[HDMI_Cable]

Which really begs the question: why not have it open-source at that point? Obsidian isn't making money from things hidden in the code, but rather their Sync service.

Might as well open-source it (and perhaps get more people helping with the development), keep the Sync service, and stem competitor projects like these in the bud.

[killerstorm]

"Open source" is not same as "source available".

"Source available": you can look at source code, maybe run a modified version internally.

"Open source": you can integrate it into your own software, republish, etc.

[flakiness]

I suspect it's mostly about setting the expectation. They don't want to give up the control, they don't make it "free" (although it virtually is). Both are possible with open source but it would need a lot of explanation. Being closed makes it more natural.

[andix]

Because then someone might fork it into a new product with their own sync service.

[kepano]

Obsidian has an entire plugin category for syncing, and recommended alternatives to the official Sync service.

https://community.obsidian.md/search?type=plugin&categories=...

https://obsidian.md/help/sync-notes

[andix]

True, and it's great that they don't block those (they absolutely could).

But those are plugins and aren't as easy to use as the integrated sync. Obsidian wants to have their sync to be the easiest to use, and the easiest to discover.

If they went FOSS anyone could just create a rebranded fork that includes their sync instead of Obsidian's sync. Even GPL wouldn't stop that, if the competitor would just keeps their product open source too.

[Apocryphon]

You're replying to the CEO of Obsidian btw ;P

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48088576

[andix]

:O

[vovavili]

As an Obsidian LiveSync user, there is no way I would recommend using it or other third-party alternatives to my non-technical friends. The initial setup and fly.io setup was worth me saving ~50 Euro/year, but I doubt that holds for my less technically inclined peers.

[wholinator2]

This is definitely it. I set it up myself with git private repos because my more-work to more-cost balance weighs heavily towards more-work. It would be trivial to fork it, set up some sync backend, and charge $4 a month to undercut them.

And honestly, they've been very good stewards of the project thus far, I'm happy with the status quo.

[fwn]

I doubt that. There are competing sync extensions in their extension store. If you do not want to use extensions, you can sync the vault folder with any syncing app for free.

The whole data structure is designed to make this easy.

I chose Syncthing for this purpose, and it is free and works flawlessly. You can even trivially disable their native sync, as it comes as an internal extension.

Mozilla could have avoided so much drama with Pocket, VPN, AI features, etc., if they just were as transparent and liberal with critical first-party services as Obsidian is.

[yogorenapan]

And I remember that did happen at one point: https://github.com/acheong08/obi-sync

The mechanism that allowed that was patched as a vulnerability

[vovavili]

Two-faced signalling:

- "We have nothing to hide";

- "We are willing to take you to court for taking advantage of our trust".