Today @rjdavid made such a clean and crisp observation ( perhaps sparing a lot of my life ) and solving a background problem I had been discussing with my partner. I could feel a weight lift just at the realization I had over thought the solution by a lot, just by forgetting or not getting the memo on how far PWA has advanced since I first assessed it. I said I could hug him and suppressed the desire to find a tip jar, because that would be an insult compared to what the advice ought to earn, if I value it how I do. Especially long term.
I am aware “finance” is really not just about capital, but also equity, debt, and gift. And in the background of */OSS there is always a desire for money in the form of gift ( which is two things, capital, and capital as gift ) but as a principal I just feel like we are cutting our veins because we are thirsty, and I would rather keep the blood and go get water from a renewable source which is clean. Why not take the advice to the bank ( i.e. do something that returns value ) not forget, and then at least offer something back that is life-altering in value?
I thought to comment more directly between the company interests and volunteers. Tiny and Meteor Software in my opinion, today, not caring about the past pretty much whatsoever, do awesomely. And they volunteer. They are a volunteer, and a brand owner. Staying MIT licensed, responding very fast in the forums, investing in important directions, hiring actual ninjas, and a long list of other things make me feel not like distrusting them. Over time, I might even be loyal. But across from that is an inherent distrust and argument from uncertainty, saying “it might all burn! ahhh!!!” and that to me feels scared, anxious, and basically not coding strong. I distrust that sentiment.
And having been a maintainer who resurrected a software community and its underlying codebase, if I needed to be recognized for that, or needed any emotional compensation in return, I should get a puppy and let it lick my face. Just saying, I am watching for “addaboy!” as a currency, and shoot to kill. We need more, better, different. Love, freedom, and other higher rewards for will are much more fulfilling than notary or money. Obviously, we need all the lesser things though too, but not as the point.
If not being scared, and if trusting the current reality based on actual value provided today, I think about the future and think… even just these recommendations that prevented me from being stupid(er) deserve a reward that neither a beer or coffee, not a gift of capital in sponsorship, and not any of the standard */OSS customs provide. I might save millions even mid-term compared to being an idiot, always. And get back years, not just in time, but in quality of life within that time.
Now, what does that legally look like in finance? Accounting for international law, various national, regional, local, differences in corporate formation forms in all those, variations in exchange token, etc… It looks like having actual courage and integrity and saying, “if @rjdavid ended up being right today, and I look back in X time I saved myself hell by listening to him” or “because @leonardoventurini voiced courage in the desire to shift paradigm in design pattern” or any of these kinds of pivotal moments of decision … I owe him.
A lot of this is private and most people just code feverishly to make the guilt go away on not giving back, or they give back by clicking a pink heart and pulling out their metaphorical or literal wallet. But if we have real success in mind and are not satisfied with fidget spinners or yet another way to share cat and meal photos or stalk people, there will be serious capital generated by not being ignorant, and being challenged, and leveraging MIT licensed code.
Often companies do equity deals with top performers. VCs buy equity positions. Whether as a security or an asset, it is the same concept in the heart of the person signing the deal, if you are dealing with a non-machine, someone invested not just roboprofiting by the blood/sweat/tears of others in a different tier in finance. But that is a serious mess especially with corporate transparency and the change of "Beneficial Owner" definition, etc. I shudder at the level of nightmare equity compensation just got created by FinCEN for example. Overall, the way to “put our money where our mouth is” got super complicated for adults who feel things like “he saved my life” or “that just stopped me from wasting 3-5 houses worth of resources long-term” … but there are many, many answers.
Rather than go into those I want to just change the conversation from us vs. them and distrust as a premise with backward-looking more than forward-looking mental activity and emotional investment… and certainly not “other people are doing it so let’s get on that” but look at Meteor at what it is, which is a rooted innovation, built on making life better and be more awesome, and not waiting for permission, and not waiting for the entire field to discover bravery or lose their hobbyist attitude in a sea change in all of history and culture…
I would wager right now that before a non-profit could get out of its diapers, and up to maturity, whether using a partner to outsource compliance on the issues I mentioned that are major hassles and seriously dangerous, and whether outsourcing governance to a big brother organization and following orders but getting a “fun life” in return and popularizing terms like “digital nomad” which means usually “has no roots anymore” in a serious way… ( takes one to know one ) … before any non-profit movement could get into the range where it could pay one reasonable livelihood to a maintainer… and before a massive corporate restructuring might threaten the present status quo which seems good, even cool, possibly even special compared to the dumpster fires out there… I bet the success of those of us focused on awesome and making serious impact at the most basic level and all the way to the edge of what people do with their devices… I bet that would outpace revenue on both sides and go straight down the middle, on pure honesty. If it saved me years, or brought me a better life during a huge chunk of time, or my people, or my audience… does that not deserve return?
I am holding back from talking about solutions but the problem is far better framed, or the bad framing hopefully seems harder to accept. We are not in a bad situation. We are not at risk. There is not struggle and suffering and history to overcome, etc. Looking at right now, today, and many times recently… there is something better here than most everywhere else, so how do I make that stand the test of time?
Home Owner Associations think like that. Automobile and other asset owners think like that. Interested Parties ( legal term ) think like that. I say Open Source ought to think like that, more than everyone else, because if not being ridiculous more often than not, this stuff we make and what we do changes life across the board.