Developers choose packages. Executives or even managers are so far removed from the process, can't expect any monetary support from those who control the money.
I'm giving up on open source
21–30 of 209 posts
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#22Does anyone had a similar experience like that? I totally understand the abuses described by the author and feel sorry about that. But I wonder how other successful open-source projects survived and eventually became rentable like Vue.js
It doesn't have to be a universal experience for it to be applicable to some. I have no source to cite, but I know this is not the first blog I've read where an open source maintainer has to step away due to abuse from entitled strangers. To your question, I bet it happens more on one person projects, where the person and the project aren't separated as much and where there is no collective to beat down the bad faith comments.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#23To summarize - welcome to a real world. If you want to do open source you do it for your own sake / pleasure / whatnot. Do not ever expect anything in return. Ignore complaints you do not feel worth your attention as you owe nothing to complainers. They're free to search for the alternatives.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#24"The lower your prices, the more entitled the user base you seem to draw." Not literally, perhaps, but with a wider net you do catch more of the louder, more annoying or insulting voices. I've seen this repeated too many times already (RIP FairEmail). Is this simply an endemic issue in the software space? I can imagine a great deal of people thinking it's not worth it to financially support a project or plugin they r…
I think the simple truth of it is that the value of software just doesn't translate to a lot of people's day to day. People will spend tons of money more than willingly for access to streaming libraries full of inane, samey bullshit. People will spend $70 to access the latest AAA game, people will spend thousands on well-tuned PC's, people will spend tens of thousands on cars, hundreds of thousands on homes, with varying degrees of objection to their prices but ultimately, they will swipe their cards, and that's what matters.
And all of those things are different for software. Between freemium garbage that hauls you in only to present a subscription charge to access basic functions of the program, to software utterly saturated with shitty ads, to, frankly, open source projects prepared to publish themselves accessible for free use by all, we have utterly cratered the perceived value of software. And while the last group in that list is certainly head shoulders and cock above the others with regard to ethics, it doesn't change the fact that open source software is loved precisely because it's free. People LOVE it for that, because they get access to software they don't need to pay for, the lions share of those aforementioned people having utterly no clue what goes into making it. Or, worse still, know exactly what it takes and are happy to shove that workload onto someone they don't know, with a side order of verbal abuse when bad things happen.
I don't know how to fix this. If all the open source software went closed source tomorrow, it would be unmitigated chaos. But at the same time, how many of the Fortune 500 right now are utterly dependent on it? How many people's fortunes are maintained on the back of free software they could never themselves make, built by unpaid and abused volunteers? I love the principles of open source software, but I have never in my life written one sodding line of code without a paycheck coming and I intend to keep it that way, not because I don't think the world wouldn't be better if I did, but because none of the people I'd want to benefit would. I think our industry would be better if more people kept to that philosophy.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#25I'm struggling with the framing of all of this. I think it's clear that the author doesn't want to be involved with the realities (as unfortunate as they are) of maintaining an OSS project. There are very real issues with entitled or abusive users that have been well documented.
What I don't understand is the expectation that the money would just flow upon publishing the software with a permissive license. It sounds like a lesson learned the hard way that most people won't pay for software if they don't have to, or if they don't have a vested interest in the project succeeding. Products launched with OSS cores or with some value-added services model for revenue generally bake in some kind of monetization plan. Relying on "If I build it they'll pay me" seems a bit misguided, even if it can work under some circumstances.
The conclusion that OSS is just about people not wanting to pay any money is also problematic. The world runs on OSS, and that's arguably a good thing for a myriad of philosophical and practical reasons. The bad behavior that also happens to be an unfortunate reality doesn't negate this. The sustainability worries are real and need better solutions, but the answer isn't to abandon OSS. Even if it's the right choice for OP, his situation doesn't warrant broad conclusions, and seem less an indictment of OSS and more a misunderstanding of the playing field.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#26[deleted]
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#27> This public issue on the nut.js repo ...
Personally speaking, if that user had posted something with the same attitude on one of my projects repos they'd have been banned from the repos of the entire org.
Pretty sure I've only ever had to do that twice before, across a lot of years.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#28"The lower your prices, the more entitled the user base you seem to draw." Not literally, perhaps, but with a wider net you do catch more of the louder, more annoying or insulting voices. I've seen this repeated too many times already (RIP FairEmail). Is this simply an endemic issue in the software space? I can imagine a great deal of people thinking it's not worth it to financially support a project or plugin they r…
> Is this simply an endemic issue in the software space?
No. It’s everywhere. I don’t know if it’s a societal thing, I suspect more innate. Though individual cultures may modulate it to different degrees.
The lower the price, the less valuable it is and the more people are willing to make jackass demands. You want respect? You have to charge enough.
It’s sad. It’s amazing open source exists as successfully as it does in spite of that, though I suspect in many cases it’s a byproduct of selfish corporate self-interest in hiring developers.
Software may just be (or seem) worse due to the anonymity. People are way more willing to be jerks in a text box or to an email address than on the phone or in person.
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#29I understand the sentiment for this article, but I disagree with the part about using open source mainly to avoid paying for software. I use open source because I like having the ability to learn how it works. If I can't know how a program works, I can't have control over it. It is not my tool , I am its user . I also just like learning how technology works in general, and non-free software is generally difficult to…
That's great for you, but its the reason that vast swathes of corporate folks use OSS, and they are terrible citizens of it as well.
You know, I often wonder if I'll ever receive an encouraging or somewhat kind response on this forum. That's probably a lot to ask from the internet in general. But could you elaborate on what reason you mean? You mean learning how the software works, or just because it's free?
Re: I'm giving up on open source
#30I understand some their complaints, others seem like typical support questions. It's inevitable and regardless of making money, it's going to happen. People suck at reading.
But, I can't look past the AI art used to generate the YouTube thumbnail on the main page. I'm sure some artist wishes they could work on an art full time, and still be able to pay their bills just as you say you wish about your software.
No one wants to pay for anything, including you.