I thought of a way to monetize Open Source
CR Bot. CR meaning, “Change Request”
Change Requests are what happens on Github when someone wants a feature added that doesn’t already exist in the project.
CR Bot would be a bot which uses webhooks to automatically reply to new Issues on github/gitlab/bitbucket etc.
Actually, automatic might not be the right thing. I think a human in charge of triage is way better.
Ok so the idea is like this. A user posts a new issue
[ISSUE] Website Doesn’t Have Internationalization (jp)
I think this website would be 92.5% better if the buttons had japanese text. Could you add that please?
A well-meaning uswer
I would come along, realize that such a change is not trivial and not necessarily monetizable. I value my time, and I would only proceed with closing the change request if I received a donation.
Hi {{ name }}, thanks so much for your interest in {{ project_name }}. Unfortunately, I do not have a budget for this project, so I cannot spend the time to implement this feature without something in return.
If this is something that you would find value in, I would be happy to implement this feature for $30.
BTC 1DRU9RnFQQ75e7TuWH618kBJJGpJg23Scq
My canned response, with a unique BTC address generated locally on my laptop
CR Bot would detect, “change request” in my message, and spring into action
Chris Grimmett (@insanity54) has created a Change Request worth $30 USD. To support Chris Grimmett and Open Source Software, send $30 worth of BTC to the address below. Work will begin only when $30 in value is reached.
bitcoin:1DRU9RnFQQ75e7TuWH618kBJJGpJg23Scq
Anyone can send bitcoin (BTC) to this address, in any amount. This address can receive funds multiple times. Short on bits? Chip in! Multiple people can send Bitcoin to the address to achieve the $30 value.
CR Bot will reply to this thread when a payment is made to the address, and routinely check the address to see if the value has reached $30.
Thank you for using CR Bot! (@crbot)
CR Bot’s automated response
CR Bot could be kept secure because it doesn’t store any bitcoin private keys. All it’s doing is responding webhooks, cronjobs, checking the bitcoin address balance via an oracle API, and replying to the issue thread.
This could be a nice webservice for people to use. Heck, I could make it free with the sole intention of using CR Bot to solicit payments for Change Requests to CR Bot!
Yeah, that would be really nice! Funding open source is a big issue right now. It seems like every other day there’s an article on Hacker News about how open source is not a valid business model, or it is but only if you get a corporate sponsor…
This is just what I need for my projects!
Now, I just need a project which provides people with enough value that they open issues on github!
I did have one project like that, encore-more, but I pulled it because of reasons.
It was a bad solution. It was coded poorly. There is a better solution out there.
Ehh, excuses. It got a CR, so someone liked it enough to bother to post an issue.
There’s a paradox with CRs. The people who open CRs know enough about open source software to where they know to open an issue in the issue tracker… So they’re likely developers or at least techies. So if they’re a techie or developer, are they really going to pay $$ when they could implement something themselves for free?
I guess I’m only seeing my perspective. Me being me, I wouldn’t pay, I would fork and add the feature myself.
Well I guess the scope matters. If it’s a huge big learning curve, I probably wouldn’t bother. I’d find some other way to get what I want.
But that’s just me. That’s just broke me. The broke me who can’t afford to buy his own groceries, and relies on the state for that.
Well this is why I thought of CR Bot! I want to do what I do, and be compensated for it!
eBay surprise
Holy shit, I got a nearly $300 order of Prememo trading cards. Holy Shit!!!
Blessed be the otaku
Blessed be the otaku
Blessed be the otaku
They paid full price… They didn’t even use my 30% off promotion! Holy shit! I guess good things come to those who wait? Has my work paid off? Is Top Rated Plus seller rating attributable to this order?
Nah, I can’t give all the credit to the algorithm that chooses what my seller rating is. I earned this! I did the work!
Well hopefully it’s not a scam LOL. There is always that potential when using Paypal, where the customer says, “it was not waht I espected” or, “it was not me who ordered this”, or “I never receiveed the package even though the tracking number shows it was delivered”…
That’s just a part of doing business. Luckily I would recover okay, if that did happen. I would still make rent, but it would be CLOSE.
I’m still just scraping’ by! This order is much appreciated, though.
STOKED! Let’s get some more sales like this one!
Also this is a good reminder for those cheap-ass customers who won’t pay even a dollar for a card, and want me to spend the extra time to make them custom listings where the cost per card is less than a dollar. NOPE. I’m going to say no to those customers, because I don’t want their business. I have customers willing to pay full price, $7+ per card and they don’t make any special requests.
Those customers exist!
Last time I did those special listing requests, I spent literally all day setting it up, replying to e-mails, re-tweaking the custom listing over and over, then worrying about it and how I’m wasting my time… In exchange for pittance. Less than minimum wage. Less than poverty wage. For what!?
I’m going to say no to those sub-dollar orders. If they want, they can submit a bulk load of Best Offers. I’ll accept or reject whether or not it covers my expenses and pulls a profit.
The custom listings harm the potential for that extremely sought out, red FOMO banner. “1 sold. Last One!”
I can only get that banner if an item sells through the respective eBay listing. If I pull a single card out of warehouse inventory to make a custom listing that gets used once, the original single card listing doesn’t reflect that a card was sold. No sale, no FOMO banner. Not good for a business model that relies on sales!
Time to wrap this up
Affy
27. I can get a tattoo if I want to. I can get a piercing if I want to. I can put whatever substance in it if I want to. My body is my property and I am it’s authority!
69. I can write down my thoughts and take control of my emotions.
68. I will take time to notice and be thankful for the little things.
67. I am ready to write a new chapter for my life.
Gratty
I’m grateful for the generous people who slowed down and gave me room on the road as I biked home today. I’m grateful that the majority of drivers care and respect my space and safety.
I’m grateful for ProjektMelody! Yesterday I caught her Twitch stream and it was a lot of fun. The streams I love the most are the ones where she just talks with her community about whatever subjects arise. It was one of those streams and I felt really close to her. She’s so funny and she’s interested in a lot of different topics which I find fascinating.
I’m grateful for IPFS. Yesterday I put together video-website which is the code that generates https://futureporn.neocities.org/, a ProjektMelody fan site! I’m super grateful that IPFS exists and is growing. I think it really will be a system worth using on Mars, to link back to whatever data is needed on Earth. Once downloaded, it can get pinned on Mars, where it’s mirrored for subsequent use. IPFS is great for porn, too! I’ll prove that with FuturePorn!
Excelsior!
