"I am not proud of my code" excuse for not open sourcing an application [closed]

Question

I have asked a few developers who produced software they no longer maintain or let die, why they don't open source the software and let other developers take it forward and enhance it. Or at least not let it disappear.

Most of the excuses were about the quality of the code. They don't want to open source because they are ashamed of what they have coded. In my opinion, if the software works, people are downloading it and using it, that says enough about the software. No one is proud of their own code. If anyone looks at their year old code, you surely decide you can do better now. I have used some good software no longer exists. I find it this to be a waste of good resources.

Why would some developers prefer to let their software disappear instead of giving it to the public? One reason I can think of is that they used someone else's IP and they don't want to be exposed. Should developers be encouraged to open source their software if they have no intentions of profiting from it now or in the future?

Answer 1

If someone really wants to release the code but are ashamed of it, the rational solution is to remove all traces of their authorship from the source code, then either release it into the public domain, or assign the copyright to someone else.

That aside, there are all sorts of possible reasons for an author not releasing source code:

• Maybe the code really is crap and the author doesn't want a potential future employer to associate him/her with it.
• Maybe the author is unduly sensitive about (possible) criticism from his/her peers.
• Maybe the author thinks the code is not worth the effort of saving, and is trying to stop other people wasting their time on it.
• Maybe there are potential IP issues that the author doesn't want to spend time sorting out:
  • some open source code might have been copied without proper attribution or under the wrong license,
  • some closed source code might have been copied,
  • some patented method might have been used. (Aside: can anyone ever be sure that their code doesn't uses a patented method? No!)
  • the author really cannot remember what short-cuts he/she might have taken N years ago ...
• Maybe the code contains secrets that the author doesn't want to reveal:
  • maybe it doesn't do what he/she claimed it does in some research paper, or some such
  • maybe he/she thinks it might give competitors (e.g. other academics) an advantage to see the "secret sauce" techniques his code uses.
• Maybe the author dreams that some day he/she will be able to sell the code for big pots of money.
• Maybe the author dreams that some day he/she will find the time and energy to fix the code, release under an open source license and become as famous as Linus. (Yea .. that Linus!)

Or maybe the author is simply just not interested, and the "I'm ashamed of my code" excuse is just a ploy to make you go away :-).

Answer 2

Some people really might not want their code to be criticized and don't feel like cleaning it up. It is somewhat legitimate though I agree if does prevent useful code from getting out to the community. It's not prima facie evidence that they are using IP that they shouldn't though.

Answer 3

Maybe because open a software's code demmands some effort they're not willing to spend.