FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#1

Post by khc » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:00 AM UTC

FUSE for macOS is no longer open source
colatkinson.site

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#2

Post by ixtli » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:41 AM UTC

I read more than two thirds of this blog post before realizing the author doesn’t seem to agree with this guy he quoted:

> Then drop it and let someone else maintain it.

To be clear, if maintenance of a popular open source project is too much for you then stop. Taking your marbles and going home is childish, if the authors third party analysis of the motives behind Fleischer‘s behavior is to be believed. The post says on one hand that he never financially benefited but then on the other hand that he’s justified in obscuring the source because maintenance is onerous.

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#3

Post by Epskampie » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:41 AM UTC

Well, all I can really think after reading this is “fuck apple”. I’m getting very very tired of their walled off closed shit where they even try to make life as hard as possible for people who try to support it despite the odds.

This isn’t the first time either, it happened to VLC before.

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#4

Post by ixtli » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:43 AM UTC

Epskampie wrote: post #3

Well, all I can really think after reading this is “fuck apple”. I’m getting very very tired of their walled off closed shit where they even try to make life as hard as possible for people who try to support it despite the odds. This isn’t the first time either, it happened to VLC before.

Wait what happened with VLC? I didn’t realize they ran afoul of the “Cathedral”

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#5

Post by khc » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:44 AM UTC

submitter and author of goofys here. As I see it there are 3 issues:

1. osxfuse is effectively closed source but the license is not changed

2. there's no open source fuse on latest version of OS X

3. most importantly, having only one maintainer for osxfuse is clearly not sustainable

I don't really use OS X so mostly have an interest in this because some of my users are on OS X.

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#6

Post by dmitriid » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:48 AM UTC

ixtli wrote: post #4

Epskampie wrote: post #3

Well, all I can really think after reading this is “fuck apple”. I’m getting very very tired of their walled off closed shit where they even try to make life as hard as possible for people who try to support it despite the odds. This isn’t the first time either, it happened to VLC before.

Wait what happened with VLC? I didn’t realize they ran afoul of the “Cathedral”

The only thing I can remember is that VLC was removed from AppStore due to GPL.

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#7

Post by vosper » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:48 AM UTC

ixtli wrote: post #2

I read more than two thirds of this blog post before realizing the author doesn’t seem to agree with this guy he quoted: > Then drop it and let someone else maintain it. To be clear, if maintenance of a popular open source project is too much for you then stop. Taking your marbles and going home is childish, if the authors third party analysis of the motives behind Fleischer‘s behavior is to be believed. The post say…

Rather than "taking [his] marbles and going home" isn't it more like he's exercising his right to finally get paid after working for free for the benefit of others (including, presumably, many commercial users who aren't kicking in a cent) for a very long time?

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#8

Post by mlyle » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:49 AM UTC

Epskampie wrote: post #3

Well, all I can really think after reading this is “fuck apple”. I’m getting very very tired of their walled off closed shit where they even try to make life as hard as possible for people who try to support it despite the odds. This isn’t the first time either, it happened to VLC before.

This is an individual developer, not Apple.

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#9

Post by dmitriid » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:51 AM UTC

ixtli wrote: post #2

I read more than two thirds of this blog post before realizing the author doesn’t seem to agree with this guy he quoted: > Then drop it and let someone else maintain it. To be clear, if maintenance of a popular open source project is too much for you then stop. Taking your marbles and going home is childish, if the authors third party analysis of the motives behind Fleischer‘s behavior is to be believed. The post say…

It's not childish. That's the main problem with open source as a whole: devs expect somebody else to maintain projects indefinitely long, for free. This is what's unsustainable.

See "Software below poverty line": https://staltz.com/software-below-the-poverty-line.html

Re: FUSE for macOS is no longer open source

#10

Post by vosper » Wed, Dec 11, 2019, 6:51 AM UTC

Epskampie wrote: post #3

Well, all I can really think after reading this is “fuck apple”. I’m getting very very tired of their walled off closed shit where they even try to make life as hard as possible for people who try to support it despite the odds. This isn’t the first time either, it happened to VLC before.

Did we read the same article? Seems like Apple has been happy for this guy to have a signing certificate for his kernel extension for years. And he has been using it, and everything has been fine. Now the guy decides (not unreasonably, IMO, though it clearly impacts a lot of people who're used to getting the benefit of his efforts for free) that he wants to make some money... and the conclusion is "fuck Apple"?