[smoldesu]

If it weren't for all this freely licensed software, maybe the paid alternatives would be more attractive. Proprietary UNIX was all well and good, but ultimately a cancer to businesses and users. Businesses and users funded an alternative, and the people selling proprietary UNIX all gave up the ghost.

In any case, if you're trying to get developers to pay for your software, you're targeting the wrong crowd. Developers know the per-call cost of your service, they know that you're scamming them at some level of your product. If you sell a fart button app for a dollar, you better believe someone will make their own version out of spite. If you want to get paid for your software, sell to the business and not their employees.

The frugality of software developers is ultimately just a force of good, giving less fortunate developers better tools and keeping the paid options honest.

[aatd86]

Do they? More often than not people are users of libraries and not necessarily well versed in the amount of time and knowledge required to build them.

In my experience, there is a non negligible number of devs who overestimate their own knowledge.

And I believe this leads to a trend toward underestimating the value and the costs of software in terms of money or time.

Then the only ones who can afford to compete are those who have a job which is basically a subsidy at this point.