fleech

noun Slang for “FOSS leech” 1. An individual or entity whose products and/or services are built entirely upon free open-source software (FOSS). They never contribute enhancements, features, nor bugfixes back to the FOSS projects. Easily discernible by the number of complex feature requests they submit while complaining it’s not done on their timeline despite never donating funds to support development of the project. 2. An entity, usually that of a large corporation, that preys on small FOSS projects with groundbreaking ideas by imitating the codebase in a new language. The entity will then leverage the new codebase to market a new “as-a-service” product with a subscription or “pay as you go” model with varying tiers of enterprise support. May or may not wind up threatening legal action against the small project, sometimes through DCMA, to force the project offline and direct its users to their pay-for product. 3. An entity, usually an individual, that touts accomplishments or career-defining experience from a foundation built on FOSS projects but has no demonstrable experience in creating their own. These often overlap with “script kiddies” but differ in the fact that they have many years of relevant work experience with no capacity of critical thinking.