I think it is because of the expectations set by Tom (mojombo). http://tom.preston-werner.com/2011/11/22/open-source-everything.html http://tom.preston-werner.

I think it is because of the expectations set by Tom (mojombo). http://tom.preston-werner.com/2011/11/22/open-source-everything.html http://tom.preston-werner.com/2011/11/22/open-source-everyth... He mentioned not to opensource anything that represents core business value. A Text Editor is best set to grow when available free. Examples - VIM, Emacs, LightTable. That said, there have been hints that it might be paid ("Atom is free till beta") and Github might try to make money through it like Sublime or Textmate. Though I wouldn't worry much about Opensourcing, I might think twice to pay for a Text Editor - considering that there are really good free alternatives.