2005-03-23

JoiIto writes about Amateurs and Professionals. And part of that goes into what makes FreeSoftware development at home different from working on software (free or not) for money:

JoiIto

FreeSoftware

Money creates a power relationship between the payer and the payee. I think cases where the production is happening in some sort of enterprise or a “firm” where having a manager and having access to resources allows production to be more efficiently, financial relationships and “professionalism” seem to “feel OK.” On the other hand, when working in what Yochai Benkler calls “commons-based peer-production,” the “professionalism” is replaced by amateur passion as a primary driver. ¹

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