[jack_pp]

either this or you work on software that even if copied won't get you far since the business relies on network effects or pure networking.

Getting the source code of facebook or instagram doesn't mean you could compete with them.

I work for a company that has built relationship with event organizers over the past 10 years. The code I maintain could be written from scratch in maybe 2-3 months even though it was built over the past 10 years but besides that you have frontend / DB / hardware / logistics etc

[Demiurge]

I actually agree with you, for the most part. The code I work with actually does contain some valuable algorithms, but Im pretty sure the effort of integrating them into a larger system is pointless without the data. It’s almost like stealing half-life 2 source code without any assets.

Still, “Getting the source code of facebook or instagram doesn't mean you could compete with them.” I think to giants like that, having access to their source code could open up some very interesting loop holes for manipulating the ranking algorithms, or even security vulnerabilities.

[jack_pp]

True, haven't thought of that. However very few actual projects / companies are in a situation where the chinese GOVT would be interested to spend resources to hack your platform. For the ones that are afraid of that there's always self hosting of course

[Den_VR]

I used to work with HVAC companies, and I noticed that many of their customers mistakenly believed they were purchasing air conditioners. They didn’t consider these devices, which they connected to the internet, as computers. Despite being systems that required user names, passwords, updates, monitoring, and other maintenance, the prevailing attitude among these customers was, “This is an appliance, and why would anyone care about my air conditioner?”

All this to say, not even subject matter experts necessarily appreciate the risk involved in their work