The power of Open Source
Published on October 13, 2024 by Federico Cosma
UncomplicatedCustomServer Collective - The power of Open Source
In the world there are, broadly speaking, all digital products can be divided into two macrocategories: Proprietary products and Open Source products.
Most companies develop “Proprietary” (closed-source) products because this, if they are paid for, guarantees them* that no one will use their product without first buying it.
Usually these types of products are paid for, the source is not made public and is often obfuscated as well.
On the other hand, many developers (especially individuals) create Open Source products because they want others to be able to see, learn and contribute.
These types of products, on the other hand, have public source and an OSI-approved license.
The question now will seem obvious: Why should we all release Open Source products? What comes back to us? In what way, by publishing the source, can I “maintain control” over my product?
Today I bring you my experience as the Project Manager of UncomplicatedCustomServer Collective.
I started developing our first product on my own in mid-September 2023 and it was UncomplicatedCustomRoles.
When by now the first version was finished and ready to be released, I pondered whether to release this product to everyone, making it Open Source, or to release it for a fee, thus making it de facto a Proprietary software.
So I chose to release it for free to everyone, and I can tell you that it was one of the best choices I have ever made.
Right from the start the plugin found a lot of interest in the post published by me in tinybrain-sanctum on the EXILED Discord server, with so many people thanking me for such a plugin.
Now, after more than a year of service, UncomplicatedCustomRoles is one of the most used plugins on SL, with more than 330 servers!
This would never have been possible without releasing the plugin for free!
However, around early January 2024, due to the monstrous popularity the plugin had achieved, I decided to create a discord server to better handle UCR support requests and to promote any future projects.
Nowadays UncomplicatedCustomServer is a Collective with more than 322 members on our Discord, with more than 5 public projects and a fantastic community!
All this has been made possible by making the product free and Open Source!
Open Source has brought us quite a few benefits such as:
Most companies develop “Proprietary” (closed-source) products because this, if they are paid for, guarantees them* that no one will use their product without first buying it.
Usually these types of products are paid for, the source is not made public and is often obfuscated as well.
On the other hand, many developers (especially individuals) create Open Source products because they want others to be able to see, learn and contribute.
These types of products, on the other hand, have public source and an OSI-approved license.
The question now will seem obvious: Why should we all release Open Source products? What comes back to us? In what way, by publishing the source, can I “maintain control” over my product?
Today I bring you my experience as the Project Manager of UncomplicatedCustomServer Collective.
I started developing our first product on my own in mid-September 2023 and it was UncomplicatedCustomRoles.
When by now the first version was finished and ready to be released, I pondered whether to release this product to everyone, making it Open Source, or to release it for a fee, thus making it de facto a Proprietary software.
So I chose to release it for free to everyone, and I can tell you that it was one of the best choices I have ever made.
Right from the start the plugin found a lot of interest in the post published by me in tinybrain-sanctum on the EXILED Discord server, with so many people thanking me for such a plugin.
Now, after more than a year of service, UncomplicatedCustomRoles is one of the most used plugins on SL, with more than 330 servers!
This would never have been possible without releasing the plugin for free!
However, around early January 2024, due to the monstrous popularity the plugin had achieved, I decided to create a discord server to better handle UCR support requests and to promote any future projects.
Nowadays UncomplicatedCustomServer is a Collective with more than 322 members on our Discord, with more than 5 public projects and a fantastic community!
All this has been made possible by making the product free and Open Source!
Open Source has brought us quite a few benefits such as:
- Active and passionate community
Because the product is free, we were able to create a fantastic community that is always helping each other! - Voluntary contributions
All those who gave us money or contributed in some other way to UCSC did not do so because they SHOULD but because they WANTED to!
So all the financial (and other) contributions we have received are their way of saying thank you! - Tips on plugin code
Since the source is public, this has allowed many other developers to give us advice on things to improve, change, and optimize! - Lots of boosts!
As our projects are appreciated by the whole community, many decide to boost the server as a token of gratitude!
We are almost at LVL 3!
Having said that, I will conclude.
Forgive some mistakes but since it was a loooong and serious text I preferred to use a translator.
I hope you enjoyed it and thank you again!