this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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"I support it only if it's open source" should be a more common viewpoint (vitalik.eth.limo)
submitted 3 days ago by pdqcp@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
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What are your thoughts? Any counter-counter points to the author's response to most concerns regarding open source?

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[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I’m an open source developer who’s put thousands of hours of work into my open source projects.

  • Amount of money I’ve made from writing and maintaining open source projects: $0
  • Amount of money I’ve made from writing and maintaining closed source projects: idk exactly, but probably close to $1,000,000 (over ten years of working in big tech)

I get wanting to use open source software. I want to use open source software. I want to write open source software. I do write open source software. But please understand that I only do that because I enjoy it. I also need to pay the bills, and there’s not much money in writing open source software.

If you value an open source project, especially if it’s just a small development team that doesn’t sell anything, please donate to them.

Right now, I run an email service, https://port87.com/, and it is technically closed source. But it’s built on my open source projects, Svelte Material UI, Nymph.js, and Nephele. Probably about 70% of the code that makes up Port87 is open source, and if you use Port87, you’re helping me continue to develop those open source projects. So even if you don’t donate to open source projects, there are other ways to contribute. Support companies who support open source projects.

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

In some "ecosystems" everything being free is kinda how you are compensated, instead of money. You spend time making your thing for free, but so does everyone else so you don't have to pay for those things either. The two main examples I've personally been involved with are game modding and 3d printing models, I use the free stuff other people make all the time, releasing the things I make for free is how I pay it back.

But yeah, if you use something you really like, throw them a buck or two for the work.
...although I've donated about as much as I've received as donations myself. Eh. No matter.