Hello all,
You might already know that codefund.io shut a few days back. Most of the OSS developers only rely on sponsorship for their projects yet don't make much money. Being a full time OSS contributor is a difficult path to move forward. I attempted to help monetize OSS packages by building a marketplace (privjs.com) for "PRO" nodejs libraries where OSS developers could release a PRO version of their existing libraries and help cater the paid users better. Posted it on reddit and it was flooded with hate comments.<p>I just do not understand - what's wrong in monetizing OSS? And, why is it so hard to monetize? Why do people hate paying for code that saves hours/days of their time?<p>-Prasanna
IMO, you're fighting the culture of OSS. I see that culture as "give some, take some". Where we exchange help and knowledge rather than payment. Adding explicit payment cheapens my involvement - and passion and creativity - because now, like everything else, there's an expectation of compensation. Even if I'm not involved, I'm now a second tiered citizen compared to "pro" packages because "if it was any good, wouldn't you sell it?". It taints the entire system. We have jobs for that.<p>But here's the thing, there are examples of commercializing open source software. Red Hat, MeteorJS, GhostJS, and more that I can't remember. These companies add value and most are appreciated. Your business model ignores this and feels like a "fuck you, pay me".<p>If I was you, I'd find a way to keep OSS exactly the way it is, but make consulting around those OSS projects extremely easy.