[nordsieck]

> the side effect is that it discourages all the grass roots innovations that could have happened

> people can “fork” out of the project since it’s open [but] Unless you have very strong motivation it would be very discouraging to even start.

You don't get to have it both ways. Either:

1. There are (potential) projects being stifled by big money, but forking those projects is easier than starting from scratch.

or

2. The scale of software is simply too big for hobbyists so there's no real stifling going on and forks are too hard.