Supporting the Randos

August 21, 2019 / [email protected] @ArgesRic  https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/ Supporting the Randos
Ricardo J. Méndez

Heresy!

@argesric @samsungnext Building stuff is easy. Getting people to pay
is hard.

About Randos…

@argesric @samsungnext “The plummeting server/software costs help, but it would
be impossible without volunteer labor. It behooves us to support the randos.” https://mastodon.social/@ricardojmendez/17119862

@argesric @samsungnext The Internet runs on randos.

@argesric @samsungnext “Who are those again…?”

@argesric @samsungnext The further removed someone is from our work,
the more likely we are to be perceived as a “rando”.

My own experience

@argesric @samsungnext • Maintained a few projects over the years.
• Somewhat niche: autonomous agents and coherent noise generation. • Two most popular: 1200 Github stars, 300 forks. • Ran them for about 6 years. • Zero funding. • MIT-licensed. As a developer…

@argesric @samsungnext I did well enough. But it wasn’t scaleable
nor sustainable.

@argesric @samsungnext • Focused on open source and research furthering
decentralization • Launched in November 2018 • Announced grantees in January 2019 • Disbursed $500,000 among 9 projects • That’s nice, but… what then? Stack Zero Grant

@argesric @samsungnext • Do we fund the same projects, do
we pick new ones? • Do we keep the same focus, or change it? • Do we use the same funding amounts, or do we give more money to fewer projects? • … and what do the projects do while we figure this out? Assume eternal funding…

@argesric @samsungnext Long-term disruption won’t come out of grants.

The poverty line https://staltz.com/software-below-the-poverty-line.html

@argesric @samsungnext https://staltz.com/software-below-the-poverty-line.html

@argesric @samsungnext Being “green” doesn’t mean you’ve got it made.
Clearly we have room for improvement.

Figuring out why

@argesric @samsungnext • MIT license, which asks for nothing in
return; • Clearly modularized, • Well documented, • With a separate set of use examples, • All to remove adoption friction… Remember those two projects?

@argesric @samsungnext Why then didn’t companies just take it and
run?

@argesric @samsungnext • Luis Villa, from Tidelift, delivered at Monkigras
2018 • Frictionless improves adoption… • … but frictionless also means nobody needs to think of you. • Licenses are a way of adding friction. • But that still doesn’t explain my case. Friction, Sustainability & Open Source

@argesric @samsungnext I got lucky and stumbled upon a source
of friction.

@argesric @samsungnext Friction makes people think about the people behind
the software.

Reaching out

@argesric @samsungnext • Zooko Wilcox, Electric Coin Company • VC-funded
• Dedicates 20% of Zcash’s issuance to the founding team • Started in 2016 • Only lasts four years, will stop in 2020 • Already working on it Zcash

@argesric @samsungnext “I set the shape of it, but the
Zcash community breathed life into it.” “ I decided that the Founder’s Reward would be 20% of the first four years of issuance. That was 20% of nothing.” https://medium.com/@zooko_25893/a-personal-letter-about-the-possibility-of-a-new-zcash-dev-fund-f6d30df64392

@argesric @samsungnext He’s not just outlining reasons. Zooko is making
an emotional argument.

Make it matter

@argesric @samsungnext

@argesric @samsungnext Emotional appeal is just as important as a
rationale.

@argesric @samsungnext

@argesric @samsungnext To get funding, you need to stop being
perceived as a rando.

One last thing…

@argesric @samsungnext • Who has donated their own money to
an open source project? • Who has done it this year? • Who does it in a regular, predictable manner? Say, using an automated charge? Personally…

@argesric @samsungnext We developers need to get better at supporting
others.

@argesric @samsungnext Thank you. Contact: [email protected] 

Supporting the Randos

Supporting the Randos

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