Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 374 posts

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#21

Post by hamburglar »

kotaKat wrote: post #18

I have an extension I wrote that is literally for a single regional website to do some extra blocking to get around a paywall. There are under 10 installs total. For some reason, the most recent monetization email I got thought it was 10,000. > I'm reaching out to discuss a unique monetization opportunity for your extension, , through our exclusive Premium Bing Hosted Product. > I'm thrilled to let you know that this…

You should counter by offering to sell them the whole thing for a flat price and then have all your users (you) switch to a new extension that does the same thing under a new name. :)

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#23

Post by ericd »

mfrisbie wrote: post #14

ChatGPT for Google was #1 on HN earlier this year. Check out the GitHub repo now: that person sold the extension. I had a small side project extension, ~25,000 installs & free to use. I got enough inbound interest trying to "help me monetize" that I thought it would be worth cataloguing all the different unsavory avenues: https://mattfrisbie.substack.com/p/the-ugly-business-of-mone...

The most galling offer we saw on the mobile app side was something that would turn on the user's microphone, and listen for ads on tvs around them to track what they'd been exposed to offline. Adtech is such a thoroughly gross field.

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#24

Post by sdflhasjd »

And if you run a website you get constant emails like this:

   Hey There,

   I wanted to reach out and see if  accepts guest post contributions or link insertion in existing posts? If so, I'd love to hear more about your guidelines and any specific topics of interest.

   Thank you for your time, and I'm looking forward to your response. 

   Best Regards,
These ones are definitely spammed out en-masse, my site doesn't even have a blog.

My site also has some Windows software downloads on it, and I occasionally get emails for bundling dodgy installers. Most of these tend to be "residential proxy" services looking to sell access to users' internet connections.

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#25

Post by winwang »

sorokod wrote: post #6
amadeuspagel wrote: post #2

The root problem here is that there's no legitimate way to monetize browser extensions. Extensions are meant to be simple, so it's hard to sell premium features. Extensions usually don't "own" any space to embed ads in.

Do you believe that if there was a way to monetize extentions devs would not be approached by data thives?

Not the OP, but I'd presume that it would be significantly less tempting to sell out.

Everyone has a price, and when everything is going smoothly, that price goes up.

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#26

Post by sorokod »

6DM wrote: post #16
sorokod wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not clear what problem you are solving. Extension devs know the rules of the game up front and have no expectation of profit.

I may have misunderstood your prior comment so please excuse me if I got it wrong. The problem I was solving was how to make money from an extension that I publish. I was outlining different business models where you could give the user access to the extension, and make money without having to accept this arrangement with data thieves.

I don't see this as problem that needs to be solved. It is freeware from the start.

It's wonderful that people are willing to share their knowledge and time for free - why not let it be the way it is?

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#28

Post by david422 »

If you put something out on the web that gets somewhat popular, you are going to get all sorts of scummy people contacting you.

The first one that happened to me: I have a domain name and someone emailed me to let me know, as a courtesy, that someone was buying similar Chinese domain names and did I want to get them first. I thought that was nice that they were notifying me ... oh wait, they're just trying to get me to buy their domain names.

People contact me about redesigning my website, buying my website, exchanging links, straight up spamming my website. It's really strange.

Re: Temptations of an open-source Chrome extension developer (2021)

#30

Post by sorokod »

hamburglar wrote: post #17
sorokod wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not clear what problem you are solving. Extension devs know the rules of the game up front and have no expectation of profit.

Yes, most extension devs probably start out with no intentions of profit. They wrote their extension to scratch an itch. However, once they get an installed base and start getting offers to do shady stuff, it seems obvious that they might be tempted by easy money. If they had a more legitimate way to make money, they may be less tempted by the shady stuff.

That is indeed obvious but I'd argue that in this case the problem is weak moral spine. Fortifying it with money will not make it go away.
Post reply on HN