JavaScript boy and “lovely thoughtleader” 
he/him 
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more
When a project has full-time maintainers that are community-sponsored is it unethical to compete if it means they could be out of a job? How do you quantify a projects value if it could have a negative effect on people’s lives? Utilitarianism? This isn’t targeted or a subtweet.
Most responses seem to be: Doesn’t matter, they can find jobs elsewhere. Which while true, sadly the way it’s mostly been conveyed in this thread lacks a lot of empathy.
I would view it as a healthy competition. If someone comes up with a better solution than the community backed one, then it would serve as a catalyst of evolution/improvement. A happy path would be the merger of the previous and the new.
Competition drives innovation, and that’s always good for everyone, both authors and the community.
Apologies for my snark. I think a lot of people would love to work on open source full-time, so there is resentment towards people who pull it off. It is difficult to get a role like that, and as you point out, difficult to keep.
Also, OSS projects with financial backing should in no way be protected from anyone's passion project. That just seems... backwards to me.
There's more parties to consider. Those using your potential project vs the existing plus potential improvements to end software which affects all the ultimate users. If a new project is better, the benefits to the world is immense.
Can the original project be evolved instead of replaced? Are there avenues for them to work full-time on the new, competing project? This is a tough one, but in any case I think communication and attempted inclusion are key.
Trying to deal with difficult ethical conundrums, worrying about *other people's* tone... Nowhere in this entire thread do I see anything about whether or not it'd be something you'd truly enjoy building. Let me blow your mind: there's such a thing as empathy for oneself.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.
