How misaligned incentives undermine open source projects — and why 'monetize later' often leads to the very restrictions open source was meant to avoid.
Fueling Open Source with Vibes & Money
Economists think Open Source is a business model. Devs know better, and fund it accordingly.
It’s time to rethink Open Source
Why developers give away valuable work for free — and what can be done to take that money back.
Some startups are going ‘fair source’ to avoid the pitfalls of open source licensing | TechCrunch
New alternative category to 'closed source' could help companies monetize software in the open -- without going all-in on open source.
Open Source is a cost-allocation system
Because the right to use the software is not tied to payment, the license does not connect the people who benefit, the people who decide, and the people who bear the costs. Projects have to build those connections deliberately through governance.
Open Source Software and Corporate Influence — Andrew Lilley Brinker
Open source software projects are frequently enmeshed with the interests of corporations. We should update mental models of who works on open source accordingly, and build or modify power structures to be more resilient to corporate capture.
Open Source is Broken
The Open Source movement, as championed by the OSI, prizes absolute openness above all other concerns...
Tyranny of Permissionlessness
open source’s narrow focus further empowers those with other ways to exclude
A method for giving credit to organizations that contribute code to Open Source
By tracking organizational contributions in Git commits, we can give organizations more tangible reasons to fund open source and help sustain it over time.
Open source is a restaurant
[[Chad Whitacre]] makes a great analogy around when/how software gets paid for, vs food. Open Source is a restaurant. At a restaurant, you eat your meal fir...
The Missing Middle of Open Source
Why serious, maintainer-driven projects struggle to sustain themselves—and what it will take to fix it.
Open Source Explained — Open Indie
Musings on the concept of ‘open source’, in the broadest possible definition of the term. Also an invitation to become a participant in ...
Joseph Jacks bets on open source startups, a 'paradox of philanthropy and capitalism' | TechCrunch
Joseph Jacks and OSS Capital have sought some of the earliest stage open source startups, and funded them through their formative years.
I can see a whole lot of people agreeing with this. Kinda the same with open source in general, but few open source projects are social protocols seeking widespread adoption. It's a particular flavor of narrative disconnection from reality we have to bridge out of to get out of our own way.
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Every @proto developer sounds like this to me:
Open source is sometimes played within the magic circle. When money enters, it becomes a different game. When switching from one game to another, participants often feel betrayed. So, know which one you want to play and be clear about the rules! blog.zaratan.world/p/the-magic-circle
The Magic Circle
blog.zaratan.worldEconomic incentives is a big problem with AI in open-source spaces. Finding is unevenly allocated, and AI leads to further disparity. Instead of spreading money around the dev community, it'll go to AI companies. Open source thrives on humans. We don't need rockstars, we need resources.
Lucca @ Northsky 💚💜
they should be giving out more of that to the community as grants and focusing on protocol governance and standards and bringing new people into atproto.
