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Comment by rglullis

2 years ago

> I wasn't attempting to veil it at all. It is a control issue.

Then do not hide it behind the "people just want to scratch their own itch". It is a bad rationalization for a much deeper issue and the way to overcome this is by bringing awareness to it, not by finding excuses.

> wants to keep some hold on the core direction.

You are really losing me here. The point from the beginning is that the idea of "direction" is relative to a certain frame of reference. There is no "core" direction when things are open. The very idea of "fork" should be a hint that it is okay to have people taking a project in different directions.

> it would be much easier to just not open up.

Agreed. But like I said: you can not have both ways. If you want to "keep control" and prevent others from taking the things in a different direction, then keep it close but be honest to yourself and others and don't say things like "it's not ready to be open yet" or "I want to share it with others but I worry about losing recognition".

> Then do not hide it behind the "people just want to scratch their own itch"

You seem to be latching on to individual sentences in individual posts rather than understanding the thread from my initial post downwards. Start from the top and see if that changes.

Right from the beginning I was walking about people not releasing source for this reason, not releasing with expectations of control – while quoting more of the preceding thread might have made that sentence look less like an attempt to hide as you see it, that would bulk out the thread necessarily IMO (and I'm already being too wordy) given that the context is already readily available nearby (as the thread is hardly a long one).

> > it would be much easier to just not open up.

> Agreed. But like I said: you can not have both ways. If you want to "keep control" and prevent …

No, but the other end of the equation often wants the source irrespective of the project creator not being ready to let go of fuller control just yet (for whatever reason, including wanting to get to a certain point their way to stamp their intended direction on it). And they will nag, and the author will either spend time replying to re-explain their (possibly already well documented) position or get a reputation for not listening which might harm them later.

  • I don't want to keep this conversation going in circles, but to me it seems like you are trying to explain a behavior (some people do not want to release source before conditions X, Y and Z are met) and I am arguing that the behavior itself is antithetical to FOSS.

    From the top of the thread: "it is difficult to take it seriously if you refuse to offer source code or a implementable specification.". If OP has reservations about building it the open, I'd rather hear "I am not going to open it because I want to keep full control over it" then some vague "I will open it after I complete some other stuff".

    You mention the concern about "getting a reputation for not listening". To me, this has already happened. The moment I saw "when I realize it can be used by someone, it will be of course be open source", I'm already doubting his ability to collaborate, I already put him in the "does not understand how FOSS work" box and I completely lost interest in the project.

    • > Frankly, if I publish open sources now, I can't take care of them again. Because there will be no excitement. I say this because I know myself very well.

      > When I bring my work to a certain stage, I would like to deliver it to a team that can claim it. However, I want to see how much I can improve my work alone.

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