this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2024
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Not really, open source projects don't necessarily have to be open to all contributors and I was aware of this already. They have to be open to anyone doing what they want with the code, by definition, which is good, but they don't have to allow everyone to contribute to upstream. I'm not sure if there's any particular defence against this being used in a discriminatory manner, but I do think this effect is significantly mitigated by the decentralised nature of open source and the fact that it's not too uncommon for forks to become preferred over the original, the fact that open source projects rise and fall in popularity, etc.
I wonder if there's some way to manage an open source project so that it's not subject to particular national laws in this way.
It's not decentralized on the level of project development, the visible proof of which is what we've seen happen.
How many times have you seen two branches of a significant project to coexist with comparable popularity?
Yes. Pseudonymous software development. I've seen Ross Ulbricht's name today, so we also know the risks.
Naturally this is closer to some underground warez than to copyleft, because the legal ways of protecting copylefted information against appropriation will not be available. A different paradigm.