If it were me, I'd not open source this. Common tools that are used to build other things generally are, such as a compiler or VCS, but an actual finished product, not so much. Open sourcing this would be like Github open sourcing github.com, rather than just a handful of common tools they built to create github that might be useful to others.
Open source has a time and a place, but some things, like finished websites, are best left proprietary. There's a lot of thinking that's gone into this site. I think the #1 thing that would happen as a result of open sourcing it is that other people would just take the her work and creating clones, eroding her ability to make money from it (if she so chooses).
Choosing to open source something should be done only with a compelling rationale, and the downsides should always be carefully considered.
As a big proponent of open source, I would agree your statements completely. There is little a community could do with this that can't be done with existing tools already. Furthermore, this succeeds primarily because of the author's specific execution of the idea and the way it is presented. Open source just risks a "too many cooks in the kitchen" scenario.
Furthermore, because of the high quality, someone is extremely likely to turn this into a paid mobile app and make money off of it (irrespective of the license it is released under-- unscrupulous people don't care about pieces of virtual paper).
I used a white noise generator app for a long time with my first child and this is far superior to what I had. I would have gladly paid several dollars for a solid mobile execution of this.
Not true. You might not want to make money yourself but you also might not want other people to rip your work off and profit from it.
People that open source things do so as a gift to the community at large, and sometimes people just don't want to give away their property (intellectual in this case), even if they don't intent to turn a profit. Plus, leading an open source project can be quite stressful and there's also the time cost of actually supporting a community of people, if they gather around a project.
There are tons of downsides to open sourcing something but occasionally there's a significant benefit (or other motive) that drives the decision to open source and outweighs the negatives.
Open source has a time and a place, but some things, like finished websites, are best left proprietary. There's a lot of thinking that's gone into this site. I think the #1 thing that would happen as a result of open sourcing it is that other people would just take the her work and creating clones, eroding her ability to make money from it (if she so chooses).
Choosing to open source something should be done only with a compelling rationale, and the downsides should always be carefully considered.