A regular contributor to Node Red has provided a significant number of very useful additional nodes to the project. They cannot continue to develop and support these nodes indefinitely without some financial support. I understand that payment for new nodes may be against the open source ethos but I think there is an option to "crowd fund" from interested Node Redders to get some nodes finished and supported. The general idea is that when the node is complete and tested it would be published on NPM for free use.
Your thoughts are not wrong, a lot of people spend many hours (like myself) that others (as myself) can benefit from. It's a 'givin & takin' I think, some get more than they contribute but for me this is fine. As long it is for PRIVATE usage. If something, nodes or whatever contributed would be used in a COMMERCIAL product or solution, I personally think it would be nice if the original contributer would get some credits. It could be settled via direct contact consumer <-> contributor
But that's just my personal opinion, I understand NR is free, if users don't like that and contributers are unhappy, they should maybe look for other options, I don't believe the idea with this place was or will become the place where you earn your income
I spent almost 15 years on another forum and contributed a lot (similar to nodes) without receiving a penny even though I know thousands of users around the world consumed my work. I accepted this, it was just my hobby I enjoyed and I liked to contribute and help other users. I personally hope this forum stays as is instead of becoming a market place
Do you see a specific need for missing nodes you are willing to finance?
Yes, I have specific nodes in mind, but I doubt that I would be able to finance this completely. It could be possible to get a number of interested users to contribute in a "crowd fund" way to get the nodes completed for the community. The cost per contributor may be small
I like the regular monthly pay methods (like the one that github) run and I contribute to one Node-RED author (1$/month) using that method (as I depend on it working to interface to Alexa)
But the whole concept of paying someone for something that they initially did for free but now require/want/need payment for is just a minefield of conflicting arguments.
I actually want a service where I can specify to say pay $10/20/30 month into and then split the money in micropayments to all the open source projects that I want to support
Hi @mtoko,
I like your idea to crowd funding developments of certain nodes. Then people without development background get a chance to realise their ideas. If you have a decent marketplace of course...
But once finished, those nodes should become free to use! Because - after years spending all my spare time developing nodes for free - I'm not going to spend even a single eurocent to other nodes. If that ever happens, I most certainly will quit the open-source world. Which would be a pity for everybody using my nodes...
Bart
I think there is multiple ways to contribute. Like Bart and other developers, none forgotten, has made so many nice & great contributions. Others not skilled in developing nodes contributes with other "know-how", some might not contribute at all, they could for sure, if they have a particular need, open up the wallet if this crowd funding takes off
Hi Bart
Firstly, thanks for all your great work, I have used your nodes and would have contributed to their development if the opportunity had been available. I agree that all nodes developed by crowdfunding should then be available free to the community when they are complete. This idea is not intended to take away from the open source community but rather to encourage the development and support of new nodes. The Node Red community is large and ever increasing, so a small contribution from a number of interested users could ensure the development and sustainability of the community. Node Red has encouraged an entirely new breed of users and contributors which each bring unique experience, so the combination of hard core developers and advanced users with specific expertise is a winning combination
I am sure potential developers would have different views or preferences, but this idea would be one off investment to get the node complete and tested and then released to the community. It is possible that some nodes will not get funded due to the time and complexity but those that are successful will open new opportunities. It may be possible that new developers will be attracted and will contribute if there is even some small reward for the work
Hey @mtoko,
That would certainly help, in my personal opinion ...
And it could in the future perhaps help "somehow" to solve the problem of the growing number of unmaintained nodes ...
Yes, I agree nodes need maintenance, but like Bart suggested there is an ever increasing number of unmaintained nodes. It is easier to maintain a node if there is a working example. I am not suggesting the existing open source nature is changed only that we attempt to add another option. There appears to be significant use of NR in production and some of these users would welcome the opportunity to contribute to ensure security of support for their projects. Is there any down side to testing this concept?
Exactly what I suspected. Walk the talk, I don't believe until I see. Today I sell my knowledge per the hour to companies actively engaged in IoT and other dev projects. They pay for sure. Before I believe, those willing needs to step up
I try to look it from a bit strange may be perspective ...
Rule is, you cant think more than 1 minute!
Can you name the desperately missing node and add the price tag on it.
