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Your comment is incomplete, because in most cases you don't become financially independent by developing your own proprietary project. Most proprietary project

Your comment is incomplete, because in most cases you don't become financially independent by developing your own proprietary project. Most proprietary projects also need to do something other than software development, including providing support. Also, software development itself devalues the work of software development. That's what software libraries do. Around 1990 I would use Borland's graphics library, which came with the compiler I bought, because it was better than what I could do, and I had already paid for it. That said, I agree that an open source product is NOT an effective way of maximizing wealth extraction. Even something as simple as market segmentation, like discounts for students, is difficult if that student can turn around and place it on GitHub. Other options, like an OSS project funded by being cost savings to your employer (eg, to leave an expensive vendor, or to drive the supplier prices down), are easier to get paid for, though yes, also not enough to be financially independent.

jqpabc123 4y ago
because in most cases you don't become financially independent by developing your own proprietary project. The last *job* I had was over 20 years ago. And I am not alone --- I know others who have done similar --- but not by way of open source. including providing support. True --- but the difference is, I can actually *pay* others to do most of this for me. My primary job is developing new software.
- eesmith 4y ago
  Sure, and I made a living for 5 or so years selling open source software w/ support. The thing is, both of use are in the small minority. Few software projects result in financial independence for the original authors, open source or proprietary. After all, selling something in Apple's app store isn't a sure way to earn money.
  - jqpabc123 4y ago
    So what you're saying is that after 5 years of trying to make open source work, financial reality intruded and convinced you to do something different? This places you in a little different minority than me. My current financial reality has convinced me of just the opposite --- that doing something different would actually be detrimental.
    - eesmith 4y ago
      What I saying is the answer to "How do you become financially independent by developing your own proprietary software project?" is "Short answer --- in most cases you don't." Therefore, your earlier comment was incomplete, as your short answer was also true for non-open source. I 100% agree with you that open source software development is not a good way to maximize profit. I do not recommend it as a way to develop products. I recommend it mostly for 1) people with external funding, as with research grant funding, or 2) for projects funded by in-house cost reduction (your "open source devalues the work of software development", but with the qualifier that all reusable software projects devalue the work of software development, not just open source ones.) Which is why in my comment I pointed out one of the (many) factors which make open source software projects harder to monetize that proprietary - the difficulty of adjusting price to reflect market segmentation. I believe that bringing up structural examples like this are more relevant than pointing to, say, D. Richard Hipp as an example of someone making a good living primarily developing open source projects, or your personal anecdotes of how you and (a handful of?) some people you know profited well from proprietary software projects.

jqpabc123 4y ago

because in most cases you don't become financially independent by developing your own proprietary project. The last *job* I had was over 20 years ago. And I am not alone --- I know others who have done similar --- but not by way of open source. including providing support. True --- but the difference is, I can actually *pay* others to do most of this for me. My primary job is developing new software.

eesmith 4y ago
Sure, and I made a living for 5 or so years selling open source software w/ support. The thing is, both of use are in the small minority. Few software projects result in financial independence for the original authors, open source or proprietary. After all, selling something in Apple's app store isn't a sure way to earn money.
- jqpabc123 4y ago
  So what you're saying is that after 5 years of trying to make open source work, financial reality intruded and convinced you to do something different? This places you in a little different minority than me. My current financial reality has convinced me of just the opposite --- that doing something different would actually be detrimental.
  - eesmith 4y ago
    What I saying is the answer to "How do you become financially independent by developing your own proprietary software project?" is "Short answer --- in most cases you don't." Therefore, your earlier comment was incomplete, as your short answer was also true for non-open source. I 100% agree with you that open source software development is not a good way to maximize profit. I do not recommend it as a way to develop products. I recommend it mostly for 1) people with external funding, as with research grant funding, or 2) for projects funded by in-house cost reduction (your "open source devalues the work of software development", but with the qualifier that all reusable software projects devalue the work of software development, not just open source ones.) Which is why in my comment I pointed out one of the (many) factors which make open source software projects harder to monetize that proprietary - the difficulty of adjusting price to reflect market segmentation. I believe that bringing up structural examples like this are more relevant than pointing to, say, D. Richard Hipp as an example of someone making a good living primarily developing open source projects, or your personal anecdotes of how you and (a handful of?) some people you know profited well from proprietary software projects.