Github Sponsors
24 May 2019 • open source tweetstorms1/ The recent announcement of @github sponsors (https://t.co/OjxZU1t6UT) is an interesting development in OSS. I feel it is a great time to revisit my essay on the questions facing open-source software: https://t.co/UgK40taf9R #GitHubSponsors 1/N
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
Q.1: Can we make the open-source movement self-sustaining? Open source survives on philanthropy: the altruism of the initiator of an open source project, the unpaid labour of the maintainer, and the monetary donations to foundations. Is there an alternative, self-sustaining way?
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
Github Sponsors could, prima facie, remove the reliance of OSS projects on foundations. It would continue to be based on philanthropy. Of the sponsors. Is that an improvement over the present? I am not sure.
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
Q.2:
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
a) Can we pay back for the effort of the maintainer and the individual contributor?
b) Can we provide economic incentives to the maintainers and contributors to help continued development?
c) How do we assign value to an open source project & contribution?
Sponsor is a definite answer to (a) & (b). It introduces economic incentives for prolonged development & maintenance of projects. (c) is the one I love. Every user decides his value for a OSS, and chooses to pay for it. The unanswered part is how to value a single contribution.
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
Q.3:
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
a) How can an entity be incentivised to give back a portion of the value it captures from an open source project back to the community?
b) How do we gauge the value captured by an entity from an open source project?
Q.3:
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
a) How can an entity be incentivised to give back a portion of the value it captures from an open source project back to the community?
b) How do we gauge the value captured by an entity from an open source project?
The incentive to pay is the dire scenario in which an OSS maintainer chooses to ditch the project to work on an another project which is 'sponsored'. So, if you rely on an OSS, and reap economic benefits from it, you are incentivised to pay, or maintain it on your own.
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019
Overall, Sponsor is an experiment worth watching out for. Eyes peeled for what's in store! N/N
— Sujith Jay Nair (@suj1th) May 23, 2019