A few things to note about selling support, from my experience:
If your software is easy to use and works well, companies are often reluctant to pay for support (since they don’t have to).
Corollary: if people who have no problems don’t want to pay for support, your customer base is likely to consist of people with really unusual and complex problems.
If you are open about being an individual or a small company, the pointy-haired bosses who make purchase decisions will often hold it against you (even if you are literally the only support provider for your software in the world).
Hmm, seems like you have some weird ideas about how to go about such a change. Also I think support contracts are not a very interesing goal but they are definitely a part of the puzzle.
This is quite a long read. It was good though. I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to define one definition of what it means to be “open source” rather than embracing a healthy ecosystem with different players and different goals. The concept of boundaries offering freedom is an interesting reframing. Also, coming from Ruby to Rust, one that I’m fully embracing but might have been lost on me even a few years back.
I was just musing earlier that there’s no “opensource” tag. I think there should be one. However, I don’t know how new tags are suggested and implemented.
I was just musing earlier that there’s no “opensource” tag. I think there should be one. However, I don’t know how new tags are suggested and implemented.
A few things to note about selling support, from my experience:
This is largely my experience, too.
There are exceptions. But these seem to be the rules.
They naturally emerge from the way our economic system is set up. If we want to change them then we have to change the economic system.
I’m not sure all the famines and skull piles are really worth it for OSS support contracts.
Hmm, seems like you have some weird ideas about how to go about such a change. Also I think support contracts are not a very interesing goal but they are definitely a part of the puzzle.
This is quite a long read. It was good though. I think a lot of people get caught up in trying to define one definition of what it means to be “open source” rather than embracing a healthy ecosystem with different players and different goals. The concept of boundaries offering freedom is an interesting reframing. Also, coming from Ruby to Rust, one that I’m fully embracing but might have been lost on me even a few years back.
I was just musing earlier that there’s no “opensource” tag. I think there should be one. However, I don’t know how new tags are suggested and implemented.
See the section about creating tags here: https://lobste.rs/about#tagging