Open source developers are often volunteers, devoting hours of their time and expertise to develop and maintain code that boosts the bottom line of large companies.
Many of those developers go unheralded and unrewarded for their efforts.
This could be about to change, with the beta launch last week of a new service, GitHub Sponsors, which is being set up by the open source software code repository to financially support in some way (small or big) all those involved in the development and maintenance of open source software.
In a blog announcing the launch, Devon Zuegel, senior product manager at GitHub, noted: “The world runs on open source. None of it would be possible without the global team of maintainers, designers, programmers, researchers, teachers, writers, leaders – and more – who devote themselves to pushing technology forward.
“These extraordinary developers can now receive funding from the community that depends on their work, seamlessly through their GitHub profiles.”
This is the second developer-support project launched by GitHub since its $7.5 billion acquisition by Microsoft last year. In January, GitHub announced an initiative aimed at improving support for open source software contributors and maintainers who, Zuegel noted at the time, “don’t have all the tools, support and environment they need to succeed”.
Many companies build huge, multibillion-dollar businesses on the back of freely available code. However, much – possibly even the bulk – of open source software in use today is built on, or is the work of, hobbyists who volunteer what free time they have to build and maintain it. The morality of this situation has long been debated in open source circles.
The lack of some remuneration for their efforts is also a question of security: if programmers cannot afford to devote time and energy to maintaining their projects, the risk of vulnerabilities creeping into the code is increased.
GitHub Sponsors is not intended to make developers rich. It is intended to give developers some reward for their efforts.
“Funding individuals helps them keep doing important work, expands opportunities to participate, and gives developers the recognition they deserve,” Zuegel said.
With the launch of GitHub Sponsors, any GitHub user can sponsor an open source developer who has subscribed to the programme. All types of work that advances open source software can be funded regardless of whether that contribution is through code, documentation, leadership, mentorship or design, and regardless of where the developer is located. GitHub Sponsors supports payouts around the world.
GitHub Sponsors is not intended to make developers rich. It is intended to give developers some reward for their efforts.
In recognition of the work done by volunteer developers, GitHub will run the project without charge. It will not charge any platform fees and will also cover payment processing fees for the first 12 months of the programme. This means that 100% of a sponsor’s contribution will go to the developer, at least initially.
According to Zuegel, sponsoring a developer will be a simple, seamless part of a user’s familiar workflow. “When a contributor answers your question, triages your issue, or merges your code, you can head to their profile, or simply hover over their username, to sponsor their work.”
She described GitHub Sponsors as “a first step”. “We are launching small and simple, but our mission is vast: to expand the opportunities to participate in and build on open source.”
Controversy
While the launch of GitHub Sponsors has been widely welcomed, it has also attracted criticism, with concern being expressed that it could detract from the “democratic nature” of the open source ideal, if not change the character and social dynamic of open source itself.
Among the concerns are that developers will be enticed to “follow the money”, and focus more on projects that are supported by big corporates, and widen the gap between the “haves and have-nots”.
Share