@019aa5eb I think there is at least a third group, because I find myself in neither:
I like to use free and open source because it is "the right thing to do". Also, I usually donate well when I use something that has real production value.
Of course it is not possible to donate to 300 different npm packages, that are fetched when I add a single dependency.
When I find bugs or have ideas I also usually take the time to file proper bug reports and sometimes, if knowledge permits, send a patch. IMHO: The currency in free and open source is not money, it is time.
Example: https://caprover.com/
It is a perfect PaaS replacement which runs on two of my production servers and saved me a lot of money. I've donated over $500 to the project.
Or https://github.com/h2non/imaginary, an image resizer that I use in production, donated $180.
Or https://github.com/samber/lo, a functional Go library that makes coding in Go enjoyable for me.
On the other side, with the exception of Tuner, the FOSS app I created and released for Linux, I rarely publish any work of my own.
@019aa5eb Do add a bit more to this interesting discussion, there is also another dimension, especially in bigger Free software projects (looking at you, #GNU) - and especially in the C world.
These projects are often made up of a community of self-proclaimed "elite hackers". They pretend to be open, but they don't want contributions. They make it so hard to contribute, that it is almost impossible to "get in". Look at the FSF/GNU, they really suffer from that.
And when you dare to propose an idea and send a patch, you risk of being publicily ridiculed at best, or at least ignored. Or someone is screaming at you: "shut up".
I gave up on trying to contribute to bigger projects very fast. I'm not an "elite hacker". Running this instance is my way of contributing in a way, no GNU hacker can tell me how inferior my contribution is.
@488cf7e2 I too have found it very strange how hostile some of the FSF/GNU people are to collaboration with some projects being impossible to even contact. I always thought that motivation wise they were in the first group but their behavior shows otherwise. They don't seem to be in the second group though, certainly their behavior doesn't seem self interested... It is a puzzle...
Because, they think their idea is the best.
@488cf7e2 If the only people in the first group were those able to directly contribute to every piece of software they ever used, the first group would consist of the three LISPheads who still load their software using a cassette tape. No one in the modern world is capable of contributing to everything, there's just too much. Am I wrong in thinking that your motivations lie with the first group though?
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