Re: <nettime> Interview with Richard Stallman in New Left Review (September-October 2018)

["André Rebentisch" <tabesin@gmail.com>]

Am 30.10.2018 um 21:00 schrieb Carsten Agger:
> People who contribute with voluntary work for any kind of project (not
> just free software) do so for a variety of reasons. Because it's fun,
> because they personally think it's important, because they like being a
> part of building this, etc.


I think you all follow preconceptions about "work" in the digital context.

What is special about software is that administrating, coding and using
software are no entirely distinct tasks. Esp. when there is no incentive
to keep fixes private. The concept emerged in an environment where
business and licensing models provided friction for professional
(well-paid) system administrators in a research context who were
hindered to adapt software to their organisation's needs and
infrastructural change. These models are now history.

Software grows organically by being used by professional users.

When you think about it more generally there are many examples where
consumer actions actually benefit the business model. We do not like
empty dance floors... by being there we become part of the product.
Some may even get paid to show up.

Ironically no one frames Facebook contributions as "unpaid voluntary
work" to keep the community platform content-wise up and running to the
benefit of Mr. Zuckerberg's advertisement business model.

--- A
#  distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime>  is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
#  archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org
#  @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject: