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> I guess the question is whether there SHOULD be developers who only make money as independent open source developers. My gut instinct says no. Open source dev
by msbarnett 7y ago
> I guess the question is whether there SHOULD be developers who only make money as independent open source developers.
My gut instinct says no. Open source development should be funded by companies paying their developers to work on and maintain open source projects.
What you’re describing is a future where open source is driven and controlled solely by corporate interests, and anywhere user needs or desires or freedoms run counter to corporate interests, they go unserved by open source.
That strikes me as a highly undesirable future.
- ChristianBundy 7y ago> That strikes me as a highly undesirable future. I'd argue that this is one of the most undesirable futures, and we should continue fighting however we can. Both Kyle and Feross are working their asses off trying to manifest sustainable open source funding and I've got nothing but respect and solidarity.
- cortesoft 7y agoPeople can always work on open source software for their own needs... in that case, you can treat the developer themselves as a business 'funding' the development by working on features they desire. I guess I just feel that the currency for funding open source is developer time.... you either contribute your own time or the time of developers that work for you.
- zokier 7y ago> That strikes me as a highly undesirable future. I imagine that is largely because the corporations here bring to mind faang and their ilk who use software to ensnare their users to whatever purposes they need. But what if the corporations were of wider spectrum, more Fortune 500 and less silicon valley, whose goal is to create a good computing environment for their companies to flourish in. Then I think the scenario should seem much less dystopian.