undefined | Better HN

0 pointsPoignardAzur2y ago0 comments

> Your contributions are eventually going to be moved under a non-open license so the company in question can secure their revenue stream and you can do nothing about it.

I think what you say is factually correct, but maybe misrepresents the situation a bit.

The license automatically converts to full open-source after 4 years. Maybe this isn't ideal, but it isn't "big company takes your code and locks it away forever" either.

0 comments

ignoramous2y ago

4 years is an eternity in software; a slap on the face, it isn't a concession.

PoignardAzurOP2y ago

It's a metaphorical eternity, not a literal eternity. Four years ago is 2019; I use plenty of software from then.

And if I understand the license correctly, you're perfectly free to use the software in your own open-source projects, and your commercial projects unless they're a re-packaging of Hashicorp's own, etc. We shouldn't act like this is an evil business decision, or like this is morally equivalent to proprietary software that does stay proprietary forever with no apology or caveats.

johannes12343212y ago

Four years u patched with pote trial security issues? Probably depending on four year old libraries which are annoying to get, based on build.tooling which is outdated ...

bombcar2y ago

As a starting point it’s a great line; rather than closed source have something that worst case you can use in four years.

As a restriction added to something previously open, it’s horrendous. AGPL would be better.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse