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by alexquez 3183 days ago
I'm impressed by how accessible Facebook makes open source tech. It's always top notch but documented in a way that allows regular devs the opportunity to use it in their own apps.

Smaller size and easier to use is a big win. Going with the MIT license puts a real bow on this release. Thank you to the React team.
3 comments
crispinb 3183 days ago
Ditto. And this new release seems to have been characteristically well-handled. I love http://isfiberreadyyet.com, the engineering team's blog, their responses to github issues etc.

My level of genuine respect for the way they do open source makes me feel a bit awkward about the fact that I dislike FB's primary product and mission. Especially given I make quite a bit of use of their code.

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omegaworks 3183 days ago
Seriously! Great news. My company is not just a software company, so when I proposed using React before (under the BSD+Patents license) it would have killed our ability to enforce our non-software related patents against fb.

https://code.facebook.com/posts/300798627056246/relicensing-...

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jbreckmckye 3183 days ago
It is very good, but I wonder what their intentions are. Is it to help hire talent?
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matmo 3183 days ago
Assuming you're referring to the licensing part, it's probably because they've gotten a lot of public backlash for their previous licensing scheme that has caused some to avoid React altogether.
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jbreckmckye 3183 days ago
No, I mean - open sourcing their software. I don't know what their goal is as a company.
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gt2 3182 days ago
Sometimes to attract talent, sometimes to brings free work to a project.

Other times it's lock in for related technologies (current or future plans).

Some have speculated that it's a legal trick, like the problem everyone was insinuating with the React license before the recent change.

Anyone else have reasons I'm missing?

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aickin 3182 days ago
Three other (somewhat related) reasons I’ve heard stated by FB folks:

1. Makes it easier to identify talent out in the world that they want to go after.

2. Raises the technical reputation of Facebook, making it easier to get candidates to say yes.

3. Makes it easier to ramp new employees up on Facebook’s stack if they are already familiar with a lot of it from open source.

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