Years ago, I worked for a pittance as a Windows SysAdmin at a non-profit. In my off-hours, I hacked away creating many open-source tools in hopes of padding the resume and blossoming into a new gig.<p>I did eventually land a more fruitful role as a software dev at MegaCorp. Fast-forward to now, I'm a much more seasoned developer/engineer, though my passion for the Windows ecosystem has diminished (I still love you, Powershell). However, one of the Windows tools I developed years back has experienced impressive organic growth, despite getting few commits since its introduction. It's a tool for creating tools, specifically desktop apps for Windows, and it's dead-simple; the lowest learning curve one could hope for. In the past, I used this tool daily, but haven't needed it since switching to Linux some years ago.<p>I recently got some time off, and revisited this project. I intended to spend a few days on it. Those days naturally turned into weeks, but it was fun to reminisce. This old project is now refreshed and looking <i>good</i>, with new capabilities, and even decent documentation.<p>Now that I'm essentially ready to release, I'm just now asking myself "why?", and am feeling a bit foolish. Even with these updates, I'm not going to rely on this app; I'm out of the Windows space. But I like that the project has received sustained interest and is apparently providing value. While this tool can take many forms, the dominant use-case for this tool is IT folks creating desktop apps for their companies. But my tool is MIT-licensed, FOSS. With that understanding, I feel like a bit of a... cuck developer. With this tool, an individual can do in minutes what would usually take a team weeks. Despite the value-add my tool is introducing, I've never received (or asked for) a dollar.<p>I'm both deciding <i>if</i> I should monetize, and also <i>how</i>. I want this tool to continue to free for personal use, but if its being used at at a company, I want payment (even if its mostly symbolic). I do not want to assume an aggressive position, but I do want to be assertive and self-respecting. I'm considering the following:<p>1. accept donations, and strongly encourage tips/donations if this tool is used in an enterprise.
2. change the license, add telemetry to the app, check for license keys, nag users, yada-yada. i.e., follow the WinZip model. This is the Windows ecosystem afterall; maybe I could throw some ads in there x)<p>Seems like both approaches rely on good-faith, since any license-check measures wouldn't be difficult to block/bypass. I'm hesistant about #2 because (1) it would require additional work, and (2) user backlash. When I think about my goals here, I feel like there's a dilemma (possibly a false dilemma) between:<p>1. many users using my app for free.
2. very few (or none) using my app, but those users are paying users.<p>If money is the motivation, then one user paying $1 is better than millions paying nothing. But I also like the satisfaction I get seeing my work be consumed and appreciated by folks all over the world.<p>I never met my grandfather, but I'm told he was unanimously adored by his community, partly due to his endless generosity. Flat tire? He'd fix it; no charge. Help moving? Sure thing; no charge. That was his M.O. He also struggled to feed his family, Grandma divorced, and he died young and poor. I admire my grandfather's passion, but I took this as a lesson of what <i>not</i> to do. If my grandfather were alive today, I suspect he'd be slaving away on FOSS projects for GitHub stars, and I believe he would want better for me.<p>Money is not <i>the</i> motivation, but money is <i>a</i> motivation.<p>HN, what do you recommend?