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by coldpie 1037 days ago
Just like cookie banners, CLAs are one of those idiot lawyer things where some jackass at a big corp invented the idea to justify their paycheck, and now everyone cargo cults it because they think they need it. 99% of projects do not need a CLA and 99% of websites do not need a cookie banner.
2 comments
Spivak 1037 days ago
I think I would actually flip that for CLAs -- 99% of projects do need a CLA it's just annoying because assignment isn't the assumed default when contributing to other projects. The number of projects where there is more than one owner (be that a person, foundation, or llc) is insignificant. Almost all outside contributions are from people who have no expectations at all over their code and are just scratching their own itch. Plus unless you're a huge project the legal issues are just ignored when it comes to re-licensing.

So maybe you're right but "99% of projects have a CLA in the form of not giving a fuck" is far more accurate.

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coldpie 1037 days ago
Yeah. I'm saying "not giving a fuck" is the correct solution for 99% of projects. CLAs are a solution in search of a problem.
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stanleydrew 1037 days ago
This isn't a good analogy. Copyright is a real thing, and getting explicit consent from your contributors to use their copyrighted material is an important defensive measure.
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coldpie 1037 days ago
Defensive against what? Can you provide some examples of a real-world (not hypothetical) problem that a CLA would have solved?
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