
Show HN: Project Glimpse from Microsoft – Full-Stack Node.js Web Diagnostics - davidkpiano
http://node.getglimpse.com/
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matt4077
[https://github.com/glimpse](https://github.com/glimpse) calls this "The open
source diagnostics platform for the web", yet the license is anything but open
source (as commonly defined), including:

    
    
        You may not work around any technical limitations 
        in the software;
        reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the software, 
        or otherwise attempt to derive the source code 
        for the software except, and only to the extent 
        required by third party licensing terms governing 
        the use of certain open source components that may 
        be included in the software;"

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webwalker
Anthony here, dev/tech lead on the project. There is the .Net version which is
currently open source vs the Node version which hasn't yet been open
sourced... [http://getglimpse.com](http://getglimpse.com) > .Net version vs
[http://node.getglimpse.com](http://node.getglimpse.com) > Node version.
Assuming people are interesting in it being open source, this is something
that we can advocate for.

~~~
matt4077
I don't want to get all righteous, especially considering some excellent
projects I've seen from Microsoft such as VSCode, but it feels like you may
not understand the culture of the community you're trying to reach.

First, let me say that there's nothing wrong with closed-source software. If
Microsoft wants to create the best node.js dev and/or production environment
ever, and if it does so without violating any OSS licenses (which are mostly
MIT, so it's possible), more power to them (/you).

However, if you call it an "open source [...] platform", and you host the
source code on Github, and you're soliciting and accepting PRs from the
public, then you may be creating all sorts of headaches for yourself and
others. Yes, people should check the licenses for software they use. But as it
is right now, many people will take the project's tagline at face value, and
may be reminded of a very different Microsoft if, at some point, some other
division at MS decides to crack down on the illegal use of this source code,
or when you turn people's contributions into a closed-source project.

Edit: the projects also reference Microsoft's "Open Source Code of Conduct",
and they are listed at
[https://opensource.microsoft.com/?keyword=glimpse](https://opensource.microsoft.com/?keyword=glimpse).
I've filed an issue at
[https://github.com/Glimpse/Home/issues/109](https://github.com/Glimpse/Home/issues/109)

~~~
avanderhoorn
@matt4077 thanks for your feedback and questions. I'll post my reply here and
on the GitHub issue for coverage and for anyone else wondering at this point
in time (as the answer is likely to evolve in the future).

I totally agree that having public code in a repo on github that has a
proprietary license leads to headaches, hence why we haven't done that. If you
take the time to have a look around the Glimpse org, all code that exists
there, is under MIT/Apache2. No code associated with the Node project is yet
publicly available on GitHub. Once you have looked, feel free correct me if
you think something has slipped through. Given that everything is MIT/Apache2,
there is no chance that someone could accidentally commit code to a repo that
has a license that goes against the spirit of the community.

Regarding our use of the Open Source Code of Conduct, parts of the project,
specifically the .Net components, are currently open source. Even though not
all elements of the project are public, a large portion of the project is and
we choose to operate under that code. For Glimpse/Home we have it mentioned
there, not to confuse people, but rather to advise people the guidelines under
which we are operating. If you have a chance to read through it, please feel
free to reach out to me if you don't agree with what it states as it pertains
to running a project.

To summarizes, the only repo under the Glimpse Org that is associated with the
Node effort is Glimpse/Home and it has no code in it. All other public repos
carries the MIT/Apache2 license. Glimpse/Home is our current best place for
gathering feedback and is situated on Github since it is where the community
is. It works given our future direction.

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davidkpiano
Hey HN, the Glimpse Team at Microsoft worked hard to release this tool which
we think will be extremely useful for Node.js developers! Think of it as a
debugging and diagnostics tool for your entire stack - all the way down to
your database calls.

We have a lot of great features and new integrations planned, so if there's
anything you'd really like to see, please let us know! You can leave any bugs,
comments, suggestions, or feature requests here:
[https://github.com/glimpse/home/issues](https://github.com/glimpse/home/issues)

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punchet
I'm the designer for Project Glimpse at Microsoft. Please do give it a try,
any feedback would be highly appreciated!

