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by exdsq 1781 days ago
I wonder how many 'small open source projects' really have any value in terms of police reforms, teachers unions, etc...

If you're interested in making a difference I think it's better to look at career resources like https://80000hours.org/ than trying to think of open source software that will, in all honestly, probably make 0 difference.
1 comments
nixpulvis 1781 days ago
I feel like this comment is too negative about OSS. My ideal job would sponsor as much open source code as possible. Given the focus on civic and public service in these threads, I think public code is a very natural fit.
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exdsq 1781 days ago
To be clear I prefer OSS over closed software. I contribute in my spare time and I've worked on OSS projects in my career.

What I'm saying is there are far better methods to do Good in your career or spare time than starting an OSS project. I don't have stats here but I'd wager 99% of OSS projects die by the way side and 99% of those aren't providing any sort of tangible use in relation to problems mentioned in this post.

Happy to be proved wrong - working on effective things is the driving force of my career.

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