Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Complete loss

Author:Seth Gordon
Posted:8/29/2000; 7:31:22 AM
Topic:Next survey: Are you an open source developer?
Msg #:20461 (In response to 20403)
Prev/Next:20460 / 20462

Re "forfeiting all of the value of one's work": In the worst case, I suppose, I could write a program that could have sold for a profit, release it under the GPL, and never get any enhancements back from other developers. In such a case, I've lost the time and effort I spent writing the program. But if no other developer cared about the program enough to enhance it, how much was the program worth in the first place?

Re "undermining one's profession": ESR's essay "The Magic Cauldron" presents extensive arguments for how open-source development can be economically self-sustaining -- and therefore, how releasing source now will not lead to economic ruin later. If you have arguments that address ESR's points, I'd be very interested in seeing them.

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