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But wouldn't it be nice if it were easier to make a living as an independent developer, working only on open source? Don't you think a lot more good stuff woul

But wouldn't it be nice if it were easier to make a living as an independent developer, working only on open source? Don't you think a lot more good stuff would get written? I get that it's more fun to just hack for fun and just throw stuff out there than it would be to be doing it for a living. But we all have to make a living somehow. Are you better off with a day job that leaves you a little time for open source, or spending all your work time on open source but having that be more like a job? I'm sure different people will answer that question differently, but I think there have to be more people out there that would like to get paid for OSS work than have currently managed to find a way to do that.

fooooobar 14y ago
That's a nice fantasy, but how do you know that random people paying 5 dollars each is going to be enough to significantly help someone be an independent developer?
lostnet 14y ago
Yeah, look at all the 99 cent crap splayed across google play that we are missing?! Giving incentives is a sure way to increase output but we are not short on low quality alternatives for every task. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to get paid (and feel they deserve to get paid) for making OSS in whatever area interests them. But the vast majority of them should mostly be solving specific tasks for specific people for money and practice. Their occasional bug fixes in OSS that affects them is more valuable then whatever project they may create if they were given money. It is the nature of learning, expertise (and human self deception that is needed for growth?) that if you think you are the best person for the job then you are probably a beginner.