What motivates the open source community?

Question

open source

What motivates people to create open libraries, plugins, etc.?
I can understand why, for example, large companies can share their source code. It is worth looking at the striking example of Microsoft. Recently, they have been greatly raising their reputation in the developer community, which, in turn, is doing more for their own platform.
But what still makes the minds of single programmers excite, such as Linus Torvalds (before he started making money on linux) or Evan View (the notorious creator of vue, js)? Undoubtedly, the individuals I have cited have achieved tremendous success in IT, but how many of those who remain unknown? How did the situation that I personally often hear: "Take it ready." Who are these people that make "ready-made", what drives them?

Answer 1

Who are these people that make "ready-made", what drives them?

These are people who did not find ready-made or ready-made did not suit them. They are just solving their problem.

Answer 2

I speak for myself.
In my open projects, I was driven solely by philanthropic motives - there is no such software (for Linux, of course), it is inconvenient, then I will write it for myself. Now it exists and you can do good - distribute it among the suffering. True, in my case, there was no one to help maintain the software (partly due to the fact that it is on Qt, which few people know, partly because the swab society is mostly a bunch of fanatics and balabols, which knows little in practice).
Additionally - training, this is a good pet project, honing skills, pumping.
In general, read “Just for fun” by Torvalds, everything is written there.

Answer 3

Motivated by an instinct that is more than two million years old - the need to prove themselves and take a position in the pack hierarchy.

Answer 4

And what still makes the minds of lone programmers excite,

What makes an artist to draw (in the absence of an order), a writer to write, a sculptor to work with a chisel on marble?
What makes a photographer climb onto the roof of a skyscraper, into an aircraft, dive into the sea with a camera?
Spark of God...

Answer 5

Altruism

Answer 6

lectures by richard stallman see everything is told there

Answer 7

Can political, economic, personal and other reasons. If there were no open source projects and enthusiasts, then there would be no Linux, Torrent, Tor and other free or alternative options. Otherwise, every movement in the OS, every Internet connection and movement on the sites would be monetized.
And so we have a choice. For example, either use Offices from Microsoft and pay several thousand a month, or use LibreOffice for free and have all the office functionality? I am very pleased with the second one.