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Originally Posted by Lizard Of the projects on sourceforge, how many are de facto abandoned? How many of those are because the project lead couldn't devote the time to both the project AND earning a living? (And what percentage of succesful projects ultimately gain a commercial angle, from support or documentation or what-not?) |
Working in the IT industry professionally in a development role, I see a lot of commercial ideas also end up abandoned due to lack of resources, most of which never get beyond the design phase. This is not endemic to community-supported projects alone.
As a disclaimer, there do seem to be a disproportionally higher number of abandoned projects on sourceforge, so I agree with you in part.
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Originally Posted by Lizard What do you spend when you, say, clean up the junk in my backyard? Time and energy.
What does a writer spend when he creates? Time and energy.
Why do you deserve to get paid for physical labor and the writer not get paid for mental labor?
That's pretty bad, IMO. |
A classic argument, and one I fully agree with. However, think of it this way:
I have already paid. They have my money, the reward of
my physical/mental labor if you will. They can treat my labor however they want. Spend it on ale and whores, it's not my concern anymore. So why am I being denied the opportunity to use
their labor how
I want (while still adhering to the principles of copyright law and fair use, of course)? It's not difficult to see why some would consider this somewhat biased.
Again, not trying to antagonize, just providing a different perspective.
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Originally Posted by Lizard And do you think it is coincidence that the rate at which innovation increased coincided with the realization that ideas were property? |
Correlation does not (necessarily) mean causation. Some would argue that innovation increased
despite this perception.
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