It's open source, but...
- the repo is large
- the source code changes rapidly
- the end users install every update immediately
- bug-fixes are wrapped together with new bugs
- the releases are complex.
Discussion
They pretend to care if we read their code.
We pretend to read it.
Most of us haven't even read the Nostr Protocol and those of us who have read it, haven't read all of the changes that have been implemented since we've read it.
Quick, what topic does NIP-17 cover?
Doesn’t exist. 😅 it is hard to keep up with though, even for devs.
The nice thing is that you don’t have to memorize it all. The basic concepts apply across all the nips, just specific details that nearly everyone has to look up regularly.
I read the whole thing, from start to finish, including most of the more-likely PRs, a few weeks ago.
But my point is more: I can't keep up the with protocol changes since then, and I'm reading the PRs in our own repos and frens' repos, writing my own code for three different projects (including for my day job), testing other people's projects, microblogging about Nostr developments and...
I am not even going to pretend to read the code for the products I'm using. 🤷♀️ I just pull and pray.
i don't think that's bad.
it's not like in the past, "knowledge is power",
but rather "knowing where the knowledge is is power".
and that only works with open source.
I think publishing the source is something that is often seen as an alternative to writing clean code and testing properly.
Like hanging out a "Buyer Beware. No Refunds." sign.
They know that nobody will read it. And they definitely aren't going line-by-line through the entire src.
Most people don't even read the release notes.
Very different with slow-moving projects like Bitcoin Core. I've really read every line of that (and wish they would roll back LOL).
I agree that open source isn't a get out of jail free card. We should probably add additional distinctions on top of open source. Projects should be allowed to move fast while finding a userbase, but those shouldn't be lumped in with open source which is deliberate and legible.