D-bus model proposal for pay for access features - LicenseService at OpenBMC

[Andrew Jeffery]

On Fri, 2023-10-06 at 13:17 -0400, Brad Bishop wrote:
> On Fri, Oct 06, 2023 at 07:29:27AM -0500, Patrick Williams wrote:
> > On Fri, Oct 06, 2023 at 10:21:01AM +0530, Sunitha Harish wrote:
> > > Hi Patrick,
> > > 
> > > Re-starting this discussion with the design that is being worked at
> > > License Manager: Add license manager design (Ibd6c6f35) · Gerrit Code
> > > Review (openbmc.org) <https://gerrit.openbmc.org/c/openbmc/docs/+/64710>.
> > 
> > I've already written enough on this topic.  You've not added much in
> > terms of what I've already written, so I'm not sure what more you want
> > me to say.
> 
> I just want to say that OEMs have many, many happy customers that gladly 
> pay for unlocking things.  They just don't typically hang out here 🙂.  
> I just bought a BMC license key the other day for my ~8 year old 
> Supermicro x10slh-f.  For what it is worth.  I know a lot of people have 
> a problem with charging for security fixes but this is bigger than just 
> that.
> 

Brad: Given the interest, are you able to provide feedback on IBM's
design proposal?

https://gerrit.openbmc.org/c/openbmc/docs/+/64710

More broadly, setting aside Patrick's legal concerns, I think for this
to go anywhere it has to be demonstrated that there's a group of people
needing a solution and some collective interest in maintaining one. If
we can't get multiple parties to collaborate on a design then I don't
see a reason for trying to maintain it upstream.

>From a personal perspective, the concept grinds badly against common
believes and values in open source software projects and I'm not going
to go out of my way to support it. I'm also concerned at the lack of
engagement from IBM on the proposal since reviving the thread. The
concerns raised need responses from the people proposing that a
solution needs to exist. This is a social problem as much as - perhaps
even more so than - a technical one. Both need to be solved together,
and that requires responsive communication and engagement with the
issues raised.

Andrew