What’s your time worth?
Developers that work on open source software typically have day jobs that pay pretty well. So they work on open source software for free and write code during the day for big bucks.
So if they are offered money for their time, do they weigh it against the $0/hour they make writing open source software or the $50/hour they make at work? I'm assuming they think they are worth at least $50/hour and any work for pay you offer them will get evaluated against that. (I would.)
So does that mean if I get paid $50/hour at work I'd rather help the local school set up their network for free rather than take a job setting it up for $10/hour? As strange as it sounds, I think it's true. As a volunteer doing it for free I get more control (I can leave at any time), more prestige (I'm helping!), and more recognition (I'm not a lowly flunky, I'm a cool volunteer.) As cheap skilled labor all I've done is lower my hourly worth. I've now said I'm only worth $10/hour – I'm working for peanuts instead of helping out someone who needs it.
I'm not saying this makes sense at all or that it's a good thing but I think it's a reality. What do you think?
(This is one of the reasons we worked hard to make sure our OpenLogic Expert Community compensates fairly.)
I don’t think the two types of volunteers you’re comparing are an apples to apples comparison. I believe the more traditional volunteer you described (person setting up a network at a school… or take volunteer examples completely unrelated to technology…. meels on wheels, a soup kitchen or any other myriad of examples), in general (this in general part is effectively a disclaimer for me) has a much different set of motivations than the open source developer.
The more traditional volunteer is rarely working on cutting edge technology, and is probably unlikely to be working on any other task where said volunteer is building skills he or she didn’t already have that will make them more valuable in the marketplace. In general, traditional volunteering is non-glorious work in terms of the actual stuff one is doing, and only ‘glorious’ (if that’s even the right word) in that it is altruistic.
On the other hand, with open source developers, at the very least, they are improving their value in the marketplace. To take it a step farther, it is not uncommon at all for developers to be paid to work on open source projects a good percentage of their regular work week, if not full time.
Another interesting point is that it seems easier for OSS developer A to be willing to put stuff out there in the wild for free, because some totally unrelated OSS developer B wrote some code that developer A used to implement his/her thing. My point is, the idea that we have a system where dev A doesn’t mind giving stuff away, because others have made dev A’s life easier by giving their stuff away exists. I don’t see a parallel to this concept in the traditional volunteering space.
To wrap it up, I would say that in general the OSS volunteer world you describe is simply not nearly as altruistic and about helping others as the more traditional volunteer concept is, there’s a non-trivial amount of folks out there whose real goal is simply to improve their own standing, and being involved in OSS development (and sharing freely with others) is a good way to do that. That being said, I don’t think this is anything anyone should apologize for, as the system is what it is, and I believe we are all still better for it in terms of being able to be productive and develop better software.
Actually, I think traditional volunteering is less altruistic than you are describing. I’ve had lots of volunteer jobs and I took each and everyone of them to learn something: training guide dogs, volunteering at the battered women’s shelter (why do they go back?), volunteering as an Obudsman at a nursing home, building a Habitat for Humanity house (I learned how to hammer and roof), etc. All of the jobs benefited someone else as well, none of them paid, and I did them all partially to help but mostly to learn new things, meet new people, etc.
That said, I think writing open source software usually helps people learn new skills in the field they are in or want to be in. I helped build a house but there’s no way I was planning to go into construction!
After having put about 3 years in on Open Source development for the WebAPP project at web-app.org, and with now it being time for me to pursue making some kind of a living, I must say that for me a lot of the fun leaves when a dollar sign gets tacked on to the project. As Stormy mentions, I too enjoy the freedom of managing my own time, the feeling of helping out and contributing, and the recognition as a contributor. Also I like being a part of a community, feeling like I fit in. Also I have had motives such as Bryan mentions, in improving my skills and value, to maybe be sought out in the future to do some more lucrative work. But I can’t see it being as fun as it has been doing things for free. I get a real thrill of getting a new WebAPP site set up for someone, or in finding/fixing bugs, riddling out workarounds for server problems, and other things that are of no benefit to me financially or in any other way than just being rewarding with a real sense of accomplishment.