Going open-source vs private?
Hi,
First of all, I am glad that I found this amazing community.
Coming to question, I am thinking of working on an API service, its not something out of the box but helpful. Anyone can build it easily, sometimes I think of going it with open source so that it can be improved by the community but at the same time, I think of it as a business and my sole property.
If anyone is having such an experience do let me know?
what problem I shall be facing if I opt for open source?
Will I be able to monetize?
Do you want customers or a community? That's how I think about it.
If its an API service and not something installed or running on someone's computer, then I think keeping it closed it would be fine because no one is installing code on their system.
If it's a library I'm compiling into my code then perhaps making it open source is necessary. If it's a unique or novel thing, you can license it to prevent commercial use or distribution and discuss with teams licensing terms/costs.
I've seen this done and if the "code lift" is quite large and can be alleviated by just licensing your code then it could work as a business but it'll be niche most likely.