On paying for software
I&#x27;ve always felt that charging money for software is dumb.<p>I, as a programmer, think about saying to other people that they <i>cannot</i> use a piece of software that is <i>already written</i> unless they give me money, is a damn ridiculous idea.<p>Software is wealth.<p>If I had a gold coin that had the property that I could give it to you and still have it, <i>and</i> that <i>both</i> coins would increase in value when I did, <i>and</i> that you and I both can repeat the process endlessly, then there is no good reason not to give out the coin copies freely.<p>One model of a computer is a set of automatic functions that each solve some human problem or need.  We should all be working together to expand that library of functions as rapidly as responsibly possible.<p>Attempting to extract value from the economy per-copy is retarding the whole system.  It&#x27;s a selfish local optimization.  My basic argument is that we should use computers and software to globally maximize human happiness and contentment, and avoid local optima.<p>tl;dr: &quot;Don&#x27;t be greedy.&quot;<p>So how do you make money?  First, if you want a lot of money, open a bank.  Let&#x27;s narrow the question:  How do I make a living?  House, picket fence, family, doge and qat, gotta have a car, etc...  Let&#x27;s put a ceiling on it, even if it&#x27;s high.  Let&#x27;s also avoid discussion of financial meta-games, you save and invest, so if you avoid misfortune you&#x27;re more or less going to be okay, right?<p>So, how are programmers supposed to make enough money to live the dream if we don&#x27;t charge per copy?<p>First of all, the best way to do it since the dawn of the internet is simple: Get 10,000 fans who love you and sell them stuff.  (Or just ask them to support you, like the Zig creator is doing.)  This is a simple, easy, universally accessible method that&#x27;s pretty much guaranteed to work.<p>Second best way: get paid to solve <i>new</i> problems (one thing I am <i>not</i> saying is that you shouldn&#x27;t charge people to work on a problem you otherwise wouldn&#x27;t work on, that&#x27;s fine.  Charging people to use your solution after it&#x27;s been developed is the stupid thing to do, IMO.)<p>Third(-ish, this list isn&#x27;t precise nor prescriptive) teach people.  I think that learning the Turing Machine trick makes people think better, and learning to program obviously empowers them.  (I remember the first time I used an iPad, I thought &quot;this isn&#x27;t a computer, it&#x27;s a mall in your hand&quot;)  The information revolution is still happening, and people need your help to navigate it and reap the full benefits.<p>Fourth, here&#x27;s the meta-most:  You should be living in a very-low-overhead way <i>right now anyway</i>.  We have to learn to live in harmony with Nature or we are about to tank our whole civilization.  Go outside, it&#x27;s June, <i>where are all the bugs?</i>