[Sytten]

I feel HN as a double speak for startups. Lots of cheer for open source and free stuff, lots of hate for anything subscription-based, lots of noise for high salaries and then picachu surprise when stuff like this happens. If anything I am completely cynical on HN users and not much on startups getting bought...

[derefr]

There is a segment of the hacker community that believes that the correct and noble purpose of a startup isn't to build a stable company or find product-market fit, but rather to confuse VCs into temporarily paying some people to create the niche project they wanted to create anyway, but didn't have any way to keep the lights on while building; where the correct and noble end-goal of such a project is to avoid acquisition, use up all its runway paying the employee salaries, and, upon shutdown, open-source the IP (and hook the employees up with their next startup doing the same thing.) That "shutdown and release FOSS" step is seen by this segment as not only the intended outcome of the startup, but the entire purpose/mission of creating the startup in the first place. With any messaging to the contrary existing solely to make VCs complacent, rather than because the founders actually believe it.

[psadauskas]

That sounds _way_ better than making a handful of very wealthy people a little more wealthy, while leaving employees and customers in the cold after the acquisition. I wish that segment of the hacker community were larger...

[panick21_]

Actually lots of people asked to pay for the service and wanted them to accept money. Nobody is against subscription if it comes to things like remote resources.

[aliqot]

And a lot of us are the most able to pay for these things we use for free, but don't.