 You know, I have somewhere a Batman mask that I was going to wear for this video, but I don't know where it is. But if you've been a viewer of mine for years, I have worn my Batman mask in a couple of my videos in the past. I think doing, like, Caden Live and maybe some Python videos. But today I'm going to talk about why Batman and Spider-Man and superheroes such as that wear masks. And how that relates in a way to open-source software, or at least proprietary software. How about that? So, why do Batman and Spider-Man wear masks? Now, you know, there are other superheroes like Iron Man. He wears a mask, but that's part of his armor. It's, like, not originally, but nowadays, you know, current Iron Man, everyone knows who Iron Man is. But Batman, even though he now has, you know, all this tech in his mask that allows him to do other things, like see things. Originally, why did he wear his mask? You might say to scare the bad guys, because he stresses a big bat. But even before, the first time Bruce Wayne went out as a vigilante, he didn't wear a Batman mask. He wore a regular mask. And Spider-Man, they wear the mask. The answer. The obvious answer is they're hiding something. They're hiding who they are. Now, why do I bring this up in a video about free software, open-source software, and proprietary software? Well, there have been a number of times where I've talked to developers of proprietary software, and I usually ask them why don't they release the source code. And it's obvious that they don't completely understand how open-source software works and free software works and the differences between the two and the similarities between the two. Because they don't want people to see the source code is the answer. And I ask them exactly what are you trying to hide? And then they get all defensive. Well, I'm not trying to hide anything. I go, well, that's whether you're releasing your software on your free license or an open-source license, or you can even have the source code available and still be proprietary software, go to almost any internet website, any website on the internet. And there is going to be a JavaScript in that page. And you can, in most cases, go and look at the JavaScript. They do a lot to scramble it up and make it look messy because it is messy. When you do it like that, when you're purposely trying to hide something, it gets messy. That, technically, according to the, what are they called? The open-source foundation? The open-source initiative? Their definition, that's not, there's certain criteria. That's like for years, I always thought open-source software was just the source code was available. And that's not the case if you're going to be technical about it. Open-source software has to follow some guidelines and rules. So just because the source code is available doesn't make it open-source software, but that's a whole other conversation. So my question is, why are you trying to hide by not sharing the source code? Because, again, it could still be proprietary software and the source code would be available. And they get all defensive. Oh, I'm not trying to hide anything, but that's exactly what you're doing. If I put up a curtain and put something behind the curtain so people can't see it, I'm hiding it. I'm trying to hide it. Spider-Man puts on a mask to hide his face. Batman puts on a mask to hide his face. And, you know, in the comic book world, some people have issues with that, others don't. And whether they're doing it for a good reason or a bad reason, the reason they're trying to do it is to hide their face. They might have different reasons for wanting to hide their face, but they're trying to hide their face. Nonetheless, if you are not releasing the source code to your program, you're hiding it. You may have a good reason for that, and that's what I'm asking. What is your reason for hiding it? And I have never once heard a good reason. People have reasons, mostly that don't make sense. Things like, oh, well, if I release the source code, then people could take it and then, you know, then they'll be able to be in my competition and I won't have a business anymore. Well, first of all, it all depends on what license you use. If you use a GPL license, then any changes they make, you have to get back. It only benefits you. And just because someone has the ability to go out and do something similar to you doesn't mean they're going to. It reminds me of years ago, I saw a talk by Lady Aida or Lady Aida, however you say her name, Lady Aida of Aida Fruit. I don't remember her real name, but she was giving a little speech at a college. And she talked about how when she first started releasing her projects under an open source license, that she would get all these emails from many people. It's like, oh, great, now that you did this, I'm going to make this, I'm going to make it cheaper, I'm going to compete against you. And she would get all upset. It's like, oh, what did I do? But then as time went on, she realized that most of these people aren't going to do that. It takes work, it takes effort. Even if I share my source code, it doesn't mean that everybody in the world is going to take it and become my competition. And if you use the right license like a GPL license, anything they add, they've got to give those changes back to you. Unlike something like a BSD license where they can take it, and I say a BSD license, there are different BSD licenses, but general BSD license, these ones that they call less restrictive than the GPL license, allows someone could come and take your source code, add stuff to it and not give back to you. And that's one of the reasons I don't like licenses like that. The GPL license protects you and it protects the end user because the end user can now share and any changes in the future, they know they're going to get in the same with you. But my point going back to the whole mask thing is that if you're not sharing your source code under whatever license you're sharing it under, you are hiding it on purpose. You are purposely taking it and hiding it. And the only reason I personally can think of that is because you're doing something malicious or you just don't completely understand what you're doing. It's like you just heard I shouldn't share so you're not sharing. You've heard that someone's going to take your software and you're never going to get it back again. And it's either a complete misunderstanding on the developer's part, on how things work, or they are up to something malicious. And of course, you know, there's proprietary software and everything. There's also open source software and pretty much everything. It's hard to avoid. So obviously, there is proprietary software in my life, but whenever possible, I try to stay away from it. And of course, I could do better. Most of us could. But going back, if you are a software developer, sharing your source code only benefits you if you do it under the right license. And even if you don't, it's still beneficial most of the time. If you release it under a license that is free and open and doesn't allow restrictions, doesn't allow someone to take that source code and close it up. That means anybody who uses that unless they're keeping it from themselves because the GPL is not an end user license agreement. And license, yeah, end user license agreement. Or whatever they call it. Like whether you agree to when you're installing proprietary software. It's a distribution license. So someone is required to follow the GPL and allow these other licenses such as the different BSD licenses or MIT license or Apache license. These are distribution licenses. And it doesn't really say anything about how you can use it. You have the freedom to do whatever you want with how you use it. They're talking about distribution for the most part, at least with the GPL. I'm pretty sure the other ones are the same way. And the fact that I could take your program, I could take your source code under the GPL, make a bunch of changes and not share it with anybody. As long as I'm using it myself. The second I let somebody else use that software, I am required by law to give them the free rights to change that and modify it and give them the source code. So yeah, I could take it, make changes for myself and just be like, I'll be like Prince. Prince passed away just over a year ago, I believe. He supposedly made all these different music videos and locked them away in a vault. And never share them. In fact, Kevin Smith made some sort of documentary for him that he locked away in a vault. So those are his, you know, you can do that with the GPL software. I'm going to make changes, but only enjoy it myself and not share it with anybody. But the second you give it that software to somebody else, you're required to share that source code. But if you're hiding it, maybe you have a good reason. I have just never heard one. I've heard BS reasons. Some people will go, oh, security. Security has nothing to do. If there's a security flaw in it, there's a security flaw in it, whether the source code is open or not. Now, if it's open, that gives people an opportunity to easier find those flaws, which, depending on the person, could benefit them, benefit you in the way that someone will find it and you can patch it. I suppose a evil person could find it and use it for malicious action. But the thing is, that flaw is already there and either someone's going to find it or they're not. But security is security. The software is either secure or not. And every software project that has any amount of size to it is going to have some sort of security flaw in it. And it's just a matter of time until it's found. But just because the source code is available doesn't mean that it's not secure. But if it's proprietary, if you're not sharing the source code, what are you hiding? That's my question to you. You are hiding something. That is the point. People argue, I'm not hiding anything. You are hiding it. You are hiding the source code. My question is, why? Why are you hiding it? Because you're hiding it for a reason. So when I say, what are you hiding? I'm not talking about that you're hiding something because you are. It's, why are you hiding it? And what are you hiding? So, that's it. Thanks for watching and I hope that you have a great day.