The question is, is it actually better for it? I have a bit of software I've created. It's a reimplementation of a commerical product. It scratches my itch. It would also scratch the itch for most of that company's paying users. Do I a) Keep it to myself and a couple of close friends b) sell it for slightly cheaper c) sell it for slightly more d) give it away for free. There is a whole company out there with people that depend on this app to pay their bills. Giving it away for free puts that whole company out of business! Everyone working there is would then be out of a job. Sharing this thing with the world for free might be generous of me, but who am I to fuck over the people at that company. There's probably a person who's not a software developer who's struggling to pay the bills as is. Giving my software away for free puts her out of a job.
> Giving it away for free puts that whole company out of business!
It really doesn’t.
The more toward “enterprise” a software buyer is, the more what they’re actually paying for is a reputation, reduced liability, a throat to choke, etc. Functionality is only one piece of the puzzle.
> There is a whole company out there with people that depend on this app to pay their bills. Giving it away for free puts that whole company out of business!
This is part of competition. It's common for businesses to have their value proposition challenged, and they either have to justify their existence, or die. If your whole company can be replaced by a single person tomorrow, it wasn't that valuable a company. We benefit more as a society by competition causing companies to be more efficient, and people having access to more value for less money.
Also, those people potentially losing their jobs isn't the end of the world. We all lose our jobs eventually, for one reason or another. We all have to expect that and be able to find a new job.
