I see way too often that many projects market themselves (oh the irony) as "non-profit" as if that's some kind of superior virtue. It's not. While there is nothing wrong with willing to work for free (I have done that myself my entire life), there is nothing wrong with working for profit either, even if solely for profit. I think that the idea comes from a false dissociation of "profit" with its actual counterpart, "resources". Anytime you work "for profit", what you mean is simply that you are willing to exchange your resources for someone else's resources. There is nothing wrong with free resources exchange, it's the largest and most efficient unconscious collaboration mechanism humanity has conceived.
Open-source projects are sustainable models when there's a large enough user-base that are also devs that contribute to the project largely by own interest. It's just another way to exchange resources: my dev work for your dev work, and we are all happy. "Crowfunded dev work" if you wish. But there's definitely a resource you're exchanging and for as long as you are putting less than what you are getting, you are in profit, even if no money (aka "dev work coupons") is involved.
Profit, regardless if calculated with money or not, is a sustainability compass that allows the massive economic web we live in to exist and coordinate itself regardless of scale. It must be embraced, not demonized.
42 sats \ 1 reply \ @lightworks 18 Jun
Most so called non-profits are simply Bolshevik instruments of terror, and certainly for profit long term in their nefarious game...
The profit they're aiming for is of course a centralized, 100% totalitarian and repressive, technocratic regime where profit comes in the form of control/power, not as a net win caused by free people building in both healthy competition and cooperation!
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34 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun freebie
100% agree. Here in Argentina anything self-labeled as "non-profit" axiomatically implies: extremely costly state-related funds black-hole. "Non-profit" is synonym of "parasitizing" in some form but with a nice name so that no-one asks and it's legal. There are hundreds of thousands parasitizing tax-payers from "non-profit foundations" no one knows.
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @wingalt 18 Jun
Profit is good, it is the signal from customer that they want more of the good/service. Worst than non-profit are nowadays philanthropies, the most famous ones being tax-free hedge funds, best invention since starting your own religion
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun
Hear me out... what if we start our own religion as a philanthropic hedge fund? ..
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @RedRadish688 18 Jun
Totally agree. Expecting people to work for free is communism.
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 18 Jun
For real when people demonise profits it really gets on my tits, profits are a screaming indicator by the market that we need more of X or Y and that their is room for competition, innovation that will lead to deflation in that sector
How else would you know how to deploy capex? Lol come on commies, explain it to me
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20 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsMate 18 Jun
Nothing wrong with working for a profit. The hard thing is if you are a creator, there are only so many sponsorships that pay decently well. Many people eventually may compromise the quality to make a profit on their podcast or creative endeavor. I think it is fine to make a profit, as long as you aren't compromising yourself. Then again, we all have to put food on the table - and we all ahve commitments we need to hit to our families.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun freebie
I agree. That simply means that we are not yet in a stage of civilization development that can allow the majority of us for such leisures. Cold but true. We are fortunate to be alive in an era where we can even think about it whereas our ancestors not that long before us could not allow themselves to think of other thing than avoid being killed and eating enough to make until the next meal whenever that might be.
In the future we will be regretting not being able to reach 100m views like others do instead of just 10m for the Earth-Mars internet provider that allows streaming is too expensive for the profit we could make from our 10m "niche" audience.
20 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 17 Jun
tbf this isn't true for the majority of open source projects. Even very popular ones end up abandoned or adopting weird licenses.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun
Prusa, Espressif, etc, show that what fails is not the "open-source" model but, again, not thinking in terms of profit. Open-sourcing can be immensely beneficial to business, if you think in terms of profit. I'm working on a technology project right know for a company, which is scheduled to be open-sourced for the sake of the business in the exact same way Joseph Prusa and Espressif already did and for the exact same reasons. Embracing profit saves even the "open-source" philosophy. Not thinking in terms of profit breaks the compass and causes such regrettable stories, unless you are considering the project strictly as a pass-time, in which case that's the limit, and it's to someone else to push it further if he wants to. If you clearly understand where you are pursuing or rejecting profit, it all falls in place by itself.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @JesseJames 18 Jun
I don't think we demonize it. My experience is maybe a little different but I see non-profits as people that try to stick to the original idea and not to be influenced by stakeholders and other people with money and power to tell you how to run your business. For profit is something we all have to do, we exchange our labor for financial gain, that's how we pay our bills. It is not "unconscious collaboration" since one signs the contract and agrees to terms. I bet this is different in other parts of the world but here in the capitalist America some people wear this as a badge of honor (that's personal preference) and have no issues with making tons of money. How much is enough? is a personal question only you can answer for yourself.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun
I understand your point but words have meanings. What you describe is 100% for profit but through a vision, i.e., "I want to make money this way". Ok, no problem, if you want to do that, don't give power over your business to people that don't share the vision, i.e., stake-holders. Stake-holders are not bullies, if they exist is because you invited them and all of what they have and what they can do is what you gave and what you allowed. It's pretty obvious: want to control your company? keep control. As simple as that.
"Unconscious collaboration" is not contract signing, it's "unconscious collaboration": you don't consciously care about the carboard box industry when you feed amazon workers in your bar nor vice-versa, yet they all collaborate with each other business without even thinking about it.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 18 Jun
If the competitive market was working efficiently, there wouldn't be much distinction between the operation of for-profit and non-profit, as any profit would be driven down by competition to the opportunity cost of capital
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @didiplaywell OP 18 Jun freebie
What you describe is not an "efficient market", is just an over-saturated market, which is inefficient. An efficient market goes both ways: in average, it tends to be as convenient for the offerer as for the buyer.