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I like the idea of funding an open source project so it's maintained. However, I don't like the choice that feross made here, which is ads. It's very intrusive

I like the idea of funding an open source project so it's maintained. However, I don't like the choice that feross made here, which is ads. It's very intrusive to get shown ads while I'm working and focusing on a task, even if it's just installing a package. Output and errors are already hard to read in the terminal, and having ads contribute to it makes it even harder. I believe the correct way to solve the problem of open source funding is through sponsors and their names shown through the README or through a patreon or similar platform.

riffraff 7y ago
from what I hear, it's not simple to get a sponsor or enough money from patreons, even for somewhat popular projects. Open source funding is still an unsolved problem, even if a ton of people have tried. I don't particularly like the idea of ads in terminal either, but people can decide not to use this, I suppose.
- kemitchell 7y ago
  Last I attempted a systematic survey of open source developers on Patreon, I could only find seven or so reported to be making >$1k USD per month. Of those, many of the most successful weren't simply taking donations. It's common to see substantial additional products of services as perks, like access to security alerts, work prioritization, personal time, and so on.