Open Source isn't sustainable anymore

Open Source projects are being exploited - and that leaves everyone worse off than we started.

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[xVolta]

I've been making my living working in open source since the early 90s, so, yeah, this is something I care pretty deeply about. The concerns you raise aren't new, these were already old issues when I started my career. Yes, scummy companies will violate both the letter and the spirit of the license the products they steal were issued under. No, encumbering the technology with patents is not the answer. All patents in this space will accomplish is rolling us back to the bad old days (the past was the worst!) where hobbyists and the community were hamstrung and prevented from developing new and interesting spins on the tech. It won't even slow down the race-to-the-bottom clone manufacturers. They don't care about the legal licenses they're violating today, they won't care about violating patents or stealing closed source tech either. The already widespread problem of counterfeit proprietary tech on Amazon & eBay is proof enough of that!

[AdamSamson]

I have made the conscious decision to pay the premium cost on open-source hardware a few years ago. I understand the difficult position they’re in, and I also understand I could have shinier toys quicker if I paid for closed-source products, but I still stick with open-source for a few reasons:
1. The only way to support an idea I’d like to see stay in the future is apparently with my wallet;
2. Open-source companies are more likely to support other ideals I like (like Right to Repair);
3. Even if the company eventually closes, I can usually find spare parts and support outside their website.

And I also understand some closed-source companies can also provide advantages like that. Part of my decision is still motivated by a naïve « sharing is caring » attitude, and denial of the unsustainability described in this video.

[destinal_in_reality]

Everything gets taken advantage of. Linux is also exploited the same way, lots of vendors using it and changing it and not sharing their source code. It's still worth it even when it's not perfect IMO.

[Wombletronix]

I have come to prefer Open Source products because they embody ideals of a free, cooperative and trust-based society that I want to exist in.
Yes, Open Source is 'good intentions', but good intentions still matter. The more we succumb to cynicism and mistrust, the less deserving we are of good things.

[carpdog]

Open source is working just fine and has been for decades before 3d printing was even a hobby. The problem is taking expectations from the for-profit world and blindly walking into open source with unrealistic expectations. It is a rare company that can open source their main product and be profitable, and nearly all that do actually profit from professional services contracts. If your business model is weak against low-skill knock offs, its not going to go well for you. This is not a weakness of open source, its simply naieve application of it. Also, most companies go out of business and would have anyway even if they hadn't been open sourcing their development. Difference is, at least their work lives on.

[shirgall]

The point of open source is that you stand on the shoulders of everyone that came before you to build the platform on which you constructed your improvements. Your calculation of your gains or losses should include this.

[andybrice]

We need to strike a better balance in intellectual property law. There should be more reasonable protections in-between _"Anyone can use this idea for anything."_ and _"No one else can make anything like this for 20 years."_

[pixelfairy]

With all the subscription and right to repair nonsense going on, we really need to support open source commercially as much as we can.

[rodfrey]

The various exploitative companies are already violating the GPL3 licenses. What would stop them from violating patents?

[MrPolluxxxx]

I think open standards and opensource in general is a really good guard against monopoly. If a company wants to make a product based on proprietary technology, it needs to be at least as good as the FOSS option, otherwise there's no point paying for the proprietary option.

Additionally, I think Stallman was right when he wrote the GPL, that any use of GPL licenced code needs to be GPL licenced. This enforces the two way collaboration when a corporation uses the free code. the problem is that nobody takes the time to enforce the licence terms.

[TitouFromMars]

My problem isn't so much with patents and closed source as with what they can lead to today: the impossibility (or even prohibition) of repairing or customizing your printers. Loss of ownership via subscription systems, confinement to an ecosystem (when will rfid chips be installed on spools to ensure that you only use filament that is "compatible" with your printer?) Be careful what you wish for....

[MarcsYoutube]

I feel like this is a highly counterproductive, moot point to make. Don't try to discourage people or companies from open-sourcing their stuff. There's already enough gatekeeping of information out there, which is highly harmful to the further development of humanity as a whole. I trust that people who open-source their stuff haven't made that decision lightly and are more than capable of evaluating whether it's economically viable or not.

[momentomoridoth]

opensource will always be sustainable. I fully disagree. there will always be space for proprietary products in the market, but startups will almost never be able to start a project from scratch, and will continue to fork open source projects. the compliance aspect is annoying, for sure. .. but open source is not going anywhere.

[kludgecraft]

Prusa's open-sourceness is a factor for me. I've purchased 2 of their printers, an MMU, and some other stuff, and I'm happy to pay a bit of a premium for a high-quality printer where the design files are free so I can print replacement parts and enjoy looking at the design. And if they ever go out of business or sell to an evil corp, it's pretty likely that we'll all still be able to buy or make replacement parts for the machines we've purchased.

I suspect there's enough people with this kind of attitude to sustain a business, but maybe not a business the size of Prusa.

[interstellarsurfer]

Intellectual Property Law isn't sustainable anymore. This needs to be changed.

[DankoStojanovic]

This is a very narrow and defetist view of a very complex problem.

There are ways to support open source (voting with your wallet, supporting and advocating for laws that protect open source, etc) and open source is much wider than 3d printing (like gnu you mentioned).

If we give up on open source we give up on innovation and a lot of the rights we have now

[nathanielcrutcher]

Even if open source may not make sense for corporations, it’s still a valuable tool for individuals and groups like Voron to contribute IP to the community in cases when they cannot or do not want to commercialize their ideas.

[AviatorXD]

Open Source is not the problem here, greedy corporations are the problem and trust me just because something is patented doesnt mean they wont steal it cause they will but you cant really prove it cause they obv wont show their source code or CADs. People who do open source do it because they actively want to spread their knowledge and knowhow to the world because they believe that people should have access to those things. Hold greedy companies accountable instead of saying that people shouldnt do open source.

[petermain]

I bought my first Prusa (MK2 in 2017) for two reasons; 1) you (Tom) released a video that said "it just works", and 2) I loved the whole ethos of Open Source. I knew I was paying over the odds, that I could build one from Chinese parts for a lot less, but I was happy to give Prusa some extra money to help keep the whole thing going. I do hope I'm not the only one.

Oh, , and Tom, that is the most depressing video I seen in a long time. I do hope you're wrong.

[bwselectronic]

I like the fact that many printers can be flashed with a different software. It bothers me if they are locked down.
If you use a printer that requires the cloud, use of it will disappear if the manufacturer goes out of business, then you end up with a huge paperweight.