alt Hacker NewsI tend to disregard anyone who complains about foundational open source being funded like this. As long as the donor doesn't have dictatorial control over the product, why obsess over this?
I tend to disregard anyone who complains about foundational open source being funded like this. As long as the donor doesn't have dictatorial control over the product, why obsess over this?
Because not having dictatorial control doesn't protect anyone from anything; politicians take 'donations' (bribes) and then argue or enact laws for what the donor wants, no dictating involved.
Or in software terms, BigCorp sponsors you to develop an open source tool fulltime. If you make the tool more useful for them while making it more complex or worse or ignoring things for others, they might fund you next year as well. If you don't develop things that help them, they might stop and send that money elsewhere and you will need to get a normal job instead and drop your tool work to part-time. Even though they aren't dictating anything, what are you incentivised to do?