4 ms·

Beep beep! Obvious police here! All software has cost, in the form of labor. Free software is different because it doesn't associate a /price/ to that cost.

Beep beep! Obvious police here! All software has cost, in the form of labor. Free software is different because it doesn't associate a /price/ to that cost. Important distinction, because they are totally different concepts that barely have the same units. Cost: the inputs of time/treasure to produce something Price: the value sought for something on the market to compensate its creator for its cost. Anyway he's saying that free software should have a price, which is tough because customary definitions of the 'something' being priced/sold are inadequate. 'things' we have tried to price when trying to offset the costs of OSS: 1. support 2. good vibes from the developers 3. CD-ROMs 4. 'premium' features 5. ??? (add yours)

hammyhavoc 5y ago
A lot of free software has its origins in the author solving a problem for themselves. The reward was the solution to their problem. Much of my contributions to open source, and what I've made available in terms of projects, is quite literally just "this functionality wasn't available", or "this was poor UX", and offering my solution to whoever wants to incorporate it into their stack, or into the main project.
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  This exactly. I'm writing code because I have a problem to solve, and I don't mind sharing the solution. It's like sharing construction/tool tips while working in a shop or maker space. Does my time have cost? Sure, but I'm there because I enjoy it. And the nifty thing about software is that it's basically free to distribute. I'll add - I don't provide any support or feedback for my software at all to users. I don't find that fun - so I don't do it.
  - pjmlp 5y ago
    Except someone actually paid for those construction tools, and many developers are not even willing to do that.
    - horsawlarway 5y ago
      No, but they paid for the computer - which seems like exactly the same situation. Physical items that have per item costs? Pay what the item costs. Digital items that have no per item costs? Pay what the item costs (nothing). Your time? If you want to be paid, start a commercial venture (aka - a company that charges). If you're doing it because you like it? Charge what you'd like - in my case nothing.
      - pjmlp 5y ago
        Sure, eventually all major software stacks will turn into SaaS anyway.

hammyhavoc 5y ago

A lot of free software has its origins in the author solving a problem for themselves. The reward was the solution to their problem. Much of my contributions to open source, and what I've made available in terms of projects, is quite literally just "this functionality wasn't available", or "this was poor UX", and offering my solution to whoever wants to incorporate it into their stack, or into the main project.

horsawlarway 5y ago
This exactly. I'm writing code because I have a problem to solve, and I don't mind sharing the solution. It's like sharing construction/tool tips while working in a shop or maker space. Does my time have cost? Sure, but I'm there because I enjoy it. And the nifty thing about software is that it's basically free to distribute. I'll add - I don't provide any support or feedback for my software at all to users. I don't find that fun - so I don't do it.
- pjmlp 5y ago
  Except someone actually paid for those construction tools, and many developers are not even willing to do that.
  - horsawlarway 5y ago
    No, but they paid for the computer - which seems like exactly the same situation. Physical items that have per item costs? Pay what the item costs. Digital items that have no per item costs? Pay what the item costs (nothing). Your time? If you want to be paid, start a commercial venture (aka - a company that charges). If you're doing it because you like it? Charge what you'd like - in my case nothing.
    - pjmlp 5y ago
      Sure, eventually all major software stacks will turn into SaaS anyway.