heads-up: Open Source Docker images

[madires]

Docker is deleting Open Source organisations - what you need to know: https://blog.alexellis.io/docker-is-deleting-open-source-images/

[SiliconWizard]

We weren't seeing that coming.

[madires]

Good news after the public outcry: We’re No Longer Sunsetting the Free Team Plan (https://www.docker.com/blog/no-longer-sunsetting-the-free-team-plan/)

[golden_labels]

Good job! A great way to teach companies, that donating a service creates a liability they must carry for years.

Though Docker themselves could have handle the removal of $0 tier more professionally. If Alex Ellis says the truth, this was some major screw-up.

[SiliconWizard]

Good job! A great way to teach companies, that donating a service creates a liability they must carry for years.

Yep. That may sound excessive - customers having access to a free service should in principle not complain nor feel entitled to anything much - but you should also keep in mind that offering free service for several years is usually exactly what gets a new tech company enough traction to become a profitable company at all.

This "freemium" marketing approach has been the #1 approach for software/web companies for over 20 years.
At some point they'll have to be liable. It's what allowed them to exist in the first place.

[mapleLC]

This is a canary in the coal mine moment for Docker... ignore the signs but....

Synology, Ubiquiti, Sonos all started casting off their customers.  Look at the Kubernetes/Reddit thread, Kubernetes are idiots.

Rethinking whether my NGINX install belongs there now.

[golden_labels]

but you should also keep in mind that offering free service for several years is usually exactly what gets a new tech company enough traction to become a profitable company at all.

How does this change the situation?

Also, to be clear: I am speaking about a particular kind of situation, not about just any kind of donation. It would be different with software or a platform offered for free. This would be ordinary baiting to later coerce the trapped user to switch to a paid plan. One should not feel entitled to having it for free, but accusing the company of fraudulent practice wouldn’t be exaggeration.

But, with the Docker situation, it’s primarily about the storage space and bandwidth, which are widely offered resources. Not only there are other Docker registers,⁽¹⁾ one can deploy own instance (it’s open) and Docker tells one how to do this.

⁽¹⁾ Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft to name the big ones.