Stopping evil and open source: thoughts
10 days ago
- #ethics
- #licensing
- #open-source
- Open source software should aim to benefit humanity, not just the developer's income.
- Using open source licenses to combat evil actions is ineffective and harms the ecosystem.
- Open source thrives due to low-friction reuse of software, enabling widespread innovation.
- Bad actors (e.g., oppressive governments, unethical corporations) often ignore license restrictions anyway.
- Incompatible licenses create barriers for good-faith developers, hindering positive applications.
- Alternative methods (speaking up, refusing collaboration, building good things) are better for resisting evil.
- Profit-driven companies using open source without contributing back is a concern, but not a priority for the author.
- The author prioritizes helping humanity over controlling how others use their software.