After seeing so many "dump and run" code drops on sourceforge, and now on github, I really don't think we (in the global sense) are in want of code.<p>What would make the world a better place? More well documented AND maintained examples of code that satisfies some need.
I've debated doing this a few times, but the stuff I haven't released is usually such a mess of undocumented code that's been rewritten a few million times I'd be afraid it would make me look bad. Congrats for having the discipline to keep even the stuff you aren't releasing in good enough order to be able to do something like that.<p>In case there's any doubt, the above statement is 100% sincere and includes no sarcasm.
Nice gesture from an accomplished programmer. Makes me be appreciative of the field I am in. SO much of what I have learned over the years has been the same way. I always say Github has been the most humbling experience of my career. Just when I start to think I'm the smartest guy in the room I'll crack open a project I haven't seen before and be amazed at what other people have thought of that never even crossed my mind before, yet I'll see the immediate benefit in it.<p>This is seriously one of the cooler things I've seen any engineer do. Thank you!
Yes, good idea.<p>I'm starting to open source some office tools that I use on innovafy. The kind of tools that most offices could use, but no one ever bothers to build.<p>Anyhow, open sourcing is more of a gain than a loss.
Way to be! I like this attitude because it's like if you're not going to maintain it or try to profit from it then why keep it to yourself? I'm much the same way. I'm sure we all have little projects that have the potential to make us a few bucks but if you're not willing to keep them up and follow through then you might as well share. Either way it's not like you were going to do anything with them.<p>And you never know who might want to take over or what kind of great new enhancements someone else might contribute that make you proud that you started the project to begin with. Even if the code languishes on github or sourceforge at least there's the possibility for someone to pick it up. What's more, you never know who's picking up abandoned projects and using them privately. Just because there's no cmaintainer or community activity that doesn't mean there isn't the odd person here and there who finds an abandoned project and uses the hell out of it. Contributions from the open source community isn't the only measure of a project's success or usefulness. Individuals finding a use for abandoned projects without contributing back is still a great thing in my book.<p>I don't know about everyone else but I do it for the love of the game, not to see my name in the source code of another project that uses my code. As far as I'm concerned, unless I'm planning to make a profit (in which case I wouldn't publish the source), you can fork, close, distribute and charge whatever you want with my code.<p>I like Alex's style on this one a lot.