Comment by drunkendog
5 hours ago
From the author on HN a couple years ago:
> FWIW, and since a few of you probably use it… I own the JSON Formatter extension [0], which I created and open-sourced 12 years ago and have maintained [1] ever since, with 2 million users today. And I solemnly swear that I will never add any code that sends any data anywhere, nor let it fall into the hands of anyone else who would. I’ve been emailed several tempting cash offers from shady people who presumably want to steal everyone’s data or worse. I sometimes wish I had never put my name on it so I could just take the money without harming my reputation, but I did, so I’m stuck with being honourable. On the plus side I will always be able to say that I never sold out.
You either die a hero, or live long enough to become a villain.
Good for him.
If he was doing what he said in the README, perhaps. But the sort of monetization he's doing is a lot slimier than that. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47724010