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Ptah.sh supports Fair Source

Written by Bohdan Shulha

My Story

Hi! I’m Bohdan, the person behind ptah.sh. I want to tell you how I made ptah.sh and why I picked the Fair Source distribution model and Functional Source License (FSL) for my SaaS. It’s a story that starts with a problem and ends with a solution that I hope can help others too.

How ptah.sh Started

I made ptah.sh because of a problem we had at E-Sportstats.com, a website I helped start. We show stats for eSports games like League of Legends and CS2.

We tried using different services to run our website, like Heroku and AWS. But they were either too expensive or too hard to use. We needed something simpler and cheaper.

So, I decided to make my own tool. I called it ptah.sh. Here’s what it did for us:

  • It helps us run our website on cheaper computers from a company called Hetzner.
  • This saved us a lot of money - we now pay $768 a year instead of $4,300!
  • That’s an 82% reduction in our yearly expenses!
  • And our website works even better than before.

A Bit About Me

  • I’m 33 years old.
  • Born in Moldova, grew up in Ukraine, now living in Warsaw, Poland.
  • I’ve been making software for over 10 years.

After a bad experience at a job that left me feeling really tired and stressed, I decided to make something on my own. That’s how E-Sportstats.com started, which then led me to create ptah.sh.

What’s the Functional Source License?

When I realized ptah.sh could help other people too, I had to think about how to share it. That’s when I found out about the Functional Source license. Here’s what it means:

  1. Anyone can read our code.
  2. People can use, change, and share our software without many rules.
  3. We can still make money from our work.
  4. Later on, we promise to make the software completely open for everyone.

Why I Chose Fair Source for ptah.sh

Picking the Fair Source model with the Functional Source License was a big choice. Here’s why I think it’s good:

  1. I can share my code but still run a business.
  2. Other developers can learn from ptah.sh and help make it better.
  3. People can trust that ptah.sh will always be available.
  4. It fits with what I believe in - sharing knowledge and helping others.

What This Means for You

If you’re using ptah.sh or thinking about it, here’s what the Functional Source License means:

  • You can see how ptah.sh works, which I hope makes you trust it more.
  • You can change ptah.sh to fit what you need.
  • You can suggest ways to make it better, and I’m excited to hear your ideas.
  • You can be sure ptah.sh won’t disappear if something happens to me or my company.

What If Someone Steals My Code?

I know some people might worry about sharing their code. They might ask, “What if someone steals it?” It’s a fair question, and here’s how I think about it:

  • Yes, someone could copy the code, but they’d be missing a lot:

    • The vision behind ptah.sh
    • The audience we’ve built
    • Our fast development speed
    • The legal right to use the code (thanks to the Functional Source License)

Here’s the interesting part: people are lazy. To “steal” a product, they’d need to understand how it works first. That takes time and effort.

If someone has lots of money, they’d be better off starting from scratch. They could fix the things our users don’t like. But that’s just how the world works, even with closed-source software.

Also, there’s no guarantee a copy would last longer than the original. When you’re small, no one wants to steal your product. When you’re big, it’s too late - marketing becomes the bigger challenge.

One more reason I’m not worried: I want to give back to the community. I use hundreds of thousands of open-source tools every day. This is my way of saying thanks.

A Good Company

When I chose the Functional Source license for ptah.sh, I knew I was in good company. Sentry, a well-known error tracking platform, actually created this license. They wanted a way to share their code while still running a sustainable business. Since then, other respected tech companies have followed suit:

  • Codecov: A popular code coverage tool
  • GitButler: An innovative Git client
  • Keygen: A software licensing API
  • PowerSync: A mobile data sync solution
  • CodeCrafters: An interactive coding challenges platform

Seeing these successful companies use the Functional Source license showed me it’s a solid choice for balancing openness with business needs. It’s exciting to be part of this growing trend in the tech world!

Looking Ahead

I think choosing the FSL for ptah.sh might be part of a bigger change in how we share software. It’s not just about picking between “free” or “paid” anymore. We’re trying to find new ways to share openly while still being able to keep working on our projects.

Wrapping Up

By using the FSL for ptah.sh, I’m trying something new. I want to share my work but also build a business that can keep improving ptah.sh.

I’m excited to see how ptah.sh grows. If you want to try it, you can use the code FAIRSOURCE for our cloud version. And if you just want to support the project, I’d be really thankful for any help on GitHub Sponsors.

Thanks for your interest in ptah.sh and for taking the time to understand why I chose this license. I’m looking forward to making something great together!

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