Agreed. We support gensim (a Python machine learning library) entirely through commercial projects and consulting. We never asked users for money, while keeping

Agreed. We support gensim (a Python machine learning library) entirely through commercial projects and consulting. We never asked users for money, while keeping the lib 100% open source. BUT you have to realize a lot of OS development is subsidized. This takes the form of "free" work by students, undergrads, graduates, government grants etc. A lot of the suggestions people throw around are simply not feasible for hobby OS projects, which don't have access to free students or free government money. It's a race to the bottom if you want to state this as a business problem. It also confounds the moral issue somewhat, as corporations (and individuals) then rightly feel they are entitled to development & support -- after all, the subsidies have come through their taxes!