileges and duties. Every organization is unique and many non-profit, tax-exempt, and even charitable organizations exist outside of that specific framework. If they're not soliciting donations from you I'm not sure why you'd care about their federal tax status.
    - apparent 1y ago
      > If they're not soliciting donations from you I'm not sure why you'd care about their federal tax status. Well, if they portray themselves as a "nonprofit" then most people who read that will think they are a 501c3, which is almost always the case. I don't know why they don't qualify for that status (if they don't), but it's possible that it's a reason I would care about when deciding whom to side with on issues like this one. The battle of for-profit versus non-profit comes across differently than for-profit versus Michigan Domestic Non-Profit Corporation (which for some reason does not qualify for IRS nonprofit designation).
      - int_19h 1y ago
        It's not "almost always the case". It may be the case for nonprofits that people donate to, but in general there are quite a few 501c4 around, for example, and there are many others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types
palmotea 1y ago
>> They fear being replaced/made irrelevant after Core builds their own infrastructure using Rebble's work. They want guarantees that if they give Core access to the app store data, Core won't build a proprietary/walled garden that cuts Rebble out. > It's understandable that Rebble fears someone doing this, since this is what Rebble did. That's an extremely uncharitable take. It's not like Rebble drove Pebble out of business. What I gather is basically Pebble fell apart on its own, and Rebble picked up the pieces to keep things working. It seems what Core wants do here is take what Rebble build/maintained and drive Rebble into irrelevance.
- philipallstar 1y ago
  > It seems what Core wants do here is take what Rebble build/maintained and drive Rebble into irrelevance. Why do you think that Pebble wants to drive Rebble into irrelevance if they're keeping the app store and Pebble is paying them to do that?

apparent 1y ago

> Both Rebble and Core Devices are for-profit companies, neither is a non-profit, so I'm not actually sure which you're referring to here. Looks like Rebble is now a nonprofit? > have evolved along the way from a loose collection of co-conspirators, to Rebble Alliance, LLC, to our current non-profit Rebble Foundation [1] 1: https://rebble.io/2025/10/09/rebbles-in-a-world-with-core.html https://rebble.io/2025/10/09/rebbles-in-a-world-with-core.ht...

margalabargala 1y ago
I did some digging in a reply to a sibling comment. Basically, they are not a 501c3. They are a Michigan state specific nonprofit. My original comment was made after a 501c3 search turned up nothing. I don't know why they would decline to be a 501c3 and instead only be a Michigan nonprofit.
- apparent 1y ago
  Huh that seems very odd. And it's strange (and possibly misleading) to say you are a "non-profit" under these circumstances. Any chance they recently changed status, and it's just not showing up yet?
  - margalabargala 1y ago
    > Any chance they recently changed status, and it's just not showing up yet? The Rebble Foundation incorporated in 2023, so I don't think so. I agree it's strange. The advantages of being a 501c3 in the US are immense, and if you meet the criteria, it is not difficult to become one. Essentially every organization larger than 6 people in the US that could be a 501c3, is one, for this reason. So if they aren't, I assume it's because they can't be. Which makes me wonder why.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    Just FYI. 501(c)(3) is not the only federal nonprofit designation. I have dealt with 501(c)(7) (basically a club), and I suspect there are others.
    - margalabargala 1y ago
      There are a lot, but most of them are extremely narrowly defined. There are not many into which Rebble could fit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types
      - renewiltord 1y ago
        Rust Foundation is pretty reputable and is a 501c6 and they say they're a non profit
        margalabargala 1y ago
        Sure, Rust Foundation fits the criteria of a 501c6. It is not itself a commercial enterprise, but is an advocacy body for the Rust language and its users. Rebble is not that. One of the key defining features of a 501c6 is that it exists to support other businesses that are associated, like a Chamber of Commerce. If Rebble did this then this whole issue we're commenting on the thread for wouldn't be an issue.
        mrlambchop 1y ago
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- pavon 1y ago
  The 501c3 tax exception is specifically for charitable organizations, and the law and IRS interpretations exclude a number of groups that would colloquially fall under that description. On top of that there are many groups who aren't doing charitable work, but want to reinvest all revenue back into the organization and not be beholden to shareholders (private or public).
  - margalabargala 1y ago
    That's not true. Charitable organizations are just one of many groups that qualify as a 501c3. Groups dedicated to scientific, literary or educational purposes also quality. The reason this is a problem is that Rebble is using their being a "non-profit" as a point of advertisement but there is essentially no difference between someone owning a for-profit company, and someone controlling and heading a non-profit company where they set their own salary and are not a 501c3.

shreddit 1y ago

Rebble sounds pretty much like a non profit to me > The Rebble Foundation is a non-profit organization that keeps the Pebble community alive. rebble.io https://rebble.foundation/ https://rebble.foundation/

margalabargala 1y ago
They aren't a 501c3. When I wrote my original comment I did a search for Rebble among all 501c3 ores and they are not there. I looked closer after your comment. They appear to be a "Michigan Domestic Non-Profit Corporation". Why aren't they a 501c3? I have no idea. It makes me trust them less to be honest, that they are some sort of nonprofit but not a 501c3.
- c22 1y ago
  501c3 offers one narrow form of tax exempt status for a very specific type of non-profit organization with specific privileges and duties. Every organization is unique and many non-profit, tax-exempt, and even charitable organizations exist outside of that specific framework. If they're not soliciting donations from you I'm not sure why you'd care about their federal tax status.
  - apparent 1y ago
    > If they're not soliciting donations from you I'm not sure why you'd care about their federal tax status. Well, if they portray themselves as a "nonprofit" then most people who read that will think they are a 501c3, which is almost always the case. I don't know why they don't qualify for that status (if they don't), but it's possible that it's a reason I would care about when deciding whom to side with on issues like this one. The battle of for-profit versus non-profit comes across differently than for-profit versus Michigan Domestic Non-Profit Corporation (which for some reason does not qualify for IRS nonprofit designation).
    - int_19h 1y ago
      It's not "almost always the case". It may be the case for nonprofits that people donate to, but in general there are quite a few 501c4 around, for example, and there are many others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization#Types

palmotea 1y ago

>> They fear being replaced/made irrelevant after Core builds their own infrastructure using Rebble's work. They want guarantees that if they give Core access to the app store data, Core won't build a proprietary/walled garden that cuts Rebble out. > It's understandable that Rebble fears someone doing this, since this is what Rebble did. That's an extremely uncharitable take. It's not like Rebble drove Pebble out of business. What I gather is basically Pebble fell apart on its own, and Rebble picked up the pieces to keep things working. It seems what Core wants do here is take what Rebble build/maintained and drive Rebble into irrelevance.

philipallstar 1y ago
> It seems what Core wants do here is take what Rebble build/maintained and drive Rebble into irrelevance. Why do you think that Pebble wants to drive Rebble into irrelevance if they're keeping the app store and Pebble is paying them to do that?