Gregory's Server@jsbarretto Businesses whose infrastructure depends on open source software should be willing to pay for timely and professional support and development of features they need. Some OS businesses, e.g. Saxonica sell product specific support. Others, eg. Red Hat, cover needs of a much wider range of customers.
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@jsbarretto My brother's initially voluntary work with XSLT processing helped by employers allowing time for employee research interest ended up as the Saxon processor, which then enabled him to found the Saxonica business. Many academic employers also encourage research interest development. My development of PyLETS a community currency web application was made possible by my academic lecturing job. |
@copsewood In fairness, I have received sponsorship from some corporate users of the software I maintain. Not enough to live on though, just enough to feel psychologically pressured into treating it more like a second job, as if donations came with implicit contractual obligations.