On 19 Aug 2025 04:14, Claudio DeSouza via Boost wrote:
Everyone is making money from open source code, including each one of us. This involves a lot of code we particularly didn't write, but we also didn't just steal. I think for most people the line is crossed once open source code is sold privately, or somehow the relationship becomes parasitic, but even then it is not this black and white. We should be very cautious in framing legitimate work, sprucing up a key open source project, and charging for it, as somehow inappropriate. That's the core of open source, and boost is not a GPL project.
The question is what exactly is one making money on. I don't have a problem if one creates a product using open-source software and makes money on it, provided that this doesn't violate licenses and the product has value of its own. I also don't have a problem if one offers his IT or software development expertise in a domain involving third party software as a paid service. I do have a problem if one takes an existing third party library and, with little to no changes to it, starts making profit off of it. Granted, the line can be rather blurry, but the key ethical factor for me is whether there is added value in what you're selling and whether that added value is significant enough compared to the original work. Anyway, that's just my personal view.