November 3, 2025
Decentralized until AWS sneezes
The Stallman Paradox: How Web3 Became the Ultimate Open Source Theater
Web3’s ‘Open’ Act: Commenters Roast Stats, Stallman Mashup
TLDR: An essay claims Web3 hides corporate control behind “open source” aesthetics, pointing to a drop in copyleft licenses and Coinbase’s Base relying on centralized infrastructure. Commenters fire back over unsourced stats, mixing Stallman with “open source,” and whether this is a paradox or just culture-war theatrics—why “open” matters to users.
An essay set the internet on fire by claiming Web3 is “open source theater”—all community vibes on the surface while big companies quietly hold the keys. The piece cites dramatic numbers about a supposed collapse in copyleft licenses (the share-back kind) and points to Coinbase’s Base chain, which allegedly runs on a single switch and even stumbled during an AWS cloud hiccup. Cue the popcorn: the comments went feral.
The top reaction? Skepticism. One reader slammed the “no sources” vibe on those stats, and the thread dogpiled fast. Another tore into the author for mixing up Richard Stallman’s “free software” crusade with “open source” branding—ancient internet lore, but people are very serious about it. A particularly spicy take called the whole thing “incoherent drivel,” while a calmer voice argued it’s not a paradox at all: Stallman wanted software to serve users, period. Others say the piece confuses license fights with the broader problem of big platforms hosting—and controlling—everything.
Jokes and memes? Plenty. “Decentralized until AWS sneezes” made the rounds, along with “VC cosplay in copyleft cosplay.” The mood: half fact-check brigade, half philosophy club, with a dash of cult-culture snark. Whether or not the essay stuck the landing, the comments turned it into a cage match over who actually owns “freedom” in tech—and who’s just renting it
Key Points
- •The article claims GPL usage fell from 72% in 2009 to 15% in 2024, while permissive licenses rose from 28% to 85%.
- •It states that 96% of enterprises increased open source use, with 89% avoiding copyleft licenses.
- •It asserts Web3 platforms that extract 90% of community value receive $19.6 billion annually.
- •Base, Coinbase’s Layer 2, is described as using a single centralized sequencer controlled by Coinbase, enabling censorship and MEV extraction.
- •The article states Base went down during an AWS outage in October 2025, highlighting reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure.