How do developers in low-wage countries view Open Source?

Question

Open source libraries help us developers to write bigger systems faster, but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries.

bruce511 · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure I'm your target group.I am a developer in a low-wage country, I make use of Open Source, I mostly develop large systems, but I also develop libraries for other programmers.How do I view Open Source? I think it's a net good. It saves a lot of time, leads to systems with better code quality, and allows me to develop faster.I'm pretty diligent about following the licenses of the things I use, so I sleep well knowing I'm doing exactly what the original author wants me to do.I'm not sure that my opinions have much to do with being in a low wage country. That would not seem to be part of my view either way.

rvieira · Answer

Even though I now live in a somewhat "higher" wage country, when I was young I lived in a low-wage country.
Granted it was also a different time (late 1990s) but Open Source actually allowed me to get interested and have a career in programming.
I could install Linux, have access to good programming tools and literally study the source code. I would buy magazines with CDs packed with OSS ready to use, study and play with. I would probably never be able to afford closed source tools, manuals, etc.

alrlroipsp · Answer

> the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries
> PayDevs is Monetization as a Service for #OSS #libraries. We provide a closed registry for #javascript and collect money for #maintainers.
So is your business plan to undermine open source?

dimitar · Answer

Having worked with IT departments and developers from developers from developing countries here is the following observations:
* Microsoft is still very dominant, people use pirated windows on PCs, and in a corporate setting MS tech stacks are very popular. Fewer people can afford MacBooks.
* Linux and free software ideology is not as popular. People want to get buy, not join a revolution.
* In many of these places there is a master-apprentice attitude toward learning. This is pretty much the opposite of the sharing ethos of Open Source. Why would you share your knowledge and software for free when you can charge people?

oneplane · Answer

> but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own librariesPerhaps, but so do other paid libraries, so in a way, you're competing all the same but you actually have to be good instead of just existing at a lower price point.

1letterunixname · Answer

Sorry, the odds of receiving representative sample answers about FOSS from a low-wage country here are exceedingly remote. Ask someone from or in a non-OECD country.

thih9 · Answer

Why would low wage matter? I.e. why would developers in low wage countries view Open Source in a different way than developers in medium/high wage countries?

brezelgoring · Answer

You can sell other things. In my experience OSS is not the end but the start of projects around here - you see a project in use (say, a reporting tool for networking products) and you make it better, but this time you sell that.
Want the better tool? I sell the patches and maintenance, and after some prudential time, I release it into the wild.
Not exactly the Red Hat method but it's a method for sure.

rodrodriguez · Answer

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yrgulation · Answer

You dont need to be from a &ldquo;low wage&rdquo; country to understand that oss has reduced scarcity and thus the cost of actual code has dropped to near zero. Code is everywhere, no one needs (to buy) more of it.

lokar · Answer

Remember, before widespread OSS you had to pay a good amount for a compiler

Ekaros · Answer

I don't thin open source really changes much from selling software or services. Okay, maybe you can't bill for writing custom framework, but on average I think it is pretty neutral case. Just spend time on other things.

micromacrofoot · Answer

open source needs maintenance and usually isn&rsquo;t flush with vc cash, so it&rsquo;s a good opportunity

How do developers in low-wage countries view Open Source?

Open source libraries help us developers to write bigger systems faster, but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries.

> the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries
> PayDevs is Monetization as a Service for #OSS #libraries. We provide a closed registry for #javascript and collect money for #maintainers.
So is your business plan to undermine open source?

> but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries
Perhaps, but so do other paid libraries, so in a way, you're competing all the same but you actually have to be good instead of just existing at a lower price point.

Sorry, the odds of receiving representative sample answers about FOSS from a low-wage country here are exceedingly remote. Ask someone from or in a non-OECD country.

Why would low wage matter? I.e. why would developers in low wage countries view Open Source in a different way than developers in medium/high wage countries?

You dont need to be from a “low wage” country to understand that oss has reduced scarcity and thus the cost of actual code has dropped to near zero. Code is everywhere, no one needs (to buy) more of it.

Remember, before widespread OSS you had to pay a good amount for a compiler

I don't thin open source really changes much from selling software or services. Okay, maybe you can't bill for writing custom framework, but on average I think it is pretty neutral case. Just spend time on other things.

open source needs maintenance and usually isn’t flush with vc cash, so it’s a good opportunity

How do developers in low-wage countries view Open Source?

Open source libraries help us developers to write bigger systems faster, but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries.

> the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries> PayDevs is Monetization as a Service for #OSS #libraries. We provide a closed registry for #javascript and collect money for #maintainers.So is your business plan to undermine open source?

> but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own librariesPerhaps, but so do other paid libraries, so in a way, you're competing all the same but you actually have to be good instead of just existing at a lower price point.

Sorry, the odds of receiving representative sample answers about FOSS from a low-wage country here are exceedingly remote. Ask someone from or in a non-OECD country.

Why would low wage matter? I.e. why would developers in low wage countries view Open Source in a different way than developers in medium/high wage countries?

You dont need to be from a “low wage” country to understand that oss has reduced scarcity and thus the cost of actual code has dropped to near zero. Code is everywhere, no one needs (to buy) more of it.

Remember, before widespread OSS you had to pay a good amount for a compiler

I don't thin open source really changes much from selling software or services. Okay, maybe you can't bill for writing custom framework, but on average I think it is pretty neutral case. Just spend time on other things.

open source needs maintenance and usually isn’t flush with vc cash, so it’s a good opportunity

> the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries
> PayDevs is Monetization as a Service for #OSS #libraries. We provide a closed registry for #javascript and collect money for #maintainers.
So is your business plan to undermine open source?

> but the availability of open source also reduces the possibility to build and sell own libraries
Perhaps, but so do other paid libraries, so in a way, you're competing all the same but you actually have to be good instead of just existing at a lower price point.