HACKER Q&A
📣 blindprogrammer

Should I open source or not?


I am currently working on two projects: a PDF alternative for the blind and Google Maps/navigation for the blind in my city. I started from scratch with no AI or third-party reliance. I have written everything by hand (with considerable difficulty since I am blind), so what I am asking is: is it worth it to open source?

Embarrassing coding style aside, I am concerned about parasitic big corporations taking the code and putting it behind a paywall, which is not what I want for obvious reasons. Putting my projects under GPL will obviously hold them back a bit, with the cost that brilliant programmers who would have helped would be the casualty. Another issue I have is that I want zero AI-bros in my code. Not only would I be inviting disorganized, poorly constructed code, I also don't want these kids copy/pasting to add code they have no right to. What should I do?

  👤 bigyabai Accepted Answer ✓
If it were me, the accessibility benefits of open source far outweigh the potential cost of letting AI-obsessives use it. You can toss it on a public repo with the license of your choice, update it at your leisure and anyone that disagrees will have to fork it.

I'm not super fond of AI myself and I definitely see how it can result in low-quality contributions pushed upstream. At the same time - if someone can use FOSS to genuinely improve their life, even with AI-generated modifications, I'd hope they do. Maybe that's just me, though.

👤 vd2287
Yes. Put it under a license that requires attribution (like MIT) and open source it. These kinds of software are better if open so that more people can analyze and implement similar technology to make software more accessible.
👤 alganet
I once visited a community with similar questions.

"Is it worth to ...?"

I will answer the same as I did back then. What does it mean for something to have worth to you? That is not a rethorical question.

👤 mattl
Put it under the AGPL 3 or later.

Bad actors won’t touch that license typically

👤 gus_massa
A long time ago, I was a math T.A. in the university and the main T.A. of my course was blind. He used a screen reader for everything, and wrote LaTeX and had a paper versions of the courser exercises in Braile+LaTeX (IIRC).

> a PDF alternative for the blind

I'm not sure what it means. It's a PDF reader? It's another format that is similar PDF but more screen reader friendly?

> Google Maps/navigation for the blind in my city

Do you know https://www.openstreetmap.org/ The data is open, so it may be useful to build an easier to use client, so you don't have to collect all the info.

> I am concerned about parasitic big corporations taking the code and putting it behind a paywall

Probably AGPL is better for your intentions.

> Not only would I be inviting disorganized, poorly constructed code,

There is no obligation as a maintainer to merge all PR. But remember to be nice.

👤 sexyman48
Pretty sure no one's going to give a ____ either way.
👤 carlosjobim
No. Do not open source it. Respect yourself and the work you have accomplished. If you have no interest of making a business from your code, you can give away the finished software for free. Then you can postpone the decision if you want to make it a source of income later in the future.

There are no benefits at all for you by making the code open source. There are no benefits for users either. The only people who benefit are huge corporations and a few open source fanatics who wouldn't even give you a glass of water if you asked for it.

If you want to benefit other people with your code and make a living from it, sell the software for an honest price. That way you attract quality users and are fairly compensated for your work.