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1500 questions
47
votes
4 answers

Report a security issue to a project hosted at GitHub

If I find a security issue in a Github project should I raise it in the project's issue tracker (where it's open to public scrutiny) or try to find private means to contact the repo's maintainer so that action can be taken before the issue is…
br3w5
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46
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4 answers

Should I include a copyright line in every file?

This is similar to my other question, but specifically about Copyright rather than Licensing. Typically, each source file contains a line of the form Copyright 2010-2015, Me Is this strictly necessary, or would a single COPYRIGHT file at the root…
kdopen
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45
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9 answers

How can cheating be prevented in a FLOSS multiplayer game?

Hacking and cheating in online multiplayer games (that use the typical client-server model) is not uncommon. For example, in some first-person shooters there are "aimbots" that allow the player's character to hit a target every time, "triggerbots"…
EMBLEM
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45
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3 answers

Is it socially acceptable to star your own repositories on GitHub?

While I'm searching for a new project to start contributing to, I often check the daily email I get from GitHub that lists the most popular repositories of the day and also the repositories starred by the people I follow. So, should I star my own…
r3bl
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44
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2 answers

Is GitHub "releases" section safe from malicious code? To be specific, does the binary match the code in a restrictive way?

When a developer creates a binary from the code and puts it in the releases section, does it match the code in a restrictive way so there is no chance that malicious code is compiled into it? How does GitHub ensure this? Is there a validation…
laimison
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43
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1 answer

How to deal with contributors who write very bad quality code?

As a maintainer of an open source project which strictly enforces coding style and 100% test coverage, how do I deal with enthusiastic contributors who write terrible looking, untested code (that might work fine), while the contribution guidelines…
pulsejet
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41
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2 answers

Do I have to change license of fork if mainstream changes license?

I forked a repository a year ago, which at the time had GPLv3 license. Mainstream repository has now applied AGPLv3 license. Do I have to change my license too ? My fork's last commit is over a year ago (GPLv3).
Ataberk Özen
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41
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6 answers

How do I attract new programmers?

I am working on a project, currently by myself. It's a side project, I'm not expecting to make money on it. It's posted on GitHub, and I'm going to be building a project page for it. Once it's built, how do I get other programmers to want to…
Canadian Luke
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41
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3 answers

What is the difference between FOSS and FLOSS?

FOSS stands for "Free and Open Source Software", whereas FLOSS stands for "Free/Libre/Open Source Software". The use of libre denotes the idea that the software is "free as in free speech, not free beer," as Richard Stallman put it. What is the…
HDE 226868
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41
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8 answers

Can GPL licenced software be used in corporate environments?

If software is licenced under a GPL license, can it be used without restriction in a corporate/commercial environment? The software that I am refering to is QGIS which provides this description: QGIS is a user friendly Open Source Geographic…
TsvGis
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40
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3 answers

Can I "Override" a licensing policy?

On many sites, especially Stack Overflow, I can't help but notice such amazing code snippets. However, they come with a "catch" designed by the author. With user contributions being licensed with the Creative Commons ShareAlike 3.0 License, many…
Zizouz212
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40
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2 answers

Why does Linux still use the GPLv2?

As I know, Linux intentionally avoids the switch from GPLv2 to GPLv3. It has the unfortunate side-effect, that it doesn't take part in the defense of the opensource world from the most recent danger, the patent manipulation by different "patent…
peterh
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40
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7 answers

How to react to unhelpful contributions to otherwise unnoticed projects

Time and again, it is noted how frustrating it seems to contributors when their contributions are rejected (e.g. here, here, or here). That is why I am somewhat undecided about how to handle a situation where someone has provided a rather not so…
O. R. Mapper
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40
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4 answers

Why did Google make Chromium Open Source?

This question really baffles me. What advantage does making it Open Source bring? Aren't they worried someone can learn the secrets in their code and make a competing version of chrome?
user1034912
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39
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7 answers

Can I take BSD licensed code and distribute it under GPL?

Or in more general terms: Can I take code which is licensed under a permissive open source license (like the BSD license) and distribute it under a copyleft free software license (like the GPL)? Microsoft and Apple seem to be allowed to take BSD (or…
Lesmana
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