Vercel needs to stop with this bullshit. It is straight up predatory ”open” source. Like a trapper’s cage, there’s a convenient, tasty bait and then it’s too late.
Is it too cynical to say this might be a lesson devs need to learn the hard way?
Right now the JS community has whipped themselves into a frenzy into building on VC backed technology.
- They refuse to acknowledge that the loudest voices in the room are openly sponsored and invested in by the same VCs who own the companies behind said tech
- They see no issue with a lack of diversity in implementations, instead settling for "it's a standard". Of course, defining a standard without a healthy variety of implementations means you end up with standards that don't benefit from a wide range of voices until well after they land (see RSC)
At the end of the day, those two alone are a pretty harsh combo: A VC-backed network effect machine built across multiple brands, and high technical costs to building something that meets the collection of standards.
I don't think anyone but FAANG can really compete with that without also getting VC dollars, thus reinforcing the loop.
