@nihilazo @efraim @calcifer "For them to use" is inaccurate....

@nihilazo @efraim @calcifer "For them to use" is inaccurate. Unless promoted as such, the default assumption is that the author released it because they don't believe in hoarding and wanted to share their experience solving their problem with others who share a technical skillset to make use of their solution.

Like 12 Jun 2023 at 19:01 | Wall-to-wall | Open on hachyderm.io

3 comments

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@dalias @nihilazo @efraim @calcifer a friend used to say: it is open source, so when it breaks, you get to keep both pieces.

That's how I see it as well. The dev doesn't have any responsibility with the users (if any).

12 Jun 2023 at 19:25 | Open on social.sdf.org

Rich Felker

@reidrac @nihilazo @efraim @calcifer In my view, they have *some* responsibility not to promote the program as more polished and suitable for particular uses than it actually is.

But "don't share anything unless you're willing to do free support" is just a horribly destructive position.

12 Jun 2023 at 19:27 | Open on hachyderm.io

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@dalias @nihilazo @efraim @calcifer totally agree. Strictly speaking, the OSS licences don't cover support. They tend to focus on distribution, but there's always a disclaimer re: responsibility.

I've been using and producing open source since the late 90s and I never assumed the devs had to provide support, and I was always grateful when it happened (even on a mailing list, thanks to other users). The way expectations have changed is very interesting.

12 Jun 2023 at 19:33 | Open on social.sdf.org