I've been thinking about something a lot today. I think it's a microcosm of a big problem with the way many average people move through the world.Why do so many software engineers hate paying for software?
-
I've been thinking about something a lot today. I think it's a microcosm of a big problem with the way many average people move through the world.
Why do so many software engineers hate paying for software?
-
I know that most people's first pithy thought is "they think they can build it themselves". But I don't buy it. Most software develops know how hard it is to build solutions that actually feel polished and usable. Our laptops are literally graveyards of projects that never get completed.
What I'm saying that if anybody in the world understands why good software is worth paying real money, it should be us. But that's often not the case. Why?
-
This question goes deeper for me. As a person who has managed engineers for many years. Engineers definitely think they should be paid for their labor. And in fact, many of them are underappreciated and deserve a raise. But when you ask those people who is supposed to pay for the software so they can get a paycheck, they don't have an answer.
-
I could pick on devs more, but that's not really the point I'm making. I don't wanna fight about that specific thing.
Instead, I was having a larger conversation. It's easy to talk to the average person and have them tell you how they wish things were different. But it's harder to dig deeper on whether those same people make sure their own actions reflect what they want to see in the world.
-
The other thing that happens when you talk to people is they feel helpless. Nothing is working the way they want. But they don't think their own actions have any impact on anything. And as a result, they don't do the thing that might help. It feels like we've lost that art of "I'm gonna do my part, even if it's small."
-
FWIW, here's where I had the conversation about paying for software a while back over on the bird site. I got a mix of responses. By there was definitely a lot of "I can't believe you actually pay money for things!"
-
@polotek does that include subscriptions for content delivered by digital means (aka Netflix) or strictly software related products and services?
-
Don't forget to be who you wanna see in the world. Do it all the time. Do it even if you think it doesn't matter. It actually does.
The money I pay for software is part of somebody's raise. It's part of some dev being able to have their own small business instead of being jerked around by a big company. It matters.
-
@floby includes cloud services yes.
-
I have a story I tell people, about a friend of mine, and myself, mid-90s. We both were in a homemade game scene.
He was rich, and his dad could buy Borland. I wasn't. What that meant was, he could code, and I couldn't.
So, he took off. He learned, got a job, went to SF, and was doing very well before I even started.
Later, I found free software. It let me start catching up. So, free tools have always been accessible, paid tools block me until I have money.
Maybe that's part of it?
-
@polotek I don’t think it’s the reason, but maybe it feels somewhat related to me that organizations devs work in also don’t pay for software (i.e. open source libraries that are used in their application or text editors/IDEs).
-
@polotek
It depends. It's certainly very easy to pay for software where the cash flows mainly to rent-seeking monopolists.Personally, I prefer to use free software and send donations, but I realize that may not work for everyone.
-
@[email protected] 1000%. Well said as always!
-
@notsoloud there's just such a huge space between the biggest software companies and foss tools. I think part of what frustrates me is that people tend to only talk about those two binary options.
-
@robotbill companies pay for tons of software. They pay billions of dollars per year for it. Yes they also take advantage of foss. But it's just not the only story. Or even the biggest imo.
-
@robotbill I appreciate that. It's not about adding a qualifier. I think it's really important if you wanna focus on the foss problem. That matters a lot too. But I think we also have to take time to imagine what we think should be different. By what mechanisms do we make software sustainable without some group feeling like they're being exploited?
-
@polotek I’m generally happy to pay for software that does something I need.
What I dislike intensely is having to buy a *subscription*! Particularly bad if I don’t know how much use I will get out of a program, but even for something I really want, I want to buy it and be done.
-
@Cowthulu I'm not sure if this question reads as standoffish. It's not meant to be.