shmerl: Please continue the discussion for the
new wishlist entry here, since comments in the wishlist section aren't very suitable for it.
No problem. In general I like open source but I see that open source is often not really suitable for businesses, so I would not recommend it for GOG. I also guess they won't do it anyway.
Let's look at the (dis)advantages from a non-ideological point of view:
Pros of an open source Galaxy client:
- more contributions from volunteers
- more transparency
- faster security response
- easier forking
- more competition
Cons of an open source Galaxy client:
- spread of knowledge (also to competitors)
- loss of control
The pros certainly would improve development but only indirectly and maybe not that much to outweigh the cons which for any company certainly look very severe. So I could understand if GOG does not want it.
However I would prefer if they make the API open and stable, maybe also the internal workings to some extent, so you can have a bit of competition.
If custom open source downloaders are possible, I would be satisfied.