I’ve been involved in a series of corporate-sponsored open-source efforts over the years, and the points that Bryan Cantrill discusses in his presentation at FISL are just spot on. Whenever a company decides to jump into an open source effort you tend to face the same questions. The business is focused on “maximizing value” and protecting itself from the competition, while internal actors that understand how open source communities are almost always advocating for licenses that will encourage corporate participation. Cantrill captures this internal tension and captures some of the “anti-patterns” he has experienced.
