This is out of date; see this post for the continuation:
I’d like to introduce you all to ind.ie - an initiative to create independent technology, as in independent from being spied on by various entities, and to @aral. We’ve been talking about what they’re building and what they want to accomplish, and how syncthing fits into that picture.
For me, solving a technical problem in what I consider the right way has been the prime driver, while ind.ie is more about using technology to solve a perceived, growing societal problem. I wouldn’t take that on myself, but I agree with the idea and I’m happy to see people working on it.
As a part of that initiative, I’ve agreed to let syncthing be adopted under their umbrella and be rebranded as “Pulse”. You can see Pulse being mentioned already on the ind.ie website.
This will have the following practical consequences:
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Syncthing will be rebranded, as mentioned. This will probably be a somewhat gradual process as it includes various sites etc. in addition to the existing GUI and names itself. This is basically a name/logo/color-scheme change, so doesn’t really affect existing users and developers very much.
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Syncthing (as Pulse) will gain a certain amount of momentum and recognition as part of the larger platform / movement.
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ind.ie will be adding manpower both in the form of user experience and user interface designers (something sorely needed, which syncthing has in common with many open source projects) and in the form of core developers. Exactly how this turns out is something the future will determine, but they are building a larger solution on top of syncthing (also to be released as free software) and will need to ensure the smooth workings of the engine underneath.
In the best case, this ushers in a new era of growth and development for syncthing as we proceed towards world domination of the syncing space. Syncthing, or Pulse, will remain an open source / free software project, all development will remain in the open, and ind.ie has the same amount of influence as any other on what features get developed - i.e. convince one of the core developers to do it or do it themselves. No money has changed hands and there are no hidden agendas or benefits here.
In the worst case ind.ie fails to achieve what they’ve set out to and some time and energy has been wasted. The syncthing core remains, the name change is reversible if we so wish, and we’re no worse off in any way than we are today.
I think it’s going to be awesome!
Now, I’ve been simplifying somewhat what ind.ie is about, and I’m sure @aral will want to add something here.