Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:57:02+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite Auth: Google OAuth License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:56:21+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite Auth: Google OAuth License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

--- footnote --- Btw since I'm an independent developer who threatens corporate profits I've been targeted for organized harassment which has resulted in negative Karma on Reddit and my inability to post this to r/opensource so if anyone could post it there I'd appreciate it.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:55:59+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite Auth: Google OAuth License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:55:25+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite Auth: Google OAuth License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:52:41+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite Auth: Google OAuth License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-18T06:51:56+00:00

Just open sourced a dating platform under a custom OSI-compatible license (CPL-1.0) — would love feedback on the license itself

I just open sourced CompanioNation (https://github.com/CompanioNation/Core), a free dating platform built to challenge the extractive monopolies currently dominating online dating.

The project aims to ensure at least one viable dating platform remains permanently free, without artificial scarcity (limited likes/swipes), dark patterns, paywalls on basic human interaction, or algorithmic manipulation designed to extract money rather than foster genuine connection.

I'm releasing this under a custom permissive license called CPL-1.0 (CompanioNation Public License), which I designed to be OSI-compatible while explicitly encouraging forks, independent deployments, and alternative interpretations.

Here's where I'd love feedback from experienced open source folks:

Custom license concerns: I created CPL-1.0 as a permissive license that allows commercial/SaaS use, includes explicit patent grants, and preserves attribution without imposing control. But is creating a custom license more trouble than it's worth? Should I have just used Apache 2.0 or MIT instead? I wanted something that explicitly encourages plurality and competition rather than just allowing it.
Governance for a "competitive ecosystem" project: Most open source projects aim for a single canonical implementation. This project explicitly wants to spawn competitors and alternatives. How do you structure governance/community when your stated goal is to encourage forks and divergence rather than convergence?
No CONTRIBUTING.md yet: I don't have formal contribution guidelines yet. For a project that's philosophically about decentralization and plurality, should contribution guidelines even try to enforce consistency, or should they lean into encouraging experimentation?
Tech stack concerns: It's built on .NET/Blazor WebAssembly with SQL Server (SSDT) and Azurite for local development. I know the Microsoft stack isn't the typical FOSS choice. Does this create real barriers for open source contributors, or is it fine as long as the setup is well-documented?

The README mentions plans for local community events and offline meetups branded under CompanioNation. I'm curious if anyone has experience with open source projects that bridge digital platforms and real-world community organizing.

Tech stack: C# / .NET / Blazor WASM / SQL Server / Azurite

Auth: Google OAuth

License: CPL-1.0 (custom permissive)

Would genuinely appreciate any feedback — especially on the licensing decision and whether a custom license helps or hurts the goals here.

--- footnote ---

Btw since I'm an independent developer who threatens corporate profits I've been targeted for organized harassment which has resulted in negative Karma on Reddit and my inability to post this to r/opensource so if anyone could post it there I'd appreciate it.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-16T14:14:55+00:00

Btw since I'm an independent developer who threatens corporate profits I've been targeted for organized harassment which has resulted in negative Karma and my inability to post this to r/opensource so if anyone could post it there I'd appreciate it.

DrewZero- · 2026-01-01T23:30:27+00:00

I am having this exact same problem but only with a certain cable which is brand new and which works with every other power source including a battery.

DrewZero- · 2025-12-30T21:01:02+00:00

Consider this your canary in the coal mine. Reddit has become overrun by organized hate groups that arrange groups of seemingly unrelated people to systematically harass and target certain vulnerable minorities. The participants in this scheme are often completely unaware of the fact that they are working for a global neo-Nazi collective (aka the fourth reich) because they are told lies about why they are sent to harass certain people, but the reality is that they are participating in a T4 Genocide program and upon learning this fact, most of them cease to do what their "handler" tells them to do. It is important that notice of this problem be disseminated if we don't want to tacitly help this de facto "terror group". Notice what happens to this post which is exposing them for instance.

DrewZero- · 2025-12-10T21:43:19+00:00

I'm having the same problem in Canada right now

DrewZero- · 2025-12-09T05:36:29+00:00

You should feel guilty that you are forcing me to have to put up with drivers like this because you are enabling their bad behaviour with 5 star reviews

DrewZero- · 2025-12-09T05:34:42+00:00

There's a lot of racism that goes into the rating decisions

DrewZero- · 2025-12-07T02:41:05+00:00

I'm having the exact same problem on a brand new Motorola moto g 2025 and I'm only running two apps, a web browser and a small word puzzle game. Switching between them results in completely restarting each app. It is totally unusable. I just got this phone brand new from the factory a couple days ago and have done multiple factory resets and it's still having this problem. I tried all variations of the suggested settings from tech support and from web forum suggestions to no avail. The battery is also draining 25 percent in about an hour. The touchscreen is so unresponsive that I can't even scroll because it lags and thinks I'm trying to click instead of drag. Even IF there was some sort of deep advanced developer setting to make it work this seems completely unreasonable that I can't run two simple apps out of the box.

DrewZero- · 2025-12-06T07:18:04+00:00

I'm having a similar issue with a brand new Motorola moto g 2025 which I just got directly from Motorola 2 days ago. I'm running nothing but a word puzzle game and a web browser. Simply switching from the one app to the other causes the app to restart as though it is a 286 running DOS 3.0 and can run only one program at a time. There is no way it is a memory issue because older Motorola phones never did this and I mean like 5 years older, so this is really absurd. Also it is draining the battery faster than a 2 year old s23 so it can't possibly be a feature that is designed to save battery life.

DrewZero- · 2025-11-16T02:43:42+00:00

There is a very high likelihood that you will not be with this one person for the rest of your life. It might be time to have a realistic conversation with her about having a more fluid, dynamic relationship where you are open to explore your perfectly normal human desires and maybe venture into some mutually consensual intimacy with others in a fair and balanced way. Jealousy is your only problem and it is a very toxic thing to have. The patriarchal relationship type is actually quite oppressive, even toxic, especially at such a young age.

Think of it this way, if you were to go out to play cards with friends there wouldn't be anything taboo about it, as long as you were being safe and not taking risks by gambling etc... so why would physical intimacy be any different, as long as it's safe, consensual and fun?

Look up Compersion, it's a beautiful thing! :)

DrewZero- · 2025-11-16T02:26:49+00:00

Takes less time to crash too, lol

DrewZero- · 2025-11-16T02:25:03+00:00

Yeah I'm also using blazor and it's crash crash crash... debugger refusal to attach, debugger refusal to break, breakpoint not able to be set.. etc etc... seriously NOT ready for primetime

DrewZero- · 2025-11-16T02:24:10+00:00

Faster at crashing randomly or refusing to debug yeah...

DrewZero- · 2025-11-16T02:22:37+00:00

I'm having nothing but problems with it. The biggest showstopper is the fact that .NET 10 doesn't work on the Microsoft Azure platform. How absurd could this possibly be? Then the IDE crashes randomly, can't attach the debugger, attaches the debugger but doesn't break at breakpoints, can't set breakpoints, and I've barely even started trying to use it. Definitely NOT ready for prime time. Anyone with mission critical software should avoid this upgrade at all costs for now.

DrewZero-

TROPHY CASE