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I do not think this follows. Linus Torvalds got well-paying work because of his free work on Linux. Of course, Torvalds is an outlier, but Cory Doctorow also

I do not think this follows. Linus Torvalds got well-paying work because of his free work on Linux. Of course, Torvalds is an outlier, but Cory Doctorow also does this. It makes sense that the best way to get work in certain fields is to have a reputation. Sometimes the best way to get that reputation is to give away a certain portion of your work.

sp332 15y ago
Right, Torvalds started writing free software for a hobby. But then he got hired to work for a company. He didn't work for some company for free, hoping that some other company would hire him. There's a difference between doing whatever you want for free vs. working for a company for free.
- MartinCron 15y ago
  Three simple scenarios. Bill Gates Selling software = great! Linus Torvalds giving software away = great! Bill Gates (or anyone) telling Linus Torvalds (or anyone) not to give software away for free = lame!