The Struggle of Open Source Developers: The faker.js story

Mashiane

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Hi there

My current projects are around BVAD3, an open source project powered by both B4x and BANano.

Yes I want to make money from the work I do for clients however what I am also passionate about is being able to plough back to b4x and BANano creators for the awesome work they do, the freeware / open source products they did to make this possible. That was the plan from day 1 when I started working with ABM, then BANano and when the b4x strategies also changed to open source, that has been the driving force and yes I am not ploughing back like how I would love to. Being un-employed for a couple of years can be very challenging and then b4x has been a source of life changing decisions and life enhancements. Anyway...

The current story of faker.js and the phone call I got today also got me thinking. One con of using open source software is risk, because anything can happen. This is even more emphasized when there is just 1 person working on it, with the single knowledge of it, lack of documentation etc etc, the list is long. I know very well I am in this boat.
Also can one develop Vuetify based apps outside of BANano / b4x eco-systems? Definately yes, on condition that ones learns VueJS.

Each time I am asked about BVAD3 documentation I refer people to the Vuetify website as BVAD3 is just a wrapper for Vuetify. This is all well and good, but there are functionalities in BVAD3 that go beyond Vuetify but touch on BANano and other things. Question is, what do I sacrifice? Create documentation for free or work on that client project? Can I do both? How do I avoid burn out? How do I settle debts? Pay school fees etc etc? All from open source!!!? Highly unlikely.

Reading this story makes one appreciate once more the dedication, time, finances, put on open source projects done. The other part is what covid did to shift everything else around us and changed our lives forever. I read with interest how John, the creator of Vuetify, resigned from work to fully concentrate on Vuetify. He has sponsors to help sustain life and other things. Same with Evan, creator of VueJS. John has made his licensing to be "whatever", make commercial products from his open source, do whatever you want. That takes guts.

When I read about Vuesax, a beautiful VueJS framework, the licensing issue also came into fore. The thing is, people invest a lot of time and energy into creating open source tools, which help other people to sustain themselves, but the important question is do those people "plough / harvest back to the originator?"

With that in mind, thank you so much to everyone here who spends time creating open source tools to help others realize their dreams.

Commiting to plough back. We all should.

 
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aeric

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I just believe what we contributed will return in the form of money or other form of exchange. Sometimes we need time to see the fruits. No point to sabotage. If a developer is facing difficulty financially especially in post pandemic then why not announce humbly or make some deals with the users. The issue I see here is how come Fortune 500 companies is so cheapskate that they asked for free work? They should become the sponsors!

“Respectfully, I am no longer going to support Fortune 500s (and other smaller sized companies) with my free work,” he says. “Take this as an opportunity to send me a six figure yearly contract or fork the project and have someone else work on it.”
 

aeric

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Seems to be common. This is another project/person I follow. Interestingly this was posted yesterday when I also found out about the faker.js story.

Thanks for sharing. It’s really sad ? to read such story.

Recently, I also struggle and frustrated with the industry. Since I resigned last year, I met 2 clients. The first one wanted me to develop a .NET Web API to integrate with an accounting software. After I have successfully done the R&D, they told me the HQ in Singapore gave a red light. Then the second one also wanted me to develop a web based system and integrate with a legacy accounting system (DBF backend) and I also successfully done R&D. A few days ago I received a message that the manager said my quote is too high even though I haven’t officially send a quotation. I just said I will proposing a mobile app which indeed more expensive than a web based system.

I think the layman should be educated that developers bespoke work are not cheap! It is not as cheap as the ready made apps like Google Appsheet.
 

rabbitBUSH

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the manager said my quote is too high
In some past situation I have been connected with, in these situations, the party that approached us with a prospective project, and, who was NOT from the management or similar job ABOVE the rank of the one approaching us - was ALWAYS asked whether their request was backed by authority and approval from those in control of their corporate budget and money expenditure. Without that in writing - ie. a formal request on company letterhead - we would not enter into discussion (not until that negotiation was successfully completed). In some cases we had to get approval at our end to actually take on the project - and a deposit with contract signatures was ALWAYS concluded.

Now as an independent developer - I tend to treat things the same way. In some ways that is a depressing "Show Me The Money" way of doing business - when I prefer the shake of hands - the trouble is - when you shake hands with some dogs - they bite...........
 

Mashiane

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EnriqueGonzalez

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When you live in a 3rd world country as me open source is no more than a cruel joke. Just imagine having to sustain an industry moving literal trillions of dollars and not receiving a single dollar from it.

Just remember what a brilliant and wise man side once "if you are good at it dont make it for free"

Even here, you dont really work free here in the forum doing consulting, what you do is called "buying reputation" think reputation as a coin that allows you to buy customers.

If it were me when someone asked me for documentation i would suggest better to create them a working example for x amount, may be just a token. They will see your work in action and you will lay the road for more business. I am not speaking without experiencie. i have worked as a freenlancer with many people on the forum and still do it and i have a good life, not a single day i have had to look at an empty plate.
 

aeric

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When you live in a 3rd world country as me open source is no more than a cruel joke. Just imagine having to sustain an industry moving literal trillions of dollars and not receiving a single dollar from it.

Just remember what a brilliant and wise man side once "if you are good at it dont make it for free"

Even here, you dont really work free here in the forum doing consulting, what you do is called "buying reputation" think reputation as a coin that allows you to buy customers.

If it were me when someone asked me for documentation i would suggest better to create them a working example for x amount, may be just a token. They will see your work in action and you will lay the road for more business. I am not speaking without experiencie. i have worked as a freenlancer with many people on the forum and still do it and i have a good life, not a single day i have had to look at an empty plate.
I am not as lucky as you are. What I got so far is a few cups of coffee. Reputation? I think some Likes for consolation. ?
 

vecino

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Free (open source) software never expires.

It is necessary to differentiate and be very clear about what each type of licence means.
Freeware has nothing to do with free software (understand "free" to mean "freedom", not "free/no monetary cost").

Free software, the real "open source", is the one that fulfils the 4 freedoms:

0. The freedom to use the program, for any purpose (use).
1. The freedom to study how the program works and modify it, adapting it to one's own needs (study).
2. The freedom to distribute copies of the program, thereby helping other users (distribution).
3. The freedom to improve the program and make those improvements public to others, so that the whole community benefits (improvement).

We should never use software for our developments that we do not have the source code for. And as long as they have a licence that allows us to edit and remake them according to our needs.

Using "closed" code, freeware, etc. can bring us many problems.
 
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