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Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? It seems really weird to me that there might be people who actually want t

by ummonk 7y ago

Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? It seems really weird to me that there might be people who actually want to do this kind of charity.

SolarNet 7y ago
Well in the case of GPL it's to build a public commons. Part of GPL is to ensure that that public commons is maintained (it can be profited from, but not exploited). This article is likely referring to mostly permissive open source, which yea allows people to profit. We build a commons upon which better software can be built. People write open source to improve those commons, not for charity.
csande17 7y ago
If you already wrote the solution for your own personal use, it can only benefit you to open-source it so other people can contribute improvements. (But sure, it might benefit you even more to sell it or distribute it as adware or something, depending on how useful it is.)
harperlee 7y ago
In my case, even from a self interested point of view this makes sense: this only applies to improvements and bug fixes on some Clojure libraries, but: If I contribute back to a library I use, I can raise the probability that other people use it and contribute to it, thus ensuring that my dependencies keep fresh; and by sharing work I’d do nonetheless, I do not lose anything. On the other hand if I keep my changes to myself, then I do not gain anything, but I contribute to the withering of the environment Im building dependencies with.
- ummonk 7y ago
  Contributing bugfixes, sure, but that's different than providing a project you've written yourself for free to others and continuing to invest significant work in maintaining it.
jlg23 7y ago
> Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? For me: * I profited off free software that could have been sold as well but was not (25 years BSDs and Linux). * I rather see my code in use because it means it solves a real problem and it does so in a good way. If I wanted to invest time into turning this software into money, I could. If I don't, why shouldn't somebody else be able to invest his/her time to turn that into money for him/her?
gridlockd 7y ago
> Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? Why does that matter at all? What's wrong with others profiting from something that you can't profit from yourself? Most FOSS software that is commonly used couldn't be sold for a profit by itself. It wouldn't be used if it wasn't free. Yet, it marginally lowers the cost of software development. The compounding effect of that is massive. Despite what the GP says, developing FOSS can open up opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have had. It's just not guaranteed.
johnisgood 7y ago
Well, perhaps it makes them feel good. Why is it weird? Some people volunteer at hospitals. I do not find it weird. In fact, I wish there were more people like them. :) Maybe the world would be a better place, who knows.

by ummonk 7y ago

Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? It seems really weird to me that there might be people who actually want to do this kind of charity.

SolarNet 7y ago

Well in the case of GPL it's to build a public commons. Part of GPL is to ensure that that public commons is maintained (it can be profited from, but not exploited). This article is likely referring to mostly permissive open source, which yea allows people to profit. We build a commons upon which better software can be built. People write open source to improve those commons, not for charity.

csande17 7y ago

If you already wrote the solution for your own personal use, it can only benefit you to open-source it so other people can contribute improvements. (But sure, it might benefit you even more to sell it or distribute it as adware or something, depending on how useful it is.)

harperlee 7y ago

In my case, even from a self interested point of view this makes sense: this only applies to improvements and bug fixes on some Clojure libraries, but: If I contribute back to a library I use, I can raise the probability that other people use it and contribute to it, thus ensuring that my dependencies keep fresh; and by sharing work I’d do nonetheless, I do not lose anything. On the other hand if I keep my changes to myself, then I do not gain anything, but I contribute to the withering of the environment Im building dependencies with.

ummonk 7y ago
Contributing bugfixes, sure, but that's different than providing a project you've written yourself for free to others and continuing to invest significant work in maintaining it.

jlg23 7y ago

> Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? For me: * I profited off free software that could have been sold as well but was not (25 years BSDs and Linux). * I rather see my code in use because it means it solves a real problem and it does so in a good way. If I wanted to invest time into turning this software into money, I could. If I don't, why shouldn't somebody else be able to invest his/her time to turn that into money for him/her?

gridlockd 7y ago

> Why would anyone want to contribute solutions that others can profit off of for free? Why does that matter at all? What's wrong with others profiting from something that you can't profit from yourself? Most FOSS software that is commonly used couldn't be sold for a profit by itself. It wouldn't be used if it wasn't free. Yet, it marginally lowers the cost of software development. The compounding effect of that is massive. Despite what the GP says, developing FOSS can open up opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise have had. It's just not guaranteed.

johnisgood 7y ago

Well, perhaps it makes them feel good. Why is it weird? Some people volunteer at hospitals. I do not find it weird. In fact, I wish there were more people like them. :) Maybe the world would be a better place, who knows.