2008-07-04

Open source code in Google

The notice I received today is just too awesome to not blog. A couple years ago I worked for a certain multinational company who paid lip service to free software; but when I said I wanted to release my library, they kept telling me to wait longer and longer, only to say “no” at the end (some ten months later…). Compared to that, I just couldn’t avoid smiling when I read this:

Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 12:48:26 -0400
From: “Daniel Berlin”
Subject: Open sourcing code owned by Google

This is just a friendly reminder that we have a process in place for releasing Google owned code as open source. This process is detailed at http://[blah].

I’ve seen people (presumably from higher overhead companies) who seem to think they need more permission than our process says they do. You don’t.

The process is very simple (i.e. usually involves sending a few emails), and the time between being us being emailed and you being able to release the code averages < 24 hours (worst case is about a week if you are doing something insane).

Attempts to make this process more complex will be met with violent resistance.
Attempts to make this process easier will be welcomed with milk and cookies.

Thanks for your cooperation,
Dan

— leoboiko, 20:56:11

|comments| = 5

5 comments

  1. I have heard a story of somebody that worked for brazilian (now multinational) linux company that forbid employees from contributing code upstream for a open source project they were using as basis for another software project, even on their spare time.

    Comment by Eduardo Habkost — 2008-07-04 22:34:07

  2. E tem gente boa no #d00dz que não gosta do Google…

    (sem deixar é claro de usar gmail e googlar tudo que precisa no trabalho!)

    Comment by Elvis Pfutzenreuter — 2008-07-04 23:06:55

  3. Google is a nice company, but from my own experience working for a MNC, I expect that this is similar elsewhere. I can’t say the way my company does it is similar since you don’t describe the process, but I expect it to be similar. You basically send an e-mail to someone who then replies with a “Sure, dude, go ahead” and that’s it.

    To be fair, in the old days, the process was much, much harder to get thru, involving Legal and copyright wavers.

    @ehabkost – I’m curious :-)

    Comment by Roberto Teixeira — 2008-07-05 10:27:40

  4. what about opening internal google emails?

    Comment by Braileah River — 2008-07-25 19:51:54

  5. braileah: it’s perfectly okay as long as you ask the responsible persons first, which I obviously did. I mean, duh.

    Comment by leoboiko — 2008-07-25 22:43:35

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