Slashdot Mirror
The Unemployed Working on OSS Projects
Roger_Explosion writes "In Australia the unemployed have to fulfill a 'mutual obligation' requirement in order to receive welfare payments. What this means is that recipients of welfare payments have to be involved in some sort of activity that improves their chances of finding employment. Until now this has included various types of community service and training and education programs. Recently an organisation called CommunityCode has been established to allow recipients to fulfill this requirement by contributing to OSS projects."
however, I think that if you make it mandatory (no idea if tfa says either way) then I think this could create some very serious damage to any open source unlucky enough to get coerced 'help'.
also, bear in mind that before you drool over the prospect of conscripts to do the grunt work in X.org or kde that any program worthwhile would probably allow them to choose which projects to help out in; and if they all decide that the best way to spend their time is to develop and perfect a tcl front end to cdrecord, that's their choice.
Frankly, I'd prefer that OSS help remain completely voluntary. Getting half-hearted help is worse than getting no help at all.
Mutual Obligation has always been about punishment, not improving work prospects - unless the government knows there will soon be a massive demand for fence painters and tree planters.
The problem with this idea is that you will get the lower possible quality workmanship from the majority of people who contribute. Anybody who's ever done mandatory community services (and didn't get paid) can vouch that their heart wasn't in it. This might sound "fun" to an unemployed geek, but the quality of work is going to be signficantly lower than, say, somebody who WANTS to write OSS.
As opposed to job hunting?
That's only half-serious. I know folks that don't spend enough time looking for a job, and that's why they're still unemployed. Sometimes they enjoy being unemployed more than the paycheck that a job would bring in.
On the other hand, the obvious benefit to this kind of work is that you can build your resume and skillset by working in the field, even without having that job.
On the other hand, this could be a great way to get people other than coders involved in OSS.
For example, all those projects where ther's little to no documentation because everyone involved is coding, not documenting? I'm sure there are lots of unemployed writers around.
Or projects that need to market themselves better, maybe need a sleeker looking interface or website or logo or whatever? Tap into the starving artist workforce...
It's like all the negative of outsourcing without the positive of improving someone else's economy.
Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
-- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.
It seems that the comments thus far have been centered around the idea that the unemployed are being forced to work on OSS. I think it is more the idea that working on OSS is an acceptable form of community service and the like. I don't think that the arguments against the idea because of the lack of volunteering hold much water because of this. Those who choose to work on OSS to fulfill their community service responsibilities would be just as much volunteers as the rest of the OSS community. It's no different from an OSS person putting their development onto their resume. It's just using the volunteer work on the software for dual purpose.
Could the volunteers write documentation, design web sites, graphics etc. There is a lot more to an OSS Project than just the pure code!
Noviota.
De Novo. Iota.
Starting Afresh. Very Small.
I think it's worth considering that for any company that produces closed source commercial software, there will probably be many others that could benefit from and improve their productivity with good open source software, but can't necessarily afford to pay for the developers themselves, nor the commercial counterparts.
Before jumpling to conclusions that it's state-sponsored competition, I think that this angle should be considered. The economy is made of more than just the commercial software production industry, just as the IT industry encompasses more than simply commercial software development.
Is this worth state sponsorship? Perhaps, or perhaps not, or maybe it's at the very least a good place for interested people to be while they're between paid work, as the article suggests.
Keep in mind that contributing to OSS while on a benefit doesn't release someone from their obligations of getting off the benefit, nor should it. It does give the appropriate people an activity in which they can maintain their skills whilst they're looking for other work. I think this organisation is mostly trying to formalise it, to make it a credible and understood activity for government agencies.
Right and the pulling down fencing as some people I know have had to do as part of "Work for the dole" gives you experience, installs a work ethic and allows you to make meaningful contacts?
And no I haven't had any experience within the mutual obligation system as yet, but in a couple of months I may well, it's either that or allow my child to be raised by child care after school if I am forced to work.
I take offence that the suggestion that my anti-Liberal party sentiment is both mindless and rhetoric. I have built my view of the world as I perceive it and I have the courage to voice it without ticking "Post anonymously." Regardless of what I think of your opinions, I would not suggest you are a troll, I would however suggest that in to future that you not assume that anyone who holds a different opinion to yours to be one.
I hope they also include options for writing documentation and proof-reading.
That is an area that is often lacking in OSS projects.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
...if you can't get a very well paying job as a programmer in australia at the moment then you must be a technical moron who shouldn't be let anywhere near a computer or open source software. Companies are experiencing a massive skills shortage over here at the moment...the only people this is going to attract are morons that think they can get out of doing manual labour...and that means crap code.
What a wank
This comunity code thing could let them use their real skills (rather than having to do mowing for their dole), and also will probably add something nice to their resume to maybe get them moving in the job market.
In corporate America it is not going to help.
So, you are unemployed looking for a job. That is bad. Now you want to do something with OSS. You polish your skills, come up with something new while hoping that you'll get a job. What you don't understand that you're still nobody in a corporate world. You have better skills, but, guess what, the rest of the world will acquire those skills as well. If you're not willing to work for less, then you'll be replaced again. Go start working on another OSS project. Software engineers are quite common these days. Corporations will outsource and find workers willing to work for the lowest possible wage. As one CEO said, "...The problem with Asia is not the price, it's the fact that they [Indians, Chinese] can't work for free."
You can study and do whatever you want; however, as soon as there is somebody else who is willing to do the same for less money, you're out. Nobody gives a flying fuck if you are an OSS contributor or a genius if you don't fit the price tag. One of my friends is desperately looking for development gigs online. He found himself competing with Indians who are willing to work for less than $10/hr. Unless he lowers his price, he can't really work.
The sooner you realize your pathetic state, the better off you'll be. Instead of doing something that the rest of the world can do, try something new. Whatever you do, make sure that you have skills that are not related to IT. That will increase your chance of survival.