Boycott 7-Zip Because It’s Not On Github; Seriously?

Source: The Register Boycott 7-Zip Because It’s Not On Github; Seriously?

Linus Named It Git For A Reason … Look It Up

There is a campaign on Reddit that is gaining some traction calling for a boycott of the software because it is not a true Scotsman truly Open Source.  The objection raised is that 7-Zip is not present on “Github, Gitlab, nor any public code hosting” and therefore is not actually Open Source.  The fact that those sites do not appear at all in the Open Source Initiative’s official definition of open source software doesn’t seem to dissuade those calling for the boycott whatsoever.

Indeed you can find the source code for 7-Zip on Sourceforge, an arguably much easier site to deal with than the Gits, and it is indeed licensed under the GNU Lesser GPL.  That indeed would be considered as qualifying as open source software, with the use of the LGPL likely being because 7-Zip includes the unRAR library to be able to unzip RAR files and that requires a license from RARLAB.

Their evidence of the lack of 7-Zip’s openness is based on comments from a 12 year old Reddit thread and the fact that sometimes there are security vulnerabilities in the software.  As The Register points out, the existence of the Nanazip fork of 7-Zip and the fact that 7-Zip has no problems with it is much stronger that the software is indeed open source.

You can find a link to the thread in the article, if you want to participate in one of the internet’s current pointless arguments.

However, it seems criticism for Igor Pavlov and his FOSS compression app 7-Zip is somewhat overblown and may reflect the anti-Russian sentiment of the times.

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About The Author

Jeremy Hellstrom

Call it K7M.com, AMDMB.com, or PC Perspective, Jeremy has been hanging out and then working with the gang here for years. Apart from the front page you might find him on the BOINC Forums or possibly the Fraggin' Frogs if he has the time.

5 Comments

  1. Ray Mcsriff

    I’ve been using 7-Zip for as long as I can remember, and I’m not about to stop now because of mental illness on Reddit.

    Reply
    • Jeremy Hellstrom

      LOL, it was just too hilarious to resist posting. I too swear by 7-Zip.

      Reply
  2. unacom

    This is just getting ridiculous.
    We should all just go back to using WinAce.

    Reply
    • Jeremy Hellstrom

      How dare you reactivate those braincells! WinAce was the shit back in the day.

      Reply
  3. LegoGuy23

    Is the source code publicly available to all?
    Yes?
    Then it is open source.

    Man, you’re eating your own, guys…
    Reallyyyyy not helping the image of the FOSS movement, are you?

    Reply

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