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Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

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Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#261

Post by themmes »

autarch wrote: post #259

Many years ago I created some very widely used libraries in the Perl ecosystem, DateTime.pm (first release in 2003, 3,774 transitive dependents, https://metacpan.org/release/DateTime ) and Log::Dispatch (first release in 1999, 1,043 transitive, https://metacpan.org/release/Log-Dispatch ). I've also created or contributed to dozens of other packages in the Perl ecosystem, some of them very widely used, including at pl…

> So that's a long-winded way of saying that I don't sustain myself on open source. This is a pretty common story. Companies rarely make an effort to support individual developers. They will support language/project foundations, but that money isn't going to be directly divvied up among library developers for the language.

Thats interesting, is anyone aware of a language/software community where that does happen?

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#262

Post by biztos »

yaseer wrote: post #208
bullen wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Sweden gifts are tax-free, where do you live and how much tax do you have to pay on those 2$?

It's an interesting question (as far as tax can be interesting!), whether patreon and other contribution/donations systems count as gifts, or income from your work. I'm sure the tax authorities would like argue it is income, if you're making $8K monthly on patreon (e.g. Dwarf fortress creators).

Patreon seems to think it's likely to be income:

https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/207477063-Taxe...

Which makes me wonder, is there some other way to aggregate donations such that they are gifts?

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#263

Post by biztos »

autarch wrote: post #259

Many years ago I created some very widely used libraries in the Perl ecosystem, DateTime.pm (first release in 2003, 3,774 transitive dependents, https://metacpan.org/release/DateTime ) and Log::Dispatch (first release in 1999, 1,043 transitive, https://metacpan.org/release/Log-Dispatch ). I've also created or contributed to dozens of other packages in the Perl ecosystem, some of them very widely used, including at pl…

Thank you for DateTime! I used it, er, daily for almost ten years.

One problem I have run into in trying to get employers to give something back to the Perl community was that it was all very... indie/hippy/whatever. Even though there were/are a great many profitable enterprises utterly dependent on the Perl ecosystem, the Perl community made no real effort to extract money from them.

Which is great! But also makes it hard for bosses in conservative outfits to justify donations. I managed to get a corp-rate conference ticket paid for, but that was in 2007, don't think I could do it now.

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#264

Post by sbayeta »

mperham wrote: post #235

I wrote sidekiq.org starting 8 years ago and blogged about my experiences over time, e.g. https://www.mikeperham.com/2012/08/26/the-sidekiq-experiment... I sell closed source Pro and Enterprise focused feature packs for my OSS projects. This is known as "open core". My first full year in 2013 I sold $85k. I'm in the millions ARR now.

Really nice story. Have you written again about it, more recently? I think I'm finally tackling a commercially viable idea, with potential customers in the enterprise sector, and it would be very insightful to learn more about your story. Thanks and congrats on your success

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#265

Post by RedBeetDeadpool »

jbk wrote: post #57

I've been working on VideoLAN (VLC, x264, other...) for most of my professional life. For a long time, I had other jobs, working at startups around video, and doing VLC at nights and weekends and holidays. And now, I built a couple of companies around Open Source multimedia, where we do consulting, integration, custom development around software, applications development, licensing, support and so on. Those companies…

fwiw, I think VLC is absolutetly amazing. Thanks for all the work you put in it.

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#266

Post by NonEUCitizen »

svjatoslav wrote: post #141

I asked Richard Stallman this question: His answer was: Live cheaply. Eric S. Raymond answer was: Be independently wealthy. I have tried to reach billionaire philanthropists (Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Dean Kamen, Warren Buffet, and others) with the idea that there are very talented people around who have brilliant ideas (say for instance another Newton or Mozart) but are not financially independent to afford to work…

There is the MacArthur Foundation with its "Genius Award." Richard Stallman was one of the Fellows in its 1990 class. If I recall correctly, the award was for $100K a year for 5 years, no strings attached.

https://www.macfound.org/fellows/412/

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#267

Post by Accujack »

antocv wrote: post #175
Accujack wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you surprised they didn't respond? Your solution to this problem seems to be focused on what other people can do to make things easier for you and others like you, but that's not how humanity works. You're ignoring that your request is unreasonable because you're taking the easy way out - looking for a source of money and convincing yourself that your efforts deserve it because it's easier than doing the work you…

> The rich aren't obligated to hand you money > use your own money to support open s... Why should he feel obligated to support others?

He seems to think other people should support him doing open source work, is this not the same thing?

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#268

Post by mperham »

sbayeta wrote: post #264
mperham wrote: post #235

I wrote sidekiq.org starting 8 years ago and blogged about my experiences over time, e.g. https://www.mikeperham.com/2012/08/26/the-sidekiq-experiment... I sell closed source Pro and Enterprise focused feature packs for my OSS projects. This is known as "open core". My first full year in 2013 I sold $85k. I'm in the millions ARR now.

Really nice story. Have you written again about it, more recently? I think I'm finally tackling a commercially viable idea, with potential customers in the enterprise sector, and it would be very insightful to learn more about your story. Thanks and congrats on your success

I blog regularly but typically not about business topics, see my blog home page at https://www.mikeperham.com

I appear on various podcasts, e.g. The Changelog, regularly and talk about things there too. I'll be on FounderQuest in the next week or two.

Re: Ask HN: Dear open source devs how do you sustain yourself

#270

Post by karolist »

andrewjrhill wrote: post #179
xnyan wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

15 years ago I was on a date with a wonderful young lady. We had a picnic and I brought my (at the time) very modern projector to watch a movie, projected on a bedsheet in the woods. Windows Media Player refused to play the DVD. No internet access at all. I thought I had failed...until I remembered that I had installed VLC. Opened the VTS.VOB on the DVD directly and boom, the video started and played back without a s…

How did you power the projector? Did you drag a generator into the forest too?

Inverter type, for example Honda 10i is portable and not that noisy :)
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