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Not saying you're not mostly right, but there is the case of Jean-Baptiste Kempf, maintainer of VLC, who apparently turned down tens of millions to put ads into
by waterhouse 8y ago
Not saying you're not mostly right, but there is the case of Jean-Baptiste Kempf, maintainer of VLC, who apparently turned down tens of millions to put ads into VLC. (I suppose that is two orders of magnitude smaller than a billion.)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15372048 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15372048
- madrox 8y agoAnd if he chose to criticize the WhatsApp founders, it would carry a lot of weight with me. I didn't say altruism doesn't exist...I just don't believe it's in this comment thread. :)
- st1ck 8y agoI don't know the details, but he could've turned down monetization of his work for purely selfish reasons as well.
- justaguyhere 8y agoHe is an exception. I guess 99% (or maybe more) of the people in his situation would've taken the money, and they'd probably be doing right for themselves and their families. Ethics is always a nuanced topic.
- puranjay 8y agoI donated money to VLC the day I learned about this. I had no idea this software I use and love every day was maintained by a single guy. Props to him. I don't think I would have been able to resist an 8 figure offer