Todd C. Miller – Sudo maintainer for over 30 years (millert.dev)

Article summary

Todd C. Miller, the maintainer of sudo for over 30 years, is seeking a sponsor to fund continued maintenance and development of the project. Miller has been working on sudo since its inception and has also contributed to other projects such as OpenBSD and ISC cron. The article highlights the importance of sudo as a critical security pillar for global infrastructure. Miller's search for a sponsor raises questions about the sustainability of open-source projects.

Main themes

• Open-source sustainability
• Software maintenance
• Funding models
• Exploitation of open-source developers
• License agreements
• Commercial use of open-source software

What commenters say

• The current state of technology is flawed because critical open-source projects like sudo are not adequately funded, despite their importance to global infrastructure.
• The exploitation of open-source developers is a result of the idealism of open-source not surviving its contact with capitalism, leading to a lack of protection for developers.
• Introducing a revenue-sharing clause in licenses could be a potential solution to ensure open-source developers are fairly compensated for their work.
• Some argue that open-source software should be free, and introducing payment models would create barriers to entry and liability issues.
• Others propose that alternative licensing models, such as the one used by Unreal Engine, could provide a balance between open-source principles and fair compensation for developers.
• The notion that people will always try to exploit free software is used to argue against open-source models, with some suggesting that people having control over their computers is incompatible with paying for software labor.
• There are opposing views on whether introducing payment models for open-source software would be effective in preventing exploitation, with some arguing it would create more problems than it solves.
• Some commenters suggest that the focus should be on creating a system that allows for fair compensation for open-source developers, rather than relying on donations or sponsorships.