Episode 216: Mohammed Shah on TOS Violations for Open Source Projects

Guest Mohammed Shah Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this
episode, host Richard engages in a conversation with guest Mohammed
Shah about open source sustainability and the significant
challenges faced by open source maintainers. Mohammed shares his
background as a full-stack developer and discusses his involvement
in a project aimed at reducing prediabetes risk using a WhatsApp
chatbot. The discussion delves into the WhatsApp chatbot project,
potential violations of WhatsApp’s terms of service, and the unique
license used. Mohammed recounts the distressing experience of
receiving cease and desist letters, leading to his decision to step
down as the project’s maintainer. Richard and Mohammed explore the
difficulties faced by open source maintainers and the need for
collective representation, including the idea of forming an open
source developer union. Mohammed also tells us about a
climate-related initiative he’s working on and a website he set up
called CVE.Earth, for tracking corporate environmental destruction.
Press download now to hear more! [00:01:03] Mohammed introduces
himself as a full-stack developer and talks about his involvement
in a project called Antler, aimed at reducing the risk of
prediabetes in specific communities using a WhatsApp chatbot.
[00:02:55] Mohammed explains the project, which involved creating a
CLI tool that allows users to interact with their own WhatsApp
accounts programmatically. [00:04:02] The discussion touches on the
potential violation of WhatsApp terms of service and how many
projects in the space could be in violation. [00:06:19] Richard
asks about the license Mohammed used to put this code up. He
explains the unique license he sued for the project, which allows
for specific purposes but not for nefarious activities, and Richard
mentions Mohammed’s Hippocratic + Do Not Harm License. [00:07:35]
Mohammed describes the distressing experience of receiving cease
and desist letters which led him to step down as the project’s
maintainer. [00:09:27] Richard discusses the stress and challenges
open source maintainers face when receiving cease and desist
letters and the lack of resources to respond effectively. [0011:05]
Mohammed shares that the project is on hold, and he cannot transfer
it to others due to the legal risk. [00:12:24] We hear Mohammed’s
idea of forming an open source developer union to deal with unique
legal cases affecting a small group of developers but with broader
implications. This union could help address legal challenges and
protect open source developers. He emphasizes the need for
collective power in the open source community, like other worker
unions or collectives that have the ability to advocate for the
rights of their members. [00:13:58] Mohammed expresses that he
wishes he had not put himself at risk with the project but defends
open source work as a valid and important endeavor. He believes in
the significance of open source work and its impact on a wide range
of people. [00:15:22] The discussion delves into the role of large
tech companies as gatekeepers and how they exert control over
access to their APIs. Mohammed suggests that these companies should
provide APIs as public infrastructure for interoperability.
[00:17:54] Mohammed mentions a new project related to climate and
corporate environmental responsibility that he’s been working on,
and a website he set up called CVE.Earth, for tracking corporate
environmental destruction. [00:18:58] Find out where you can reach
out to Mohammed on the web. Spotlight [00:19:46] Richard’s
spotlight is Tom ‘spot’ Callaway, an awesome developer. [00:20:36
Mohammed’s spotlight is two books: The Creative Act: A Way of Being
and Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy. Links
SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS X/Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS
Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open
Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute)
(https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Mastodon
(https://mastodon.social/@richlitt) Mohammed Shah X/Twitter
(https://twitter.com/smashah) CVE.Earth
(https://github.com/cve-earth) Antler
(https://www.antler.co/location/uk) Hippocratic + Do Not Harm
(H-DNH) Version 1.1 by Mohammed Shah
(https://github.com/open-wa/wa-automate-nodejs/blob/master/LICENSE.md)
Tom ‘spot’ Callaway X/Twitter
(https://twitter.com/spotfoss?lang=en) Sustain Podcast-Episode 52
with special guest Tom ‘spot’ Callaway
(https://podcast.sustainoss.org/52) [The Creative Act: A Way of
Being by Rick
Rubin](https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Act-Way-Being/dp/0593652886/ref=sr11?crid=3VGIE0RNOVS5C&keywords=the+creative+act+a+way+of+being+rick+rubin&qid=1699493662&sprefix=the+creative+way+of+%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1)
[Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy by Claire
Provost and Matt
Kennard](https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Coup-Corporations-Overthrew-Democracy/dp/1350269980/ref=sr11?crid=12KE5RMRR8JYK&keywords=the+silent+coup&qid=1699493384&sprefix=the+silent+coup%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1)
Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/)
Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound
(https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr
Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest:
Mohammed Shah.