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robn · 6 Mar 2015, 02:26 PM

tl;dr we're not going to release the frontend source code at this time.

We're big believers in open data and open standards, which is why we invest so much in our IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, etc support and try to get new things like JMAP out there.

With open source though, we're far more pragmatic - we don't have any philosophical position on it. We really only release the source code for something if its personally interesting (eg a standalone component like hopscotch), or if it meets some business objective (all our involvement with Cyrus).

I'll use the Android/iOS app as an example. Some people have asked for it to be open-sourced. My response was that I'd only do it if someone genuinely wanted to build something with it. The code itself isn't interesting or useful for its own sake, but might be interesting if you wanted to add a major feature or port it to another platform. Releasing the code isn't just a code drop - I need to sanitise it a little bit, provide some build instructions and so on. That takes time away from other more important projects. So its only worth doing if its likely to result in a net improvement for both us and our customers.

It isn't clear that the time and effort required to make the frontend source code available (and LibreJS compatible) is going to result in any significant gain. Maybe we'd get a couple of extra users out of it, but I doubt it would be enough to justify the time and effort spent to get the code out there and support it properly.

I'd make the argument that if you already trust us to store and manage your email then trusting that the code we ship is doing the right thing is not really a big deal. If you don't trust us, then you probably don't want us managing your email either.

If you're a Stallman devotee, then this explanation is unlikely to satisfy you. I'm not sure there's much I can do about that. The first link you posted does link to some other mail providers that do claim to run 100% free software. Perhaps one of those would be a better choice for you over FastMail.

6 Mar 2015, 02:26 PM	#10
robn Master of the @ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,007 Representative of: Fastmail.fm	tl;dr we're not going to release the frontend source code at this time. We're big believers in open data and open standards, which is why we invest so much in our IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, etc support and try to get new things like JMAP out there. With open source though, we're far more pragmatic - we don't have any philosophical position on it. We really only release the source code for something if its personally interesting (eg a standalone component like hopscotch), or if it meets some business objective (all our involvement with Cyrus). I'll use the Android/iOS app as an example. Some people have asked for it to be open-sourced. My response was that I'd only do it if someone genuinely wanted to build something with it. The code itself isn't interesting or useful for its own sake, but might be interesting if you wanted to add a major feature or port it to another platform. Releasing the code isn't just a code drop - I need to sanitise it a little bit, provide some build instructions and so on. That takes time away from other more important projects. So its only worth doing if its likely to result in a net improvement for both us and our customers. It isn't clear that the time and effort required to make the frontend source code available (and LibreJS compatible) is going to result in any significant gain. Maybe we'd get a couple of extra users out of it, but I doubt it would be enough to justify the time and effort spent to get the code out there and support it properly. I'd make the argument that if you already trust us to store and manage your email then trusting that the code we ship is doing the right thing is not really a big deal. If you don't trust us, then you probably don't want us managing your email either. If you're a Stallman devotee, then this explanation is unlikely to satisfy you. I'm not sure there's much I can do about that. The first link you posted does link to some other mail providers that do claim to run 100% free software. Perhaps one of those would be a better choice for you over FastMail.