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Elder.js supports Islands with SSR. It is also MIT. I released it as an SEO experiment as much as anything else.

I’m enjoying the dev process and am committed to facilitating (myself or paying another) it’s maintenance for several years. I can do that because my prior successes can subsidize the cost.

If I had to do it again, I’d probably pick another license. As a first time maintainer of a project that is hitting the pit of success it is amazing the number of for profit companies taking the framework and demanding changes to suit their narrow business cases.

I literally LOL at some of the emails. I very much think the state of OSS isn’t sustainable. It has been an interesting rodeo.



> I very much think the state of OSS isn’t sustainable.

I'm perplexed by this. You wrote that Elder.js was an experiment. I sense that the stress you are feeling now is a result of trying to make it work for everybody else. But it doesn't have to work for anybody else.

OSS that is a slave to people who don't contribute may very well be unsustainable. OSS for the fun and use of it is perfectly sustainable. If Elder.js does what you need, that's great! If you're hoping it makes you the next DR Hipp or John Resig, maybe think about whether you really want that. If you do want that, that's fine, too. It just comes with a lot of demands.


Just an aside, this is why I enjoy playing with open-source music things and Arduino / ESP32 ecosystem stuff more than web tech in my free time. There are some commercial uses, but still a ton of hobbyists doing it for the love of the process and just for fun / because we can. A whole lot of cool stuff exists in these spaces. Definitely worth a look.


>>.. Demanding changes...

Your words or theirs? . I would have thought big companies looking for changes (new features?) is the perfect monetizing opportunity.

I mean, can't you just say "sure, I can add that for $2000." if it's not worth a couple grand to them, then it's not that important or worth your time.

One way to sustain the open source model is a pay-for-development approach.


Have you tried to convert those requests into one-off sponsorships to develop the feature they need? Sounds like a win-win. From my experience with procurement you just need a high enough number to make it worth their time.


This is exactly why there are so many companies who still want to use open-source (or source available) so end users (companies) can modify but are moving toward non "open source" licenses.

2 decades back people built things for fun and learning. We wanted to have the freedoms and pass it on. Now anything that has any commercial value gets most attention from developers whose day job does not encourage tinkering. They use your code, ask for more and pay nothing.

This is not sustainable.


Plot twist: if it’s worth enough to them, make a living for yourself selling consulting services :)




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