“As time marches on and our lives become more complicated, it seems we have less and less time to devote to that free software project we started back in our idealistic youth. Rather than abandoning a good project due to lack of time, consider seeking out the assistance of other members of the free software community. With a few simple steps you can make it easy to find volunteers to help you complete your project.”
Can we have the article on getting people to pay to work please 😉
He got people paying to work
Step one: write in a language everyone understands.
Another poor article title. Maybe “How to find volunteers” would be better and less sensational.
Sensational titles can be tempting sometimes. The hard part can be finding an interesting way to summarize an article in a few words that sound interesting.
The article it self isn’t that bad. It actually could help quite a few projects improve and grow. Proprietary software isn’t just successful because talented people are paid to work create it. One of the proprietary model’s biggest strengths is collaboration. Applying concepts that help proprietary businesses be successful can be a good way of helping a hobby be successful as well. If a hobby is successful enough to become a business, the many of the same concepts will continue to be useful.
Open source is partly about scratching your own itch and being willing to help others scratch theirs. When several developers realize that they have the same itch, it is natural for them to be motivated to find a synergy from shared efforts. The better a project’s members can collaborate, the more satisfied everyone will be with the results (less duplicate/wasted effort).
I would only like to add one thing to the points made. Within the structure outlined it is also beneficial to give a clear statement of design criteria. This might fit into the roadmap since design criteria can change over the course of a project (get all features/functionality implemented with minimum UI -> optimize features -> optimize UI -> kill bugs; get core function working perfectly with best possible optimization and no bugs -> add more features/functionality -> create GUI -> kill bugs; create GUI -> implement features -> enhance GUI -> optimize/simplify features -> add more features). It is possible for a contributor to become frustrated because they are trying to submit features when the project is trying to kill bugs.
I will work for free money. Closed-source money is not my bag. I want to be able to examine it and distribute it freely, and I won’t let others limit my freedom to do so.
I can understand wanting a particular feature in a freeware app enough to add it yourself. But centering your life around the concept of free software, world peace, reach-arounds for everyone, blah, blah, blah, isn’t much different than adopting a cult mentality. Instead of Microsoft and the suits controlling your destiny, you’re at the mercy of your freeware cultist groupthink. Mmmmmm. Closed software bad. Open software goooooooooood. You might as well join the Moonies. Or buy a Mac. Either way, they’ve got you for life.
Get out of your parents basements. I mean, for God’s sake, it’s just a TV show!