Really, what do you expect? What do you expect when so much of the popular message is for people to get involved in programming, and to do so while giving away

Really, what do you expect? What do you expect when so much of the popular message is for people to get involved in programming, and to do so while giving away the fruits of their labor--to join open source projects and the like? I see many young people being recruited into the software engineering industry, as it's a cool new thing, and the current salaries at many corporations are still attractive to many people. Of course, much of the message to get involved in the industry is to--spoiler alert--increase the pool of talent and reduce the cost of software development (salaries). But even beyond that, bodies are essentially being indoctrinated into a system where working for free is heavily promoted. They may be paid in good vibes and perhaps some attention, but that's a small price for many entities to pay. It should be obvious: if you create something and release it into the wild, for all to see--the good actors and the bad actors--, what you create can be used in any way, by any one. You've given it to them, and for free; they owe you nothing. At the very least, people should understand some of the basic legal mechanisms that can offer them some protection (e.g. copyright) and ensure their creative expressions are used in some accordance with their wishes (at least, by those who follow the law). Do good work. Get a fair price for it.