Been there. Done that. Pretty much every open source developer hits a point where they realize that even very popular open source projects don’t keep food on the table.
However, what gives open source value is that a project with 10,000 Github stars looks very good on a resume. That doesn’t matter now, where pretty much any programmer can get a good job, but it will matter after the current economic expansion stops and we are in the next recession.
I got not one, but two job offers in the middle of 2010, during a very tough recession, because of my somewhat notable open source project. My open source project allowed me to keep my skills current while I was living in Mexico as an English teacher and professional translator.
To this day, in job interviews, it allows me to demonstrate I was still working on computers and with technology after the dot-com bubble crashed.
The important thing to keep in mind is that users are not customers until they pay for the code. If they don’t like the fact you won’t implement their favorite pet feature request, you can give them a full refund, which won’t cost you anything. Never let your users cause you stress.
The dot-com bubble crashed in 2001, which left the entire tech sector in a recession throughout the first 2000s decade. The foreclosure crisis started a recession in 2008 which really didn’t end until 2015 or 2016.
However, what gives open source value is that a project with 10,000 Github stars looks very good on a resume. That doesn’t matter now, where pretty much any programmer can get a good job, but it will matter after the current economic expansion stops and we are in the next recession.
I got not one, but two job offers in the middle of 2010, during a very tough recession, because of my somewhat notable open source project. My open source project allowed me to keep my skills current while I was living in Mexico as an English teacher and professional translator.
To this day, in job interviews, it allows me to demonstrate I was still working on computers and with technology after the dot-com bubble crashed.
The important thing to keep in mind is that users are not customers until they pay for the code. If they don’t like the fact you won’t implement their favorite pet feature request, you can give them a full refund, which won’t cost you anything. Never let your users cause you stress.