Comment by s-shellfish
8 years ago
Microsoft has a history of taking the open source philosophy out of their products. Github is one of the few large, commercially successful platforms that have not only embraced, but built their entire platform around those fundamental values.
It's not a surprise we feel unease, and to hope that Microsoft is actually going in a direction that aligns with those values, instead of simply twisting them for it's own continued success - that's being a bit naive.
We'll all see what happens, but honestly, I wish their was one web platform that existed out there, that could stay stable in it's philosophy, and not succumb to embracing the chaos invoked through economic success.
There are plenty of examples that stick to the core philosophy of open source software and open ideas, but there are rarely examples that manage to become extremely successful and maintain that success without drowning in the confusion created through their own influence.
> I wish their was one web platform that existed out there, that could stay stable in it's philosophy, and not succumb to embracing the chaos invoked through economic success.
An example that comes to mind is Wikipedia. Maybe the lesson here is that if you fear this happening, don't come to rely on services that are not setup as non-profits.
I think it's a balance. Non-profits have their own problems, individuals aren't fiscally organized and instead, have their incentives tied directly to the service. These incentives are philosophical ideals, therefore, not invariant (continuously being used and tested against the system they exist in), therefore, not equivalent (unified) across all participating minds. So there can be confusion there as well. Competition due to ego can cloud clarity, and this impedes the finding and actualizing simple solutions.
Same problems still in a for profit enterprise, just shifted across whatever the base values are. Life will never be perfect.