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So when are we going to stop pretending that OSS maintainers/projects are reaping what they sow when they "work for free" and give away their source code away u

So when are we going to stop pretending that OSS maintainers/projects are reaping what they sow when they "work for free" and give away their source code away using OSS licensed software, while large companies profit off of them? If they were paid more (or in some cases even actually paid), then they could afford to quit their day jobs, reducing burn out, they could actually hire a team of trusted vetted devs instead of relying on the goodwill of strangers who step up "just to help them out" and they could pay security researchers to vet their code. Turns out burned out maintainers are a great attack vector and if you are willing to play the long game you can ingratiate yourself with the community with your seemingly innocuous contributions.

kortilla 3y ago
Paid people get burnt out as well and they are just as likely to accept free help as an unpaid person.
- Decabytes 3y ago
  That's true, but many of these maintainers work a day job on top of doing the open source work precisely because the open source work doesn't pay the bills. If they could get back 40 hours of their time I think many would appreciate it
qwery 3y ago
> So when are we going to stop pretending ... I'm not sure that we are. Doesn't everybody know that developing/maintaining free software is largely thankless work, with little to no direct recompense? I don't think moving towards unfree software is a good way to make free software more secure. It shouldn't be a surprise that proprietary software is less likely to be exploited in this way simply because they don't accept any patches from outside of the team. What you want is more people that understand and care about free software and low barriers to getting involved.
- Decabytes 3y ago
  > Doesn't everybody know that developing/maintaining free software is largely thankless work, with little to no direct recompense? No I don't think that is a universally acknowledged feeling. Numerous maintainers have detailed recieving entitled demands from users, as if they were paying customers to the open source software projects. Georges Stavracas' interview on the Tech over Tea podcast^1 describes many such experiences. Similarly, when Aseprite transitioned its license^2 to secure financial stability, it faced backlash from users accusing the developer of betraying and oppressing the community. On the flipside, if everyone truly does know this is the case, then it's a shame that so many people know, and yet are unwilling to financially support developers to change that. See all of the developers for large open source projects who have day jobs, or take huge pay cuts to work on open source projects. I get that not everyone can support a project financially, but I've personally tried to break that habit of expecting everything I use to be free, and go out of my way to look for donation buttons for project maintainers, and raise awareness during fundraisers. Now if only I could donate directly to Emacs development... I'd encourage other people to do the same. > What you want is more people that understand and care about free software and low barriers to getting involved. This is tough. For example, the intention behind initiatives like DigitalOcean's Hacktoberfest, are designed to do just this. It is a good idea in theory, submit 4 pull requests and win a tshirt, but not in practice. The event has been criticized for inadvertently encouraging superficial contributions, such as minor text edits or trivial commits, which burden maintainers^3, causing many maintainers to just archive their repos for the month of October. So, while there's a recognition of the need for more people who understand and value free software, along with lower barriers to entry, the current state of affairs often falls short. The path forward should involve not just increasing awareness and participation but also providing meaningful support and compensation to maintainers. By doing so, we can foster a more sustainable, secure, and vibrant open source community. Or at least that is how I feel... 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO0V7BE1bEo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO0V7BE1bEo 2. https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite/issues/1242 https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite/issues/1242 3. https://twitter.com/shitoberfest?lang=en https://twitter.com/shitoberfest?lang=en
  - qwery 3y ago
delfinom 3y ago
OSS maintainers aren't reaping anything. Most OSS licenses say the software is provided without warranty.

kortilla 3y ago

Paid people get burnt out as well and they are just as likely to accept free help as an unpaid person.

Decabytes 3y ago
That's true, but many of these maintainers work a day job on top of doing the open source work precisely because the open source work doesn't pay the bills. If they could get back 40 hours of their time I think many would appreciate it

qwery 3y ago

> So when are we going to stop pretending ... I'm not sure that we are. Doesn't everybody know that developing/maintaining free software is largely thankless work, with little to no direct recompense? I don't think moving towards unfree software is a good way to make free software more secure. It shouldn't be a surprise that proprietary software is less likely to be exploited in this way simply because they don't accept any patches from outside of the team. What you want is more people that understand and care about free software and low barriers to getting involved.

Decabytes 3y ago
> Doesn't everybody know that developing/maintaining free software is largely thankless work, with little to no direct recompense? No I don't think that is a universally acknowledged feeling. Numerous maintainers have detailed recieving entitled demands from users, as if they were paying customers to the open source software projects. Georges Stavracas' interview on the Tech over Tea podcast^1 describes many such experiences. Similarly, when Aseprite transitioned its license^2 to secure financial stability, it faced backlash from users accusing the developer of betraying and oppressing the community. On the flipside, if everyone truly does know this is the case, then it's a shame that so many people know, and yet are unwilling to financially support developers to change that. See all of the developers for large open source projects who have day jobs, or take huge pay cuts to work on open source projects. I get that not everyone can support a project financially, but I've personally tried to break that habit of expecting everything I use to be free, and go out of my way to look for donation buttons for project maintainers, and raise awareness during fundraisers. Now if only I could donate directly to Emacs development... I'd encourage other people to do the same. > What you want is more people that understand and care about free software and low barriers to getting involved. This is tough. For example, the intention behind initiatives like DigitalOcean's Hacktoberfest, are designed to do just this. It is a good idea in theory, submit 4 pull requests and win a tshirt, but not in practice. The event has been criticized for inadvertently encouraging superficial contributions, such as minor text edits or trivial commits, which burden maintainers^3, causing many maintainers to just archive their repos for the month of October. So, while there's a recognition of the need for more people who understand and value free software, along with lower barriers to entry, the current state of affairs often falls short. The path forward should involve not just increasing awareness and participation but also providing meaningful support and compensation to maintainers. By doing so, we can foster a more sustainable, secure, and vibrant open source community. Or at least that is how I feel... 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO0V7BE1bEo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO0V7BE1bEo 2. https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite/issues/1242 https://github.com/aseprite/aseprite/issues/1242 3. https://twitter.com/shitoberfest?lang=en https://twitter.com/shitoberfest?lang=en
- qwery 3y ago

delfinom 3y ago

OSS maintainers aren't reaping anything. Most OSS licenses say the software is provided without warranty.