Re:A leap of faith: Committing to open source
by est31 on Thursday August 27, 2020 @04:04AM
(#24291165)
It's in the sub-header above the text:
> I currently host two podcasts studio_microphone: Hope in Source and Maintainers Anonymous.
This isn't very typical of open source creators, but for people who want to live off donations, it's a big help, because it helps building a fanbase of people, of which a subset then donates to you. Basically the same model as of a youtuber, who also creates content and uses patreon because youtube's unilateral and weird decisions to demonetize people or change their compensation on a whim.
Furthermore, it really depends on which area you work in. It seems that in the js ecosystem, it's possible to live off donations, but the js ecosystem is gigantic, and many people make money building js stuff.
IDK the people who can live off donations are an extremely tiny subset of all open source maintainers. For most people it's as unattainable as living from your proceedings of being a youtube star, and even then lots of people want to become youtube stars.
That being said, for the 99%, being in open source is still beneficial, as it opens doors into the jobs world, helps building a portfolio as well as a network, both useful for getting a job.
> I currently host two podcasts studio_microphone: Hope in Source and Maintainers Anonymous.
This isn't very typical of open source creators, but for people who want to live off donations, it's a big help, because it helps building a fanbase of people, of which a subset then donates to you. Basically the same model as of a youtuber, who also creates content and uses patreon because youtube's unilateral and weird decisions to demonetize people or change their compensation on a whim.
Furthermore, it really depends on which area you work in. It seems that in the js ecosystem, it's possible to live off donations, but the js ecosystem is gigantic, and many people make money building js stuff.
IDK the people who can live off donations are an extremely tiny subset of all open source maintainers. For most people it's as unattainable as living from your proceedings of being a youtube star, and even then lots of people want to become youtube stars.
That being said, for the 99%, being in open source is still beneficial, as it opens doors into the jobs world, helps building a portfolio as well as a network, both useful for getting a job.