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Not sure where to begin. I'd love to see RMS weigh in on this. 1.) Ads. If you choose to fund/compensate via selling ad space you are lazy (or lack the talen

Not sure where to begin. I'd love to see RMS weigh in on this. 1.) Ads. If you choose to fund/compensate via selling ad space you are lazy (or lack the talent/skills to innovate); period. Can you generate income/revenue, sure. Selling ad space as a primary means of revenue is where innovation and alternative options go to die; you believe you are out of options (unless a rev kicker). 2.) If you are having second thoughts about the time and/or contributions you (maintainer(s)) have been making to a F/OSS project then do exactly that...rethink what YOU (as a maintainer/project founder) want and do not want. If you need to step away..do it; I do not blame you. If you want to go "for profit"...go for it and good luck. 3.) There is no shortage of historic precedence for projects that decided, after some time, to adopt/create a business/profit model. If the project was important enough, to the community, it forked and others took it the rest of the way. 4.) Now, do I believe PEOPLE should be compensated, to a degree, for time they have donated to F/OSS; sure. People NOT project(s). The demarcation point should be very clear here. Do not drag the project/software into what is a people problem. Incentivize project consumers to "invest" in a contributor/maintainer/founder and they should be held to a contribution count and or release/feature schedule; these are not high fives and gifts, although I am happy to give high fives. If you want to be compensated you have to be held to some deliverable; we are not "bros". I love F/OSS and incredibly appreciate the efforts of the community. I do think it is unfortunate that contributors time is not "more valuable" (yet) in this world and am happy to support within a supplied innovative solution. I would continue to, and do currently, contribute to a number of F/OSS contributors via patreon. These maintainers are producing great libs and are VERY responsive to questions/issues/feature requests and release schedules.

kemitchell 7y ago
How many of the developers you support on Patreon take in meaningful money, overall?
- JerryBerryDerry 7y ago
  Is their contribution to an F/OSS project a "job" or guarantee of income? If you do not want to "donate" your time anymore...stop; this isn't a difficult concept. I contribute $500/year to 4 projects that are integral to implementations I support. And I am not attempting to sound