fbszSep 15, 2023

Bad business model behind open source softwares

https://lemmy.ml/post/4961787

Bad business model behind open source softwares - Lemmy

The principles behind free and open source software has all been ‘knowledge and information should be free and accessible to everyone’, ‘the user should’ve the freedom to study, edit, share’, ‘collaboration’. These principles are nice and the people who admire this principles create free(as in freedom) software, but when we look at the finances behind free softwares, things are messed up. Most services rely on donations, which is not good but when the amount of free services increase, the more there has to be donate. It’s actually problem because the bad business model of the open source has made it’s software fall behind their propreitory alternatives? Here are my few questions and would be nice if you all provide a solution to some questions: 1. What is the philosophy of open source and free software? 2. Why open source softwares are bad at making money? 3. Is there a business model, besides subscription as many people can’t pay? Or am I wrong here? 4. Solutions proposed to solve this problem 5. Some examples of bad and good open source business model and whether it’s good or bad than their mainstream propreitory alternatives?

Show threadgredoSep 15, 2023

There are a few companies making money from FOSS.

The two business models I see the most that seem to work:

  • free software, paid support
  • free software, paid hosting/ “SaaS”
Show threadfbsz

Great, but the companies aren’t as mainstream as their propreitory alternatives, what could be reason?

What are the mistakes done by those companies that’s resisting them to not as big as their propreitory alternatives?

Sep 15, 2023 at 2:19pmWeb
Show threadOnionizerSep 15, 2023

The average user doesn’t give a crap about foss, so I think the reasons aren’t about the openness itself.

A big one is always the network effect

Show threadfbszSep 15, 2023
That;s a considerable against the problem behind it. So, what’s the reason for it? Why the average person doesn’t give a crap?
Show threadradixSep 15, 2023
Why would they? It’s default for the average person not to care.
Show threadlucullusSep 15, 2023
The average user only uses what is already in their devices or very easily obtained and already known by them. On PCs you got Windows and Microsoft of course pushes their products (Edge, MS Office, OneDrive,…). On Smartphones you have Apple and Google controlling the devices way more than with PCs and being Gatekeepers through their appstores and preinstalled apps. Why would the average user try to research to find FOSS alternatives in that big pile of proprietary and monetized apps or jump through hoops to actually use them (keeping things FOSS is not easy on smartphone due to policies from google and apple)?
Show threadPropaGandalfSep 15, 2023
This is simply not true. Just look at server side software like OpenStack, the Linux kernel, various file systems, … These solutions are all free software and they are thriving because big comapnies rely on them. They support these project not only financially but they also contribute code and improve them that way.
Show threadfbszSep 15, 2023
sure, these are examples where open source thrive. It’s great to see it be that way. But there are services which are open source, as good as their propreitory alternative but still didn’t have proper business model, rely on donations which is unstable. Even in the linux community, there are lot of distros that sustain through donations? If they have as much as money as microsoft, they may develop their distros and innovate. So, I’m asking for ideas, business models, solutions to these problems! Correct me, If I’m wrong!
Show threadperegusSep 15, 2023
That happens for open source as well as for anything else. Why there are not thousand of “Gmail” like services? Or Dropbox, Slack, Trello and so on? Because there’s who’s good in selling his product and raising funds and…who’s not!