How are you supposed to make money off of free software?
>>53533136
This may surprise you, but not everyone is making software for profit.
Either selling user's data to 3rd party or donations.
>>53533136
Free as in Freedom, Anon. Not free as in free Beer.
>Ads
>Selling user data (but why tho)
>etc....
Don't be a faggot, engage with your users, garner goodwill, and ask for donations in a totally optional and non-intrusive way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat
>>53533145
What other reason would one have?
>doing a thing and not expecting a reward
Terrible life decisions include...
>>53533145
Profit gets things done, and this may surprise you but not everyone is a basement dwelling neckbeard living off of neetbucks.
>>53533148
Ads are the cancer that plagues modern computing.
Selling user's data is possible but requires a large user base to be profitable.
>>53533149
Donations are not a reliable source of income and never will be
>>53533196
You didn't ask how to "make a living", you asked how to "make money". Don't move the goalpost. I make a product that costs me $10 to make but sell it for $12, I've made money. My rent isn't paid, but I HAVE made money. Faggot.
>>53533255
It's implied, faggot. It's obvious how to make pathetic amounts of money, throw up a donation button.
But some people actually need jobs to pay their bills, and as immoral proprietary software apparently is I don't see a way to do that.
>>53533288
No, it's not implied, faggot. "Make money" means you receive more money than you sank into a product. "Make a living" means you receive enough money to fund your lifestyle. I "make money" fixing people's PCs. I "make a living" at my full time job that provides the bulk of my income.
>>53533174
Experience has high value that not anyone can afford
>>53533288
you can make free software and charge for it faggot
>>53533136
By being a wage cuck all your life.
>>53533170
/thread
>>53533136
Make it really hard to use.
Write book explaining it.
Sell book.
>>53533679
Kek
>>53533136
Study dentistry instead of CS
>>53533136
ads and donations
"pro" version with no ads
stick to mobile market, as the consumers there are much more gullible and the market is huge
>>53533136
Who is this vagina dentata?
>>53533136
1) make software brittle and hard to use
2) sell "support"
>>53533174
>doing things and not expecting a reward
It's called art. Some of us like to use programming as a form of self expression because why the fuck not?
>>53533136
It's ofc allowed to sell free software; Free Software just means that the software respects your freedom.
>>53533136
And this is why NOBODY uses Linux.
This is why Linux still has many many issues.
Money matters.
>>53534252
That's the level of consciousness that 99% of people wouldn't acquire for many years to come.
It's meant to help you get a job.
In reality, HR sees you're actually really passionate about programming... And she'll throw your resume out because you're boring and if anyone asks she'll say you don't fit the culture. HR in stem have given up, they're just hiring anyone with degrees that looks like someone they'd be friends with.
>>53534436
>>53534436
>doesnt read the thread
>posts anyway
fucking normies everywhere
>>53533145
That's not an answer.
>>53533679
/thread
>>53533136
“Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, “free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer”. We sometimes call it “libre software” to show we do not mean it is gratis.
>>53533174
same reason your 12 year dumbass plays games
sometimes, people who aren't as fucking stupid as you, like to have a brain challenge for fun, instead of killing their brain.
>>53533679
GNUtards say docs should be free too
>>53533136
You're are supposed to jew people on """""support"""""
>>53533145
BSD license > LGPL > Typical EULA > GPL
>>53535132
That's not an answer.
>>53533196
osu! runs only off donations for 8 years now
>>53533136
CHROMIUM
FIREFOX
ALL SHIT ON THE INTERNET
GET WITH THE TIMES MEN
Can someone explain how and why companies would pay for "user data"? What kind of information can you get from knowing that someone liked the Xbox page on Facebook and is also into dragon dildos?
>>53534436
You're butthurt because you can't shill for freedom.
>>53535275
so that they know who to advertise to, what to advertise
>>53535186
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price doesn't make the software free, or even closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and make some money. Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it. Others sell support at levels ranging from answering user questions, to fixing bugs, to adding major new features.
>>53533679
Or offering services around it...
aka the Every-Second-Webbased-Software and Every-Big-CMS way.
>>53535275
That's how all the dragon-themed games emerged, to popularize dragon dildos.
Check out the rise of "dragon dildos" search term in 2011 when Skyrim and Game of Thrones were launched.
>>53535440
And here's the pic.
>>53533170
Isn't red hat an exception though? There are many more successful business models for proprietary software than for free software.
>>53535409
>answering user questions, to fixing bugs, to adding major new features.
Who the fuck even needs this in 2016? What a shitty business model.
>>53534252
Calling programming art is like calling math art.
It's retarded and pretentious. Although most people on /g/ are wannabe hackers so it's understandable.
>>53535613
How is providing tech support a shitty business model?
Even poo in loo people do it, although they only pretend to work for Wangblows in order to pwn you.
>>53533145
>willingly being a loser
>>53535654
LOL and this is coming from a code monkey...
>>53535613
>improving a service and offering help is bad
Ok
>>53535244
>/g/
>men
pick one
>>53535448
>>53535440
fucking genius
why don't you work in advertising yet anon?
