>Is a person that uses Linux or FreeBSD without paying for it also a 'freeloader'?
A few times? No. All the time, without ever giving back? Yes. It's the truth.
It's not about money specifically, it's about contributing to the open-source movement in general. This movement is why desktop and server computing is as open as it is and we're not all renting our dev tools and OSes for a monthly fee to one of the dystopian tech giants.
It's like if you joined a commune where they provide you with a room and meals at no cost. They tell you you can stay as long as you want. If you're still there after 2 years, you don't think you oughta give something back?
Users of free and open source software also give back by contributing feedback, bug reports, and patches. They promote the software through word of mouth and offer support to other users, building a community that extends the longevity of the software. The FOSS movement encompasses more than monetary payment in exchange for software, and it is not "freeloading" to use software exactly as prescribed by the license the developers selected.
While n8n is not open source, n8n is at least upfront about its business model and does not falsely brand itself as open source, which is more than can be said about some other companies.
I've worked in open source for two decades and something that I've observed that I think is as close to a law (as in law of physics) as anything I've seen is the 90 | 9 | 1 ratio.
90 percent of any community - the Hacker News community, reddit, x, or any open source community - will be passive consumers.
9 percent will be contributors - as the reply below says, through feedback, testimonials, bug reports and the like.
1 percent will be creators - new features, innovations, fixes.
This is the way it is. "Freeloading" is a very very unfortunate term and I wish it had not been inserted into the popular lexicon. The creators of open source that I know WANT their software to be used.
A few times? No. All the time, without ever giving back? Yes. It's the truth.
It's not about money specifically, it's about contributing to the open-source movement in general. This movement is why desktop and server computing is as open as it is and we're not all renting our dev tools and OSes for a monthly fee to one of the dystopian tech giants.
It's like if you joined a commune where they provide you with a room and meals at no cost. They tell you you can stay as long as you want. If you're still there after 2 years, you don't think you oughta give something back?