February 13, 2026
Gift horse, not help desk
Open Source Is Not About You
Creators say 'we don't owe you'; commenters demand context, receipts
TLDR: Clojure’s creator told users open-source code is a gift, not a service, and makers aren’t obligated to add features or support. Comments split between applause for clear boundaries and calls for context, with one vendor echoing: pay if you need polish; free if you can do the work.
Open-source firestarter alert: Clojure creator Rich Hickey dropped a blunt memo saying open source is a gift, not a help desk. Translation for non-tech folks: you can use the code, but the makers don’t owe you features, fixes, or attention. That line hit hard, and the comments lit up. Some readers immediately asked for context—‘Was there Cognitect drama?’ wondered regenschutz—while others nitpicked the basics, like mtmail’s plea to add the year before anything else. Haberman saw the post as frustration but welcomed the move to spell out expectations: if your assumptions don’t match the project’s, that’s on you. The spiciest take came from a small vendor: kevincloudsec admitted customers ask ‘why pay when there’s free?’ and agreed—if you have the time and skill, go for the free option; no one is owed anything.
The mood? Split. Half the crowd cheered the boundary-setting—less chaos, fewer feature demands, more creative control. The other half squinted, skeptical of ‘gift’ talk and wanting receipts on community engagement. Meanwhile, jokesters turned it into a meme: “Open source is the gift horse; stop checking its teeth.” Whether you see it as tough love or gatekeeping, the message landed. Expectations, boundaries, and feelings are colliding.
Key Points
- •The article states that open-source project governance is determined by project maintainers and does not obligate them to meet user expectations.
- •It characterizes open source as a licensing and delivery mechanism granting code access and modification rights, not user entitlements.
- •Cognitect, according to the article, receives no royalties from Clojure and develops it not for profit; fewer than 1% of users are Cognitect customers.
- •Cognitect invests its earnings to fund Clojure development and community outreach, including hiring staff; the author cites personal financial sacrifice in creating Clojure.
- •Clojure’s development process is described as open but conservative, with ongoing feature work (e.g., clojure.spec, tools.deps) and many avenues for community contribution.