• tyo_ukko
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    1 year ago

    I doubt the corporate sponsorship has anything to do with the recent drama in the dev team. I also think it’s a very good sign big companies are sponsoring Rust, as it shows they believe in its potential and help its adoption.

    • teri@discuss.tchncs.de
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      1 year ago

      I have not much of a clue about the recent dramas. Maybe it is not related. Yet I hope that at least now people take the opportunity to rethink sponsorship.

      To me personally, this kind of sponsorship tastes bitter. On one hand, it does show that some companies are willing to invest in the project. The money is certainly welcome and it might be difficult to find other reliable sponsors. The big ones definitely have the financial means to create impact and sustain the project. But that does not mean that their interests are aligned with Rust users like me. From this kind of companies I’d expect that they sponsor projects in order to have influence. They want to breed an ecosystem which is good for their business. Unfortunately, their business is bad for my privacy, its bad for me as taxpayer (Google is a tax parasite where I live), its bad for fair competition. Everything they do, they do for profit. Even if it looks harmless it will be for profit or image.

      Hence, there are things that I’d not expect to change with such companies as sponsors. For example: the Rust ecosystem is quite well linked to Github. I don’t believe that Microsoft would invest into changing that. The opposite.

      To me feels bad if something like Rust which is about to become part of our daily infrastructure is under the control of a few monopolistic companies. If Rust gets mainstream, then those companies do not represent the people who depend on Rust.

      • tyo_ukko
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        1 year ago

        I actually deleted my original comment, because I thought it didn’t contribute too much in the discussion. I restored it, as you went through the trouble to write such a long and thoughtful reply.

        I see where you’re coming from, and I believe it’s a fair concern. My thinking is more along the line that if I’m ever to write Rust for a paid gig, it has to be widely adapted and the ecosystem has to be mature (at the moment most jobs using Rust where I live are some sort of web3/crypto shops, and I’m not interested in those). I don’t think that will happen any time soon without endorsement and sponsorship by the major corporations.

        I have some experience working in the .NET ecosystem, and it’s not all that bad. One of the few Microsoft products I don’t hate.

        • teri@discuss.tchncs.de
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          1 year ago

          Well, I think it does contribute to the discussion here :) . Even though the problems behind the original post might be different.

          That’s also somewhat my dilemma. I really like Rust as a language and I’d be happy to use it also for my day-job. Unfortunately, I don’t see it adopted in the companies I work for.