Dropbox Raises Hue and Cry over Dropshi

Dropbox one of the most prominent and popular YC success stories is baffled over Dropship. Dropship is an Open Source project that has invented a cool hack. The problem is that this hack breaks the very model Dropbox is based on. The battle here is not between Open Source and Dropbox. It is between a seemingly rouge Open Source project and Dropbox.

Both Dropbox and Dropship are right in their own place, but if Dropship threatens the very existence of Dropbox, there is not much of a question here. It should end by all means. Imagine this. Instead of Open Source, a closed source software is released which does exactly this same thing. How would it have been received? Just the fact that Dropship is open source is no reason to vouch for it!

Coming to Dropbox, it has every right to defend itself here. Allowing Dropship to ship will make Dropbox accountable for a massive amount of illegal file sharing. The Dropship developers should not want that for sure!

Dropbox has issued a DMCA style takedown notice and people are taking this as a blow towards Open Source. Dropbox hacks have come out earlier as well. We have seen a WordPress plugin that uses Dropbox as CDN. Dropship hacked Dropbox, and maybe it was done with good intent. However, the developers of Dropship cannot expect Dropbox to keep shut when this hack is cracking Dropbox as a business.

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