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Write some software, give it away for free

nonogra.ph

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Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#91

Post by komali2 »

I've been doing this at my co-op, just as a kind of, I don't know, break from capitalism or something? Or maybe to practice getting users before finding a monetizable project? Most are rinky dink derp projects to let co-op members play around with whatever stack, or to give potential members a project they can get a commit on (requirement to join), but some I think are kinda useful. Some I use every day, like the calorie one.

None of these run ads or make any money so I'm going to share them guiltlessly:

https://calories.508.dev just a simple average calorie tracker over months. I couldn't find anything like this online or on the app store.

https://travelcards.508.dev Generate printable cards with localized allergies or whatever for trips. Apparently a lot of our wedding guests like this. https://github.com/508-dev/travel-cards

http://stuff4friends.508.dev A stuff library for your friends to borrow stuff you aren't using. I'm most excited about this one right now because I have so much stuff, and my friends seem to be enjoying borrowing random stuff they wouldn't have just because they can see it and know it's all being tracked. https://github.com/508-dev/friend-library

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#93

Post by globalnode »

y0eswddl wrote: post #39
advael wrote: post #36

A lot of comments can't help but mention the constant looming threat of potentially permanent destitution that pervades our society. It's increasingly hard to understand the position of people who think that this is a feature, excepting of course those very few with the resources to use that pressure rather than be driven by it

What disappoints me most is just how many people have been successfully disabused of so much hope, confidence, and imagination that they just accept our current reality as inevitable.

marketing. humans are quite reactive to certain stimuli

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#94

Post by Lerc »

SerCe wrote: post #37

Or don't. I've done both, published OSS projects and sold some software. The level of entitlement in some comments I received on the OSS side was pretty crazy at times. While with the paid software, all of the interactions I had were so much more constructive. YMMV, but willingness to pay is a great filter.

My experience is similar, but I remain more motivated to give away what I make than to ask people to pay for it.

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#95

Post by didgetmaster »

nohell wrote: post #6
Topology1 wrote: post #5

Wish there was a way to send this to every mobile dev who thinks they can (and should) charge a subscription for their hobby app that provides a basic function

What! You don't want to pay $3.99 a WEEK for a calculator???

Answers are free. Correct answers cost extra!

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#96

Post by andrekandre »

faangguyindia wrote: post #75
SerCe wrote: post #37

Or don't. I've done both, published OSS projects and sold some software. The level of entitlement in some comments I received on the OSS side was pretty crazy at times. While with the paid software, all of the interactions I had were so much more constructive. YMMV, but willingness to pay is a great filter.

As someone who once had a popular open-source project. Opensource is just harder because you've to write code for . When I am working with a small team, I do not care if my commits are ugly or repetitive. Despite what people here say, all these things have very little to do with the reliability of actual code. Same software i offer for free will take 2-5x more time if i did it opensource way.

  > When I am working with a small team, I do not care if my commits are ugly or repetitive.
thats interesting because for me its the opposite: working in a team boosted my code quality and cleanliness much more than something open source i did precisely because people on my team would be looking at it and reviewing it...

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#99

Post by DANmode »

latexr wrote: post #67
DANmode wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it’s much simpler to drive a hard line. But driving that line is a cost : to you, your volunteers, or your tokens(?).

There’s no cost to me to stop an entitled disruptive user with zero positive contributions from destabilising the project. No cost to my volunteers either. The opposite is true in both cases; removing that user is a net benefit and I’ve done so in the past specifically to protect the experience of the volunteers. As for tokens, there have been exactly zero cases where someone has submitted LLM code to one of my repos…

> There’s no cost to me to stop an entitled disruptive user with zero positive contributions from destabilising the project.

Having to spend time reviewing a PR or issue is “no cost”?

I’m not convinced yet.

> As for tokens

I did not mean LLM contributions…I meant using AI tools to automate the reviews of contributions and users you seem to think cost no time or attention, but I do..

Re: Write some software, give it away for free

#100

Post by i_think_so »

globalnode wrote: post #83
zx8080 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible to say we don't have personal colputers anymore, they are MS/Apple/Google's device now, as they decide what it is allowed to run and what isn't.

linux

Your one-word answer probably violates somebody's rules here. It's also perfect and therefore worthy of upvoting.
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