One of the key developers of Nginx, the most popular web server in the world, has announced his departure from the project. Maxim Dounin, the developer, expressed his belief that the project is no longer serving its original purpose of being “a free and open project … for the good of the public.” Dounin was instrumental in creating an approach that allowed developers to work on the project without affecting the original version, enabling them to experiment with new functions and improvements without risking damage to the source code.
This approach, known as forking, has been used to create new projects based on existing ones. Despite his departure, Nginx remains a widely used web server, known for its high performance, stability, and scalability. Dounin’s decision to leave the project highlights the challenges faced by open-source software projects in maintaining their original goals and principles.