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by nickpsecurity 3433 days ago
It would only if the software source or patents compromised the value they gained from the business. This would be the case for some startups. It wouldn't be for others where brand, talent, & existing users were what they were after.

It also wouldn't take any significant time given developers could just push the final source and docs into a Github repo with a license. Or just dump it as a zip on the web. That's nothing. Also a good chance that at least one ex-developer would like to do it just so their work wasn't totally wasted.
1 comments
jsmeaton 3432 days ago
How many production systems have you come across that could be dumped onto the public without any cleaning? Credentials, build systems, personal information, patent use, are a couple of examples that I've seen in prod code that couldn't or shouldn't be included.

Assuming the cost of open sourcing something is zero, even if it's just a zip dump, is usually not correct.

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nickpsecurity 3432 days ago
Fair enough. I forgot about the malpractice of putting credentials and personal information in the code itself. Companies doing that would have a hard time open sourcing the code. Others whose build system doesnt cleanly separate 3rd party or internal stuff might also have trouble. Patents I already handled by saying they simply don't release third party stuff that's proprietary. Patent-encumbered code or tech is one such thing.

So, yeah, I'll take those corrections.

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