Open source software is only possible because it's subsidized by corporations.

I wish it weren't true.

Some corporations directly pay the salaries of open source developers, others make donations to open source foundations. Most FOSS contributors just have a day job, but that's still enabling them to eat, have a place to stay and publish their work on their off hours.

The only exception is the rich people who are set for life.

In all other cases, there has to be some day job, because being able to afford food and shelter is unattainable otherwise. People seldom pay for open source software at all, and when they do, it only covers a tiny fraction of the cost.

I know this because I've been a FOSS developer, living off my savings for almost two years now. Reporting and patching bugs here and there, finding 0-days and fixing them, decentralizing password management while improving the security, allowing people to break free from companies like Google... it's what I do.

Outside of Nostr, it has earned me nothing. In fact, I'm over $1000 in the hole from trying to build out the hardware.

Nostr has paid me. Including all the wisecracks or other posts that got zapped, that's earned me 12,249 sats. Enough to buy some cinnamon twists at Taco Bell.

At some point the money is going to run out and I'll have to go back to work. I'll still try to do open source stuff, but it'll be at a greatly reduced pace.

Now some would say that I'm not good enough at promoting my work. That's fair. However, I'd argue that would be paying me for tooting my own horn more so than doing the actual engineering.

I'm trying to give it one last shot to have the world prove me wrong. I'm going to pour my effort into just one of my projects: #Signet. That's the encrypted, open source password manager.

I'm going to set up one store to sell them for fiat, and another store to sell them or #Bitcoin at a discount.

I'll do something that is extremely out of character: agree to be a guest on podcasts. I'll even go to places I loathe like Twitter and LinkedIn to spread the word there. I want to see this value 4 value model work.

If I make a profit, it'll fund building more hardware, and the software development, which is the heavy lift. After that, it'll go to the software projects I've built upon. They deserve it.

But I assure you, the hardware sales won't do it alone. They're sold just barely above cost. Priced to just cover the cost of bad boards and screw ups where I ordered the wrong component or made some other mistake somewhere along the line.

If people step up and start making donations so I can keep cranking out hot tech, I will eat all these words. I'll become a loud advocate for the #v4v model and have the first hand experience to back it up.

After nearly 2 years of having none of this happen, I'm extremely skeptical.