Make my app Open Source or keep in a private repo?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11951183

by gurlinthewurld • 10 years ago

1 3 10 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am trying to determine whether to get a private github account (or another repository method) for the app suite I have begun building. What are some questions I should establish to build out this project, architecture, etc., and how do I determine if I want my project to be open source? Thanks in advance.

galistoca2• 10 years ago

Is there a specific reason why you would want to open source it?

Just my personal opinion: users don't care if your app is open sourced or not (Unless there's a clear reason for it to be open sourced, for example providing transparency in cases user privacy is critical)

gurlinthewurld• 10 years ago

Exactly what I'm trying to establish myself: what are the implications of starting a project that is "free and open source?" Community involvement, participation... What did projects have in mind when they went that route, and what was the reality of it? For what projects is open source beneficial, and which projects should be kept proprietary: I don't think it's just a questions of monetization and profit, but I'm not sure. Are there some industries for which the accompanying software should be open source? Thanks for starting the parlez.

galistoca2• 10 years ago

If you're wondering about this question, then it is very likely that you shouldn't make it open source.

Like I said it only makes sense when you feel the need to make it open source. Some of the reasons I could think of:

1. Your app has features that are very privacy sensitive, so you want to let your users know there's nothing fishy going on. 2. You're not building the app because you want users, but as a learning experience. Hey maybe you can even use your public code as your resume (Then again, this can backfire if your code is not exquisite) 3. Marketing stunt (This won't work in most cases, so if you're thinking of this don't do it) 4. Your app has server aspect and you can't afford to run it anymore so thinking of shutting it down, but you want to do your users a favor.

Community involvement and participation will NOT come just because you open sourced it. In fact you should assume it won't happen. This is true for even extremely successful open source projects. It's only less than 1% of people who contribute and 99% of freeloaders.

Make my app Open Source or keep in a private repo?

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