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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:10PM   Printer-friendly
from the quantum-source-code? dept.

It's increasingly hard to see how software freedom is present in cases when there's no realistic community access to source code. The barriers these days can come from complex codebases that no single mind can grasp or use of open-but-closed models.

As a consequence, OSI receives more complaints from community members about "open yet closed" than any other topic. Companies of all sizes who loudly tout their love for open source yet withhold source code from non-customers generate the most enquiries of this type. When approached, OSI contacts these companies on behalf of the community but the response is always that they are "within their rights" under the relevant open source licenses and can do what they please.

[...] Interestingly it's common that the companies involved obtained the source code they are monetising under an open source license, while they themselves own the copyrights to a tiny percentage of the code. They can be considered to have enclosed the commons, enjoying the full benefits of open source themselves — and celebrating it — but excluding others from collaboration on the same terms.

Source: Is Open Yet Closed Still OK?


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:38PM (7 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:38PM (#604658)

    To me this is MS' Shared Source initiative all over again. Sure, the companies are in their right. The users are also in their right to not care about "their" product. The availability of the source code is just one thing that makes FOSS so great. An open community is just as great. Since about 2008 (financial crisis) things seem to have changed a lot. Lots of code is just dumped on Github, and project sites and dedicated forums to the software seem to be less often set up. FOSS projects seem to be more "individualized".

  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:47PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:47PM (#604662)

    If you want a taste of the old way of doing things, check out the web of Linux [kernel] mailing lists; it's a much better way to develop FOSS, because only those capable of good technical thinking can survive participation.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:59PM (5 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday December 03 2017, @02:59PM (#604670) Homepage Journal

      Pffft, you can survive Linus just fine. Contrary to what they're teaching in college lately, speech is not violence. All you really have to worry about is if your big-girl panties are clean when you need them.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @03:05PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @03:05PM (#604671)

        You don't deserve them, and then AC does.

        Invalid form key: ndDrnzR7sv

        Eat a dick, you trash website.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @04:39PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @04:39PM (#604699)

        You don't deserve them, but the AC does.

        Invalid form key: ndDrnzR7sv

        Eat a dick, you trash website.

      • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @05:04PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @05:04PM (#604709)

        You don't deserve them, but the AC does.

        Invalid form key: ndDrnzR7sv

        Eat a dick, you trash website.

      • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @06:39PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 03 2017, @06:39PM (#604748)

        You don't deserve them, but the AC does.

        Invalid form key: ndDrnzR7sv
        Invalid form key: PvyQaev5HU

        Eat a dick, you trash website.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04 2017, @01:49PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 04 2017, @01:49PM (#605022)

        Pffft, you can survive Linus just fine. Contrary to what they're teaching in college lately, speech is not violence.

        Depends. If you run it through an amplifier to a level that it causes physical damage, then speech can well be considered violence. ;-)