>>53533288
>>53533136
Sell free software. Problem solved.
>>53535638
>How is providing tech support a shitty business model?
How is it not? If your software is so shitty people need help to use it then nobody is going to use it.
>>53533136
Patreon. If furries can make over 6k for a free Unity giraffe sexxing game then anything is possible
>>53533196
>what is firefox
>>53535769
I'm doing it for the lulz. Although trend spotting is just too fun to not try and make a career out of it.
>>53535788
Market share of most proprietary cuckware destroys your argument. Buggy, extremely limited, PWNED and still popular.
>>53535788
So Windows and OS X don't provide support because the OSes are already good enough? No, they have tech support and they charge for that shit. They provide paid enterprise level support as well because no software is perfect, people still use it because that software is the best for the given application, and some software IS complicated because it's the only way to get the most functionality out of it.
Have you never been in a school, or hospital, or large business? They pay for software support. They may or may not pay for the software, they're certainly paying for support.
>write software
>open source it a few years down the line
Go the Doom route
Support
>>53535788
>How is it not? If your software is so shitty people need help to use it then nobody is going to use it.
>I have never written a single line of code ever
Anyone can tell
You're not. It's supposed to be a hobby after you retire.
>>53533136
Sell it for a fair price and give your customers access to source.
>>53535637
There's a science and an art to everything anon.
>>53535637
>there is no art in making a product
You're just retarded.
>>53535837
>Market share of most proprietary cuckware destroys your argument
How so faggot
>>53535962
Great argument faggot
>>53535870
>So Windows and OS X don't provide support because the OSes are already good enough?
Nice strawman faggot. They're good enough that most people won't seek tech support most of the time, and on the occasion that they do, free tech support are available aplenty. At the end of the day, your shitty business model is not viable for most software products these days.
>>53536414
>How so faggot
Read the second sentence faggot.
>>53533136
You don't do it for money.
You're doing this to get a resume that will allow you to get better jobs, and then more money.
>>53533136
"Service oriented business". Do you even Red Hat?
>>53533136
>be a tech guy
>give Linux adjusted for kids or grampas on your community
>offer 30-day free technical support
>promote an "enterprise" version
>???
>profit
>>53533136
You don't, you live as a hobo, like rms
Despite the shitposting this thread is interesting, please continue.
>>53533136
>Take free software
>Put is into your proprietary software and add a few more features
>Sell software for max bucks
>Never tell anybody and nobody will find out if you're not stupid
>>53534972
>>53535992
>>53536455
Well yeah, that's why I do it. Also for gaymin modding because it's scummy not to when you have a derivative work anyways.
But according to freetards, proprietary software is immoral and shouldn't exist. I'm asking them what they think a valid business model would be because most methods of profiting off of free software are fringe cases or because they already have ever ridiculous market share and would need to fuck up royally to lose it.
By shipping it fragile and broken and charging for support.
>>53533170
How profitable is Redhat, really? Based on their ubiquitous H1B abuse you'd think they aren't doing so well.
>>53533174
This is probably bait but to learn.
back when free software was concieved the internet not an option
purchasing a medium with the software could have made you some money
i guess that is how it was done back then
ubuntu is doing well monetarily considering they are mostly repackaging other peoples software
We use something like bounty source for our customers, but its behind an initial buy-in wall, where they get the source, (so its not really open-source but you get the up-to-date free source once you bought it, like unreal was a few years ago).
Customers there can throw money at issues, bugs and features and there is a yearly paid subscription fee to get access to our support and this platform. We wanted copyright to still holds true, so we have have a bsd-style license on all our code but customers can use it in their software as they wish. They also are free to submit bug fixes etc there.
(PS: bounty source is an example, i would never "work" for that pleb money)
https://www.bountysource.com/
>>53533136
>make software that does something
>people want that software that does that something
>people pay you money
>you send these people your source code
>these people are free.to edit the source code in any way they wish
>these people compile it and run the software
>profit
Alternatively
>people take your source code
>change lines here and there
>sell it
>they profit
But this means that other people can do the same "edit and resell" thing to them too.
But of course between a programmer and a programmers customer who has made changes unbeknownst to you, who would you be more likely to buy software from?
>>53533136
You aren't.
>B-but why doing it then?
Not everything is about money making. Coding is (or should be) fun.
Either you might already have a good job but want to create an amazing software.
Or if you don't: once you devellopped a great (free) software tool this is a great reference.
>>53533148
It's called gratis you poverty-stricken retardadin
>>53533174
They are largely paid.
>>53534228
Kek
DUDE ADS LMAO
By fooling dumb Americans into donating to your slav bank account
>>53535802
link pls
>>53537812
you must still live with your parents. having fun doesn't pay the rent.
>>53537971
You might want to read my post again..
If you are already settled, you might want to do something interesting, maybe because you think about going as freelancer later or just because you did the same thing over and over again at work and want to challenge yourself.
Or if you "live with your parents" as you put it, creating a great piece of software is a great investment in your future.
Or wouldn't you rather hire someone who has experience, is proactive and knows what he's talking about?
