Open Source Profiteering

The cluster centers on criticism of companies and individuals profiting from open source projects or shared resources without contributing back or prioritizing user benefits over financial gain.

📉 Falling 0.5x Open Source
4,150
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#208
Topic ID

Activity Over Time

2007
2
2008
20
2009
51
2010
76
2011
94
2012
119
2013
126
2014
112
2015
135
2016
160
2017
216
2018
242
2019
302
2020
314
2021
390
2022
466
2023
477
2024
377
2025
442
2026
29

Keywords

PR EA JRRT profit profits profiting money optimize making penalize payer gain making money

Sample Comments

squigz Apr 30, 2024 View on HN

Profiting off it is not the right thing to do.

freeone3000 Jun 26, 2025 View on HN

What’s the point in people using it if all that profit ends up in someone else’s pockets?

ninjathedrago Oct 18, 2023 View on HN

The people using it for profit and not giving anything back.

rayiner Aug 12, 2015 View on HN

They're not making it better out of the goodness of their hearts--they're profiting from the situation.

userbinator Dec 15, 2025 View on HN

"enhanced" (profit) for them, not for you.

Natsu Jul 29, 2020 View on HN

It's almost like there are people making massive profit off of these things.

elthran Jan 19, 2016 View on HN

why would they do that, when they can just make extra profit?

tomcam Apr 2, 2019 View on HN

How does that make them profiteers?

Lu2025 Jul 16, 2025 View on HN

They don't optimize for our convenience, they optimize for their profit.

oth001 Jan 22, 2019 View on HN

I think it's all in their interest of making more money.