by Imustaskforhelp | 2025-10-15 13:06:17+00:00
Well I am an aspiring dev (young) and I didn't think of it being a powerful lever but I am the one speaking about installing signal or speaking with zeal about open source atleast in my community circles and this is something that I am proud of...

But here's the thing, I want to work in open source preferably. I don't want to work in some job which does proprietory so that one day I can retire to then work in open source.

I'd preferably like to work on open source now and just make a bare living in my country. I am not motivated that much by money. Yet, I will tell you, when I tell my brother to contribute to open source (he works at a company) and he says that for the same work, he can do freelancing and earn good enough money, then why should he work in open source if not for reputation...

And I don't mind him wrong. I get him, he's the guy who wants things to just works i guess, whereas I am okay with tinkering and learning new stuff in hopes that it can be easy down the road.

Thanks for giving me hope, but seriously, the open source community doesn't really help much because nobody gives hope to each other. You can read my other threads. I was charged, stoked about what can I do & people in threads are like, Open source lost, Open source discussions were done years ago, now there is nothing to discuss.

I mean no harm to them, maybe they are right. But that does make me less hopeful and creates a stress in my head regarding open source and that's why open source recently became a little mixed topic that I stopped to take part in it knowing that 90% comments are gonna depress me.

And even still, I find myself conflicted about licensing issues as well and what not. Like, what if I write software proprietory and then donate part of the money to open source & also donate some time into open source as well at the same time.

I just find it a little hard. There is so much in-fighting in open source and the community is hostile to well... a person being hopeful. I was hopeful about open source and the community's opinions were definitely mixed. I thought maybe together we could discuss things to fix it but I sense a sort of entitlement from open source sometimes (I was part of it, going to github repo and not knowing anything and asking to fix or add but I got more and more kind along the way but I know there are some rude comments)

I don't know, I still love foss but were my experiences with the community a little harsh, yes.

Sometimes I felt like it was hostile even. I made my own custom cachyos hyprland liveiso which boots into liveiso and I was proud to showcase it yet people didn't care or literally told me of 10 fixes to do the same thing but literally noone there was interested or said anything nice about it...

Why does the community feel hostile sometimes, Am I being entitled in my position if I say cool things about projects that I find interesting yet I find that nobody else says cool things to projects I built which I still thought were interesting...

We are 99% more common than different yet we fight over the pettiest things. We don't like commenting good things to one other, its fucking weird sometimes. And do you get any money out of it -- nope. I wasn't doing it for the money but if I spent hours, I atleast expected some attention. Its like, We are social creatures and my experience has been that in open source related communities, people treat my inexperience very weirdly. People say to me to read the temperature of room if I share anything I share. Like I am sorry I guess. People my age can say 67 and make a million $ and become a meme and get attention, its very weird thinking.

But I don't do it for them, I do it for myself. I do it because I am curious, to unlock more things. I do it because open source makes me feel like anything is possible for the most part that computers can do. But the community itself needs to be more hopeful like you as so many of my experiences have been so negative, its mixed, that is the best idea I could give personally.

Please we young devs aren't gonna make mona lisa's or something very interesting. I cherish the moments someone's appreciated me and I tried my best to answer any questions they have but when the community feels hostile, I feel weird being part of an hostile community sometimes.

Also you and fsflover says to spread it and I do spread open source in my friend circle but then you see comments like on my submission

"The community just does not make a good impression on most people so they don't pursue it. With most people I have long since learned to be careful about how I talk about OSS because most people have someone in their life who has been trying to convert them for years and that is what OSS has become to them, that friend or coworker or family member they are very patient with. If you want to change people you have to be willing to be changed by them."

Such comments make me feel weird, about sharing open source.

I thought when I had created that ASK HN: that I would get both pro and anti open source yet it was an overwhelming anti open source comments and that really made me think about it

if this is the state of hackernews... oof.

I genuinely think that in open source, and in life, we need to be more understanding of each other yet it genuinely doesn't feel that way. Discussions are thrown away. Why is my experience with open source community a mixed bag, I don't know. I always thought its the best community but I have some mixed bag, its like its got both good and bad. But is it worth taking a financial hit over if that's the case? If people would still criticize your software if its foss and all you want to give is yet another software to give more freedom... like why? Its my time so I can code anything with it, why do you expect me to follow your norms...

I genuinely can't shake some negativity that I get from open source sometimes and my real impression of it. Its.... something fresh to see hope but so rare in open source sometimes I feel like.

I try to be hopeful but I expect foss community to be hopeful as well but when people say that foss lost and its over, well :/ I guess that doesn't help young developers.

I truly love open source tho. But I feel on the edge that neither open source community appreciates me and neither my normal genz community appreciates me.

I see on some make friend discord servers on how people watch anime and movie shows and songs, and well, here I am writing these long paragraphs about open source but I can't bother writing a list of my favourite songs for them, my mind runs blank, I would have to look my phone for it. Its so weird man. I feel alienated from open source community at the same time sometimes, just a bit less, but its evident.