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Given the recent uproar about AI usage in rsync a PSA: maintainers owe you nothing (mikemcquaid.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/opensource@programming.dev
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For those outside the loop: rsync starting using AI agents to handle the influx of AI security reports to improve the test suite and fix bugs. It introduced a few CVEs and people who never contributed in any way started firing shots at the maintainer.

rsync maintainer's response to the people getting pissy about his usage of AI: medium and the related post on programming.dev

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[–] 1 point 1 month ago (2 children)

Maintainers signed up to maintain. If they don't maintain, no one owes them kind words and encouragement.

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  • [–] [S] 10 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    They didn't sign up for anything. Read their software licenses.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    What? Someone forced them to be maintainers?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    Their point is that the maintainer did not sign a contract that requires them to perform maintainer duties. They can choose to stop doing it at any point. They can choose to axe a feature that you deem essential. They can choose to rewrite the project in COBOL for the fun of it.

    You may not like it, but that is how it is.
    The only legal document involved is the license and any open-source license I've seen so far, has stated that the program is provided as is.

    This is the license under which rsync is provided: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html
    See sections 15 and 16.

    The only way you get to have a say in the matter, is by forking and becoming a maintainer yourself.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    You are implying that maintainer is a service job and not them simply putting their work into the world for people to use. With foss if YOU dont like the maintainer YOU fork and continue.

    They own nothing to anyone. They didnt have to make their code available and doing so is no contract.

    Its not that community isnt important but "require" "owe" and even "should" arent applicable to freely given work like this.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    The fuck are you taking about? Yes a maintainer is a service job. Their role is to be a good steward of the project they maintain. Accepting good submissions, coordinating QA, cutting releases.

    If they do a bad job, then they’re liable to be criticized which is what I actually said and I won’t dignify your strawman with a response.

    And FYI, a license is a contract.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    when people say "job" they don't typically mean unpaid gigs. and an open source license is a contract for what you're allowed to do with their code, not what they're required to provide you (other than the code itself). it explicitly does not include liability, service guarantees, or warranties.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 child)

    A maintainer position is a professional position — unpaid or otherwise. It isn't a "gig."

    And I can't run my computer with "good intentions."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1vTGN52MCc

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago

    professional as in "profession" as in "for pay". if it's unpaid it's quite literally not a "professional position", it is a volunteer position. and they can't pay their rent off your, what, unsolicited criticism bordering on harassment?

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