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Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

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Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#2
Open Source is broken if you think you should be able to make money from it when you need to. I don't think it's broken for its stated aims.

I feel bad the chap, but I don't think Open Source is to blame. It is fundamentally hard to charge tiny amounts of money to millions of people, which is all he really has to do to survive, because receiving money, especially with all the different tax rules from countries, make micro/nanotransactions difficult.

It would be good to have some sort of marketplace for this sort of thing, that has the scale to wade through country regulations and still transmit enough money to makers to be useful.

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#3
He quit his main job to work full time relying on donations!

People are assholes, but I don't think he had a sound plan.

I think he should have found an employer that was ok with him dedicating some % of time to maintaining core-js.

Personally I'd like to work full time on my own projects, but I'd make sure it made financial sense before just quitting my job and hoping that the universe will sort it out.

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#4

Open Source is broken if you think you should be able to make money from it when you need to. I don't think it's broken for its stated aims. I feel bad the chap, but I don't think Open Source is to blame. It is fundamentally hard to charge tiny amounts of money to millions of people, which is all he really has to do to survive, because receiving money, especially with all the different tax rules from countries, make…

As the developer stated. It doesn't matter if the system is in place. People will mostly not donate.

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#5
I'm not sure if Open Source is broken, so much as the expectation to monetize anything is guaranteed. Most new businesses fail too.

Just because you've created something doesn't mean it'll always be monetizable. I'd argue that if income was the expectation, grinding year after year at the same thing with repeated failure is a mistake. Doesn't matter if it's writing software, or selling widgets on a street corner, not every possible idea will succeed in that way.

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#6
This is an interesting story. Millions of users, but you catch fire when you ask for money when you need it - on your very own channels.

And this is a project which highly depends on maintenance so you need to have personnel that does it with love and dedication.

Oh how much happier do I feel now, that once when someone in our community came up asking for help we didn't have such problems to arrange a fundraiser. Don't let hate win.

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#7
post #4

Open Source is broken if you think you should be able to make money from it when you need to. I don't think it's broken for its stated aims. I feel bad the chap, but I don't think Open Source is to blame. It is fundamentally hard to charge tiny amounts of money to millions of people, which is all he really has to do to survive, because receiving money, especially with all the different tax rules from countries, make…

As the developer stated. It doesn't matter if the system is in place. People will mostly not donate.

Those with the most ability to pay are simply benefiting from free labor. How many multi-billion dollar companies are shipping products where core-js is an essential component?

Re: Open-source is broken: the sad story of Denis Pushkarev (core-JS)

#10
Really, if the project is of no benefit to him he should just drop it. Maybe it will cause some turmoil for developers. If its an important project then people and more importantly companies can contract with him for feature and bug fixes.

Just walk away, don't feel you owe anyone anything with open source. If they value the work they can open their wallet if they absolutely need something done.

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