Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by carlsborg 1440 days ago
The world needs a better way to monetize open source.
2 comments

More than that, the world needs a basic income system, so that people who feel thus motivated can write open source code^ without having to worry about monetization.

^: or raise children, make art, tend to community organizations, and any number of other socially beneficial activities for which a profit motive would be irrelevant or detrimental

RedHat showed the way. GitLab showed the way. Source Hut is showing the way. There are other examples for sure.
Don't Red Hat and GitLab have really different models, since Red Hat only releases free software and GitLab is merely 'open core'?
Yes, they tread different paths. RedHat sells support (RedHat Enterprise Linux), develops enterprise ready software and gives unbranded, not supported versions to the community to play with and use it.

GitLab sells SaaS, provides a free self-installable community supported version, and accepts contributions from community.

They're pivoting to a more closed model, which I don't like, but it's still possible to get the community version, the code and play with it.

All in all I think many possible different ways to monetize an free and open source project. They work differently than we get used to over the last century, but it's possible.