I feel that folks seem to have moved away from the "enthusiastic hackers" of the 1980s. We used to write software for fun. We enjoyed it, and learned from it. These days, there has to be an "exit plan" for everything.
Having a project that is all mine, and not being limited by managers, is really important. If I want to learn a new technology, I just write a library to support it [0 - 1].
If it takes off, I find some folks that would be interested in running it, and hand it over to them. I don't really mind, however, if my stuff never gets any GH stars. I write software for myself.
Yeah I've super enjoyed talking with people about various topics around my project. That's a big benefit that maybe doesn't get enough play: you'll probably attract people with similar interests as you, if not also similar values.
Having a project that is all mine, and not being limited by managers, is really important. If I want to learn a new technology, I just write a library to support it [0 - 1].
If it takes off, I find some folks that would be interested in running it, and hand it over to them. I don't really mind, however, if my stuff never gets any GH stars. I write software for myself.
[0] https://littlegreenviper.com/series/bluetooth/
[1] https://github.com/RiftValleySoftware/RVS_BlueThoth