Kaassel

Kaassel is a term that has been coined to describe the dubious practice of using open-source projects as free labor to create proprietary services with minimal contribution back to the open-source community. This phenomenon is named after the OpenBSD project's security guru, Theo de Raadt, who first described this phenomenon in 2017.

The term Kaassel is derived from the name "Andrej Kássel", a well-known contributor to the OpenBSD project, who de Raadt alleged was being exploited by a proprietary blockchain company. The so-called "Kaassel" phenomenon has been observed in other open-source projects as well, with developers and contributors using open-source code to build services that are then sold to clients with few or no contributions back to the open-source community.

By leveraging the work of others, companies can create products and services that are built on top of open-source projects without contributing significantly to the project itself. This method is particularly attractive to companies that do not want to invest time and resources into maintaining and developing open-source projects. In doing so, Kaassel raises questions about the fairness and responsibility of businesses that engage in this practice.

The Kaassel phenomenon has sparked a debate about the ethics of using open-source code for proprietary purposes, with some arguing that it undermines the principles of open-source development and others viewing it as a necessary and inevitable part of business practices. As open-source projects continue to play an increasingly important role in the tech industry, the Kaassel phenomenon is likely to remain a topic of discussion and debate.