3 ms·
Really agree with this. Not everything is about money, if it was we wouldn't have squid, postfix, apache, nodejs, python and the millions of other open source s
by corford 9y ago
Really agree with this. Not everything is about money, if it was we wouldn't have squid, postfix, apache, nodejs, python and the millions of other open source software that I and everyone else here relies on daily. Ask the maintainer of GnuPG if he was ever given $10K by a company (prior to the Linux Foundation's Core Infrastructure Initiative grant).
- peterbonney 9y agoThis is the distinction I was getting at - something like GnuPG provides tremendous value to society as a whole. Saving ArcelorMittal some money in its manufacturing process doesn't benefit anyone except ArcelorMittal's executives and stockholders. So I stand by my point. There's no doubt the participants got a lot out of this Hackathon, but I'd wager that ArcelorMittal got significantly more.
- corford 9y agoI see your point but I assume the producers of the hack own the rights and IP to their work i.e. there's nothing stopping them releasing what they did as open source and building a community around it (at least that's been the case with every hackathon I've ever participated in). If the above assumption is true then I don't see the problem. ArcelorMittal get some buzz and maybe some ideas to pursue, the hackers get a fully paid fun weekend and a little cash for their efforts, society potentially benefits from the seeds that were planted.
- valesco 9y agoOh but this was about money. Saving money for a multinational corporation that crushed its rivals in Europe. Nice job.