3 ms·
I think we are straying from the point of FOSS once we talk about money. If I start a new open source project, it will be my gift to the world, and I expect to
by antran22 5y ago
I think we are straying from the point of FOSS once we talk about money. If I start a new open source project, it will be my gift to the world, and I expect to gain nothing from it financially. If Google make a billion bucks from my project then I'm sure some other dudes running a startup is using it too, and if my project helps them then I'm happy. If my help is not appreciated, lotsa luck gentlemen ;)
As I have made my point before, if all I want is money I would spend my time working a paying job. But money is not everything isn't it?
- ChrisMarshallNY 5y agoPreaching to the choir, here. Take a gander at my work. But making things that other people depend on is an obligation; not just a vocation. I liken writing an SDK/API/library to having children. Once they are there, they aren't really my "property" anymore, and I am under an obligation to maintain and support them, so I need to keep that in mind, when I publish them. I need to play the long game. I've written a system that is used by thousands, around the world, and is the backbone infrastructure for a particular demographic. It is not hyperbole to say that lives depend on it. I worked on it for ten years, before transferring it. The best thing that I ever did for that system was toss the keys to a new team, and walk away. Nowadays, I'm just the dorky old man that chips in his two cents' worth, from time to time. I'm not particularly interested in getting into religious battles, which is fairly common in the [F]OSS community. I mostly code for the love of the craft. Delivering and supporting open-source projects helps me to have a purpose, but I also take my obligations quite seriously. One of those obligations is to go to great lengths to deliver very high-quality software. I'm quite aware that it is not commercially feasible to write software that meets my personal Quality bar, so I give it away for free,