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Comment by antris | Hacker News Reader

I mean, you're not saying that this project is "closed source" either, right?

So what is it if not "open source" on the scale between closed and open? "Half-open source"? "Leaked source" only refers to the way the source has initially began to be distributed, not whether it's open/closed right now.

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The middle ground is "source available", although that usually means source made available by the copyright holder under terms that don't meet the Open Source/Free Software definitions. I think just "leaked source" is the best terminology here.

Ah, found it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source-available_software

I see, never heard of that term. Still wish there was a term that encompassed all software that has publically available source code. I thought "open source" was it. The literal meaning of the term aligns so beautifully with it.

Source Available is the worst of both, unless there's a way to reproducibly build the source and check the results against the shipped product. False sense of security and no legal ways to use the code.

It’s more like someone illegally distributing a closed source program.

"Leaked source"

Like, you wouldn't call a pirated movie "free". I mean, it is, but only by violating copyright law.

Of course I would call a pirated movie free, because that's what it is.

Free isn't a synonym for good or legal.

Anything at the store is free too, you just have to avoid paying.

“Free” is related to the concept of property, which is a legal concept.

If something is “free” that means that you can get it legally without paying.

If something is only “free” by circumventing law, then that’s theft.

This is definitely closed source. It is also leaked.

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