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This is a sad reminder of the masses of invisible labor (unpaid and paid) that hold up our world. Social scientists have been studying how labor becomes visible

This is a sad reminder of the masses of invisible labor (unpaid and paid) that hold up our world. Social scientists have been studying how labor becomes visible (or invisible) for a while without finding obvious solutions to "the situation." How can we build a world where an infinite procession specialists like Roy can get the care they need and also find and train successors in their important work? Not just because we will all die, but also because we might all want to retire or go on long vacations or, even if we are good at it, change careers.

numbsafari 6y ago
Is there anything like an “Open Source Hall of Fame”, for recognizing and remembering significant contributors? It’s not perfect, but perhaps it is a way to at least preserve the memory and the history.
- aerovistae 6y ago
  I think this is an amazing idea. This needs to exist.
- stefan_ 6y ago
  Linux has the CREDITS file where you end up once you drop out of maintainership of some subsystem: https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/CREDITS https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/CREDITS (e.g. https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/054c4610bd05 https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/054c4610bd05)
  - folkhack 6y ago
    Ha - the last comment on that CREDITS list is pretty funny =) Definitely worth the full scroll.
    - bombcar 6y ago
      Poor Leonard stuck at third to last - has to be a big hit for someone with a name like that.
- einpoklum 6y ago
  Who is "significant"? If you make many people significant, you have a hall of fame so big that nobody can remember anybody. If you make few people significant, then most FOSS labor is again performed by unsung heroes.
- david_allison 6y ago
  Google publishes a list a few times a year with their Open Source Peer Bonus scheme: https://opensource.google/docs/growing/peer-bonus/ https://opensource.google/docs/growing/peer-bonus/ https://opensource.googleblog.com/2020/10/announcing-latest-google-open-source.html https://opensource.googleblog.com/2020/10/announcing-latest-...
- rjsw 6y ago
  NetBSD has dedicated particular releases to developers who died.
sjtindell 6y ago
Just in my personal opinion, things like a UBI move us towards that world. It wound allow people flexibility.
- winfred 6y ago
  The way I see it, we already have that world, with capitalism functioning as a filter. I worked my ass off to reach financial independence, now I'm dedicating the rest of my life towards helping other people. I've proven to be capable of using the system to a degree where I can do whatever I want, which allows me the freedom to help other people full time. It's not a perfect system, but I doubt UBI will be much better. At least capitalism filters out many of the people who shouldn't be helping others. Helping those in need isn't something everyone should be doing. Not every needy person should be helped and helping others in desperate need incurs a mental cost that's not easy to carry.
  - duncan-donuts 6y ago
    Why should any single person carry the weight of the person in desperate need? UBI + healthcare implies that there’s a social safety net that creates an entire network of people to carry this weight. I don’t have a clue if any implementations would successfully do this but to just throw people in desperate need to the wolves is inhumane.
    - winfred 6y ago
      I don't think people would prosper under such a system. Free health care, yes, free education, yes. Retirement for all, take care of the disabled, yes. But in my opinion, in today's society, if you take away the need for people to struggle (which UBI will do) they often end up in a worse mental and physical shape than if you make them suffer a bit. Just the way natural selection programmed us. "All basic needs are met <- conserve energy". I can imagine a educational system where we prepare our children from childhood for UBI and it will work. But given how rudimentary most education still is I don't see that happen anytime soon. Maybe in 100 years.
numpad0 6y ago
There’s this half formed view I’m finding interesting: currency based economy is one way to assign workforces in the Earthian human society, but not the only way, and not just in motivational sense, there truly are other ways, in existence or to be studied/theorized or the world is in need of. If I was super rich or in power I could gather and pay a group of average people to make dhcpcd financially driven, but I can’t see that working.
stjohnswarts 6y ago
Yeah I think if I suddenly became a billionaire after being in the industry for a while and maintaining important but underpaid legacy stuff I would handsomely reward some of these icons of the industry that has made me both very happy and very sad at times, but it is my life. OR send it to the charity of their choice :) .

numbsafari 6y ago

Is there anything like an “Open Source Hall of Fame”, for recognizing and remembering significant contributors? It’s not perfect, but perhaps it is a way to at least preserve the memory and the history.

aerovistae 6y ago
I think this is an amazing idea. This needs to exist.
stefan_ 6y ago
Linux has the CREDITS file where you end up once you drop out of maintainership of some subsystem: https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/CREDITS https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/CREDITS (e.g. https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/054c4610bd05 https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/054c4610bd05)
- folkhack 6y ago
  Ha - the last comment on that CREDITS list is pretty funny =) Definitely worth the full scroll.
  - bombcar 6y ago
    Poor Leonard stuck at third to last - has to be a big hit for someone with a name like that.
einpoklum 6y ago
Who is "significant"? If you make many people significant, you have a hall of fame so big that nobody can remember anybody. If you make few people significant, then most FOSS labor is again performed by unsung heroes.
david_allison 6y ago
Google publishes a list a few times a year with their Open Source Peer Bonus scheme: https://opensource.google/docs/growing/peer-bonus/ https://opensource.google/docs/growing/peer-bonus/ https://opensource.googleblog.com/2020/10/announcing-latest-google-open-source.html https://opensource.googleblog.com/2020/10/announcing-latest-...
rjsw 6y ago
NetBSD has dedicated particular releases to developers who died.

sjtindell 6y ago

Just in my personal opinion, things like a UBI move us towards that world. It wound allow people flexibility.

winfred 6y ago
The way I see it, we already have that world, with capitalism functioning as a filter. I worked my ass off to reach financial independence, now I'm dedicating the rest of my life towards helping other people. I've proven to be capable of using the system to a degree where I can do whatever I want, which allows me the freedom to help other people full time. It's not a perfect system, but I doubt UBI will be much better. At least capitalism filters out many of the people who shouldn't be helping others. Helping those in need isn't something everyone should be doing. Not every needy person should be helped and helping others in desperate need incurs a mental cost that's not easy to carry.
- duncan-donuts 6y ago
  Why should any single person carry the weight of the person in desperate need? UBI + healthcare implies that there’s a social safety net that creates an entire network of people to carry this weight. I don’t have a clue if any implementations would successfully do this but to just throw people in desperate need to the wolves is inhumane.
  - winfred 6y ago
    I don't think people would prosper under such a system. Free health care, yes, free education, yes. Retirement for all, take care of the disabled, yes. But in my opinion, in today's society, if you take away the need for people to struggle (which UBI will do) they often end up in a worse mental and physical shape than if you make them suffer a bit. Just the way natural selection programmed us. "All basic needs are met <- conserve energy". I can imagine a educational system where we prepare our children from childhood for UBI and it will work. But given how rudimentary most education still is I don't see that happen anytime soon. Maybe in 100 years.

numpad0 6y ago

There’s this half formed view I’m finding interesting: currency based economy is one way to assign workforces in the Earthian human society, but not the only way, and not just in motivational sense, there truly are other ways, in existence or to be studied/theorized or the world is in need of. If I was super rich or in power I could gather and pay a group of average people to make dhcpcd financially driven, but I can’t see that working.

stjohnswarts 6y ago

Yeah I think if I suddenly became a billionaire after being in the industry for a while and maintaining important but underpaid legacy stuff I would handsomely reward some of these icons of the industry that has made me both very happy and very sad at times, but it is my life. OR send it to the charity of their choice :) .