> Nobody has the time

I'd erase that part entirely, as it is not true, from my point of view. My day, as has every other person's day, has exactly 24 hours. As an employee, part of that time is dedicated to my employer. In return, I receive financial compensation. It's up to them to decide how they want to spend the resources they acquired. So yes, each and every company could, in theory, contribute back to Open Source.

But as there is no price tag attached to Open Source, there is also no incentive. In a highly capitalized world, where share holder value is more worth than anything else, there are only a few companies that do the right call and act responsible.

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watwut 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

> In a highly capitalized world, where share holder value is more worth than anything else, there are only a few companies that do the right call and act responsible.

It is not just that. In a well functioning theoretical free market, no one is going to have time either. The margins are supposed to end up being tight and the competition is supposed to weed out economic inefficiency. Voluntary pro-social behavior is a competitive disadvantage and an economic inefficiency. So, by design, the companies end up not "having time for that".

You need a world that allows for inefficiency and rewards pro-social behavior. That is not the world where we are living in currently.

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Ajedi32 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Working an honest job is pro-social behavior, and it is rewarded. So is quitting your job to work on a side project that ends up being valuable enough for others to pay for. It's just that giving code away for free operates outside that reward structure.

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watwut 2 days ago | parent [-]

First, in your breakdown, there is literally no space for unoaid volunteer work wich is topic of the thread.

Second, working job is about earning money not about helping others.

	▲	Ajedi32 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Regardless of why you do it, working an honest job does help others. Money is the reward you get for that behavior. My point is if you explicitly choose to work for free you're opting out of that reward structure. It seems odd to do that and then turn around and complain that "the world where we are living in" isn't rewarding you for your work.

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FuriouslyAdrift 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Basically... Japan

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giantg2 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

If your finite time at work is filled with business work, then there is no time left to do the open-source work. Seems true to me from an IC and delivery perspective. Company staffing and resource allocation could create the time to do it, but they don't.