[vertex-four]

You can find multiple buyers before you write the software, you know - you don't have to have just one person paying you. If it's consumer software, things like Kickstarter or Patreon are how this is often done - if it's b2b, this is how a lot of software development is done anyway. Examples of software successfully funded via crowdfunding include Spine, Magit, and Diaspora - although Spine appears to be closed-source anyway. You can write an MVP, pitch it to potential clients, and write software that provides value to them. That's what I'm doing.

[barking]

But planning/hoping to sell copies in the future is unethical, is it?

[vertex-four]

Yes, copyright is unethical, as is closed-source distribution. Sell actual work - there's always work to be done on or around software. My project is livestreaming software, but it turns out there's plenty of folks who don't want to set up livestreaming software, they just want to pay someone for the result of having a solid branded stream - so my business model is providing them that end. If I could do it reasonably with existing software, I would, but I can't, so I'm writing software for it.

[barking]

And there's nothing to stop someone else letting you write all the code and get paid for the bit you charge for, right. In fact they could work full time on that while you have to spend time doing software updates/maintenance etc.

[vertex-four]

If I'm not making money off it, I'm going to stop writing it and find something else to do, obviously?

Being able to say "I have deep technical knowledge of this domain, proven by the fact that I literally wrote the software and can customise it to your needs" is worth something, unsurprisingly.

[barking]

How could a programmer of great ability ever become wealthy living by your ethics?

[Kim_Bruning]

I think you're assuming that most software work is confection.

In reality, or at least in my case, pretty much all the money I've ever earned was in doing bespoke work.

You _could_ see contributions to FLOSS as loss leaders; though that wouldn't be accurate, since there are definitely benefits beyond just advertising your skills.

A key benefit: if there is a set of freelancers working around a single FLOSS code-base, each of them actually benefits by contributing back; because the shared code-base increases in quantity and quality, and thus leads to competitive advantage for all.

[vertex-four]

How could an architect of great ability ever become wealthy if they weren’t able to just sell the same building design over and over again with no work for decades? Oh wait, that’s the norm.

[fsflover]

Why do you think so? Purism created its products using crowdfunding, i.e. they sold their devices (and free software on them) before anyting was created.

[barking]

They're a device maker then

[fsflover]

As I mentioned above, they also write free software for their devices. The price includes it.

[barking]

Manufacturers commonly include software in their products but no one buys a Mercedes for its software.

[fsflover]

In the particular case of Purism Librem 5 phone, many people decided to buy the device in order to support the development of free software for mobile phones. As opposite to the PinePhone, whose developers do not develop any software and rely on the "community developers".

[vertex-four]

Really? If the car contained no software, people would still buy it over alternatives that contain software at various levels for a better driving experience, comfort, and entertainment?