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OSS isn't a business model. The most successful projects I've seen is when someone has a business, releases a tool they use, then others iterate on said tool that the business uses. Then everyone gets a better tool.

Think Linux, Rails, most programming languages, etc...

OSS as a business model usually means a rug-pull, and I've never seen it going that well...



Most programming languages have a commercial history related to them, either developed by corporations, or authors have been employed by major universities or corporations.

Linux was largely irrelevant until 1998, what happened then specifically?

> Many major companies such as IBM, Compaq and Oracle announce their support for Linux. The Cathedral and the Bazaar is first published as an essay (later as a book), resulting in Netscape publicly releasing the source code to its Netscape

-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Linux

Rails happened because Basecamp made it possible.


All those examples prove my point.




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