My two cents:
It is irrelevant who makes modules for or contributes to DNN and whether they provide this for free or charge money for them. The important thing to recognize is that DNN has crossed an important evolutionary milestone -- it has reached a point where it has its own sustainable market of products and services. Although this market depends partially on the actions of the Core Team, it continues to remain free. And the best part about free markets is that they are (generally) self-regulating.
So if I or someone else makes a crappy product and charges for it, a few customers may be burned. But ultimately, unless I can consistently provide good value for money, the market will ensure that I will fade away into oblivion. The same goes for free products.
IMO, people who contribute free stuff do not do it because they are more altruistic than others. Gain does not have to be economic, nor does it have to be direct. People create things for self-education, self-use, self-promotion, pride and sometimes purely for fun. Any way you look at it, there is some benefit to the person making the contribution.
As long as there are takers, I will continue to make both commercial and free products for DNN because this continually challenges me to improve my skills and gives me economic gain. In the process I will likely produce some good stuff and some crappy stuff. It's all part of the journey, which is the actual reward.
BTW, if your DNN usage is directly related to education, any Speerio product you want is yours gratis. Same goes for non-profits (please provide proof).
Nik
Nik Kalyani
Speerio, Inc.
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