Capture less than you create

31 pointsposted 14 hours ago
by alexzeitler
(world.hey.com)

8 Comments

galeaspablo

12 hours ago

I can’t help but read this under the lens of my own experiences. For me open source is really about capturing less than I create, much like it’s written in the article. Heck, I’m a founder and we haven’t open sourced our product because we don’t want to do a “pretend” open source like others do, where it’s really just a marketing tool for enterprise.

It does help that I’ve always been able to make ends meet, so that keeps my idealistic vision of open source alive.

In any case, this was an excellent response to https://ma.tt/2024/10/on-dhh/

jauntywundrkind

12 hours ago

"Create more value than you capture" was the swan song of Tim O'Reilly over a dozen years ago. https://youtu.be/y0CGT5AH7HE

Really hard for me to believe DHH wasn't aware of this, and quite unimpressed at his minor rephrase being uncredited. Seeing the value of this phrase captured & claimed so is quite against the spirit.

hi-v-rocknroll

10 hours ago

It goes back much farther than that as it's a practice of successful business people since time began. One much older example of it in written form would Napoleon Hill 1928 "Lesson 9: The habit of doing more for than paid." What it comes down to is cultivating customer goodwill by offering additional value that doesn't cost a lot to encourage more sales via network effects as referrals, and in the modern era, 5-star ratings and shares on social media.

user

9 hours ago

[deleted]

galeaspablo

12 hours ago

If anything, even if he’s aware, I’d say it’s pretty much in line with the spirit.

Albeit, I can’t speak for Tim O’Reilly, but just like I don’t expect to become a billionaire from writing an open source framework, I don’t go around crediting absolutely everything or tipping back. If I assume best intentions (in line with the spirit of HN), it doesn’t look like DHH is trying to make a claim to fame on the back of this phrase.

user

13 hours ago

[deleted]