[bobblywobbles]

If I'm paid for open source, I'm going to lose any motivation to work on it more. The reason why I contribute to open source projects is BECAUSE I want to contribute for free.

Put money in the deal and I'm no longer doing this work selflessly, but for self-interest instead.

[ryanisinallofus]

Someone here gets the 20/hour for STEM volunteer work with kids then donates the money to a charity which Formidable also doubles as a part of another program. Would that address the issue for you or is the idea of getting paid for fun stuff just ruin the fun no matter what on principle?

(I work at Formidable)

[bobblywobbles]

I may differ from others, but anything that I do as volunteer work needs to be unpaid. Putting money in the equation means that I'm no longer doing X work for Y people, but instead doing X work for Z dollars.

Putting money in the work makes it transactional, and that turns me off to "paid volunteer work". At that point, it's really just another label for "optional job". Volunteer work is donating your time or effort, so putting the "paid" label on it is misleading in my eyes.

I also already donate to charity so I don't see a need to get paid to donate more money, which others may have an incentive to do. This is a point to consider.

[jb3689]

What if you just give the money to charity? Does that change your opinion?

[bobblywobbles]

I already give money to charity.

The reason why I don't like to put money in open-source work is it attaches a value on something where I would consider the work priceless and personal.

It makes the work feel cold, or transactional. I'm sure others would agree.

[yawaramin]

There is no deal. Nobody is forcibly handing you money here. It is completely optional for you to participate. Think of it the same way as participating in your company's bonus rewards program like bonus.ly.