The literature dedicated to free and open source software emphasizes the support given by the community to software producers. However, the community is also a place of conflict and can experience sometimes violent splits (forks). Communities can show different forms of resistance to change. In this research, we propose a re-reading of these mechanisms of opposition in light of Albert Hirschman’s theory (exit, voice, loyalty). We present the fork as a new form of defection (exit) allowed by licenses and discuss the rationality of choice for the economic actors who implement it.