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Explore the critical debate between company-backed and foundation-backed open source projects in this 26-minute conference talk from OSA Con 2025. Examine the recent controversies surrounding open source companies that changed their licenses, sparking community backlash and the creation of foundation-backed forks. Learn from Ray Paik and Fatih Degirmenci's combined decade-plus experience as they compare both governance models across essential areas including governance structures, roadmap planning, community management, and funding mechanisms. Analyze real-world case studies of successful and failed projects under each model to understand the practical implications of different backing approaches. Discover why funding models represent just one factor among many when evaluating open source project viability, and gain a comprehensive framework for assessing which projects to adopt, support, or contribute to as a developer or decision-maker. Address the growing skepticism toward single-company open source projects and evaluate whether foundation backing truly prevents bait-and-switch tactics in the open source ecosystem.
