Can you get any financial recompense from Open Source

Question

I have been contributing heavily to this open source project that aims to help out users of open source on the .NET platform by acting as a ruby gems or more importantly a gentto portage clone for .NET. There is a genuine need for this in .NET as the upgrade path for .NET oss is a painful journey fraught with danger. So morally this is a very worthy cause.

The project is not yet beta and I have no guarantee it will work. I am spending a lot of time on this. My girlfriend has openly stated how much she hates this project :-).

It is not yet beta and I have no guarantee this project will fill the void that is so needed in this space.

If it works out and becomes popular, is there anyway one get any money back from this outlay in time or am I just being completelly cynical by looking at it this way?

Answer 1

It depends - if your open source project is a success, then direct financial compensation might be a bit hard to get, however, being associated with the project as a major contributor may give you a certain level of noteriety in the community. This can lead to you getting more / better contracts (if you freelance), and can give you an edge if you decide to look for another full-time job.

Answer 2

One way to get paid for working on open source software, is to find yourself a company that uses said software. They might hire you as a developer to do custom development.

Another way is to make software that will provide a service to people, and then charge for that service. You then have to hope that you will be the best at providing the service.

But generally I would say that the best open source software get's built because the author has a daily problem that he wants to see solved. It sometimes turns out that others have the same problem and like the solution -- thereby forming a community around the software and contributing to make it better. Sitting down and trying to see a "marked" for an open source "product" rarely works, at least in my experience.

Answer 3

If all contributers agree, you can change the license any time, but older version will still be available under the old license. If you still want it to keep free, and all developers agree, then you could dual-license the product similar to MySQL or Qt, i.e. a FLOSS license like GNU GPL and another, proprietary license for customers that cannot comply with the other one if they want to include it in their product.

As others have said, there always is the possibility of getting hired as a developer / freelancer / consultant for that product.

Answer 4

Simple answer: Probably not

Longer answer: If you are looking for direct recompense then, while it is unlikely to make you rich, there are a few options for earning some money:

1. Related consultancy work. e.g., bespoke customisations and training.
2. Adverts in the documentation.
3. Commercial licensing and support.

Through my open-source GAUL project, I've earned a bit of money from all three of the above. Putting google Adwords in the documentation has led to a small stream of income, but we are talking about less than $5 per month so that won't give you a very good hourly rate of compensation! It is just enough to buy an occasional technical book or two. If your project has wider appeal, then adverts might do better for you.

Related consultancy and commercial support are more lucrative, but you might find that this isn't practical due to interfering with your day-job. Also, the nature of your project might also limit the scope for consultancy work!

The greatest recompense is more indirect though. I believe that I received a job offer on the basis of my publicly visible code. That could turn out to be more valuable than any receipt of actual $$$s.

Answer 5

An interesting guide to the topic of earning an income from a Free and Open Source project is available on the Damn Small Linux project website:

http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/income-guide/

It is, basically, an opinion-piece, but lists a number of strategies for generating income, along with a considerable amount of practical advice. You might not agree with everything it states, but it offers a thought-provoking overview of the options.

Answer 6

The short answer is no. To be more correct, do not expect anything.

It would be easier to generate traffic for your site and get something from ads.