> That's only according to your definition of open source
No, words mean things. Open Source precludes restrictions on field of use or commercialization, and no credible organization (OSI, DFSG, FSF, Creative Commons, any of the BSDs) claims otherwise.
OK I see where you stand. Like you, I do not like to see some product being touted as "open" just because you can see some lines of code that are made unusable by not providing some important missing pieces, or obscured, or for whatever other mechanism.
Words have indeed a meaning, but that meaning is not purely decided by some organisation, steering cometee or authority, but by what idea they evoque to those who use them. Refer to the old debate about "free software" vs "open source" [0]: almost the same technical definition, but quite different meaning.
Most "fake" open source products are produced by companies who are fundamentaly unwilling to cooperate because they want to keep the possibility to milk customers once they have succesfully attracted investors.
I might be wrong, but I have the feeling that this is a very different scenario, if only because the potential for becoming filthy rich by selling printer parts seems slim. I believe they genuinely want to empower users, without working for free for some industrial company that could just exploit the design without contributing anything back. Empowering the user meets the definition of open source for me.
I wish we would not be so harsh against good-spirited creators because they miss to check all the boxes of the official definition of open source (tm). Maybe I'm too idealistic, wouldn't be the first time.
> I might be wrong, but I have the feeling that this is a very different scenario, if only because the potential for becoming filthy rich by selling printer parts seems slim. I believe they genuinely want to empower users, without working for free for some industrial company that could just exploit the design without contributing anything back.
And yet, the one thing they've done is ensured that nobody can ever compete with them commercially. Even if we were to accept that making and selling the thing isn't contributing (I disagree), they could just use a share-alike license so that any improvements are also released back to the community. Heck, in that situation the original folks could take 3rd party improvements and sell them. But they didn't. I lack your optimism; I think if someone was trying to just make money and milk customers this is exactly how it would look.
> Empowering the user meets the definition of open source for me.
> I wish we would not be so harsh against good-spirited creators because they miss to check all the boxes of the official definition of open source (tm).
Yeah, the problem is exactly that this hurts users. Sure, individual DIY-savvy folks can replace parts or even make improvements, but it can never scale up. It's like saying that Windows is an open system because users can install programs that modify how it works a bit... so long as they never sell those improvements. It intentionally cripples the ecosystem. (I probably argued this better at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45470111 )
It's the neverending debate between pragmatists and maximalists. Used to be a maximalist, but also used to see my favored causes tank and sink all the time. I do not believe there is clear winner for every situation.
What we should be convinced of though is that there are better ways to push for more openness than to shame the authors. Not sure that's what you intended to do but that's how the negative reception sounded to me.
> It's the neverending debate between pragmatists and maximalists. Used to be a maximalist, but also used to see my favored causes tank and sink all the time. I do not believe there is clear winner for every situation.
Amusingly, I used to be what you'd call a pragmatist, but I've come to believe that over a medium-long term time scale what you call maximalism is pragmatic. It's all well and good to think, 'oh it's fine to concede this ground this time', but that just means you lose ground over time.
> What we should be convinced of though is that there are better ways to push for more openness than to shame the authors. Not sure that's what you intended to do but that's how the negative reception sounded to me.
> Open Printer is an open-source, repairable inkjet printer designed for makers, artists, and anyone tired of throwaway hardware.
The authors started our interaction by lying to me. They should be ashamed. If they opened by saying "source available" or "not open source but we'll publish repair manuals" or anything else that was actually true, I would consider it a step short of the real goal but good movement in the right direction. But instead they went for lying and trying to get good will for something they're not actually doing, so no, I'm going to view them appropriately.
No, words mean things. Open Source precludes restrictions on field of use or commercialization, and no credible organization (OSI, DFSG, FSF, Creative Commons, any of the BSDs) claims otherwise.