Update — Source is now available here: https://github.com/NSHipster/sosumi.ai

Why do people always say this?

It’s ok to just start coding with a public repo. Code isn’t a secret.

I think it's because, in the world of programming, people are incredibly critical. Just try putting absolutely anything out there, and you'll get certain types of people picking it apart.

I remember an early experience in my working career, when someone was sharing their sample code with a group, to demonstrate a particular concept. And one of those present picked them up on their use of magic numbers, as if that was at all relevant in the context.

I don't blame anyone for being wary of showing their work in progress. Painters often don't like their subjects trying to take a sneek peak at their work in progress, as another example.

- Keys/tokens in the code. Yes, it’s bad practice but for a hobby/personal project it’s not the end of the world

- Not wanting to get roasted

- Open source = dealing with a lot of entitlement

And the list goes on. Putting code out into the world (publicly) often sets you up for future obligation of some kind (even if it’s just saying “no”).

None of this is a stance against open source, but I understand where people are coming from.