Hackpad released as opensource, then nothing

https://github.com/hackpad/hackpad/issues/1

by skimmas • 11 years ago

117 27 11 years ago

github.com

shiven• 11 years ago

Moral of the story? Use GPL.

If only Etherpad had done so in the first place.

VieElm• 11 years ago

If EtherPad had been GPL I have my doubts Hackpad would have ever been forked from it or if Hackpad would have even been a thing.

quadrangle• 11 years ago

So, maybe more people would have used and even contributed to Etherpad then… who knows

gst• 11 years ago

You probably mean AGPL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affero_General_Public_License)? The GPL wouldn't have made a difference, as it doesn't require you to release the source of something that you run as a web service.

MichaelCrawford3• 11 years ago

The Web is the Ultimate Copy Protection

http://advogato.org/article/216.html

shurcooL• 11 years ago

I don't think that's a good reason to use GPL.

I think it's better for something to be open source when its creator wants it to be open, not because they're forced to.

timonovici• 11 years ago

GPL wouldn't made a difference here, since it's a web service. The AGPL story is different. I think you are too trusting when you say that the creator goodwill will prevail - as an author, you are better off making this enforceable, even if you don't plan to sue anyone. Also, one can go the MySQL way - dual licensing. You end up with more options in hands by using AGPL, and that's a good thing.

Sharma• 11 years ago

It is called "Hackpad". You might need to hack it to see it.

rattray2• 11 years ago

I think Dropbox is the entity we should be disappointed in here. They clearly want to be good citizens of the community, but this is a sign of "evil megacorpdom" that rather contrasts with "employs Guido Van Rossum to work on Python and sponsors Pyston".

I hope we're able to demonstrate to their M&A team that moves like this hurt their reputation and make it harder for them to hire & acquire.

BinaryIdiot• 11 years ago

I think Dropbox is the entity we should be disappointed in here. They clearly want to be good citizens of the community

Maybe or maybe not. I don't see any evidence (yet at least) that shows this is either Dropbox's or the original team's doing. I'm curious as to why they'd announce it then not go through with it without saying something to the community.

eli• 11 years ago

I'd be really careful in assuming malice.

rattray2• 11 years ago

Thanks for clarifying - this is much more likely a sign that "dropbox doesn't have their shit together, and acquiring things is hard" than "dropbox is trying to be evil".

But I would expect a company at their stage to communicate clearly and consistently about promises they make to the community, execute against them, and then issue prompt apologies with explanations and timelines when they don't follow through.

tylercubell• 11 years ago

What warrants the outrage here? An announcement doesn't create a binding obligation with a rigid timetable. The sense of entitlement is unreal.

scintill76• 11 years ago

Well, the announcement dated >2 months ago[0] does say "few weeks". It's past most definitions of "few weeks"... I think "entitlement" is too strong, but maybe it's impatience verging on concern that it will never be released.

Is it really entitled to hold someone (even a company) to their plain word, even if not legally binding? At least, in the absence of further communication I think it's reasonable to start making some noise at this point. If Hackpad were to say they need more time, that would be another issue. (I have no stake or familiarity with this project.)

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9352249

davidgerard• 11 years ago

What warrants the outrage here?

Um, because marketing announcements that turn out to be lies warrant a reputational penalty?

bhaumik• 11 years ago

They're probably just waiting until Dropbox Notes (which looks like a clone of HackHands now) is live.

notes.dropbox.com

kriro• 11 years ago

This is the kind of stuff that you just can't let happen if you're Dropbox. There have to be people in the company that read tech news regularly. Worst case you issue a statement that the release will be delayed indefinitely (or won't happen) due to the integration of Hackpad after the acquisition etc.

Just not answering, not answering mail etc. is the worst thing you can do.

HelloNurse• 11 years ago

Maybe Hackpad is a very unimportant and low-priority part of Dropbox, and marketing/PR efforts and expenses over it are so out of the question that they don't care about their open source promise. Not even replying here is a sign of total neglect; I'd attribute this neglect to persistent emergencies diverting resources and management attention, or to incompetence, but not to a deliberate "evil" intent because the only thing to "steal" is a little amount of vague goodwill.

kierank• 11 years ago

Not as bad as Lightworks which has been on its way to being open source for years.

Hackpad released as opensource, then nothing

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