I have been contributing heavily to this open source project that aims to help out users of open source on the .NET platform by acting as a ruby gems or more importantly a gentto portage clone for .NET. There is a genuine need for this in .NET as the upgrade path for .NET oss is a painful journey fraught with danger. So morally this is a very worthy cause.
The project is not yet beta and I have no guarantee it will work. I am spending a lot of time on this. My girlfriend has openly stated how much she hates this project :-).
It is not yet beta and I have no guarantee this project will fill the void that is so needed in this space.
If it works out and becomes popular, is there anyway one get any money back from this outlay in time or am I just being completelly cynical by looking at it this way?
It depends – if your open source project is a success, then direct financial compensation might be a bit hard to get, however, being associated with the project as a major contributor may give you a certain level of noteriety in the community. This can lead to you getting more / better contracts (if you freelance), and can give you an edge if you decide to look for another full-time job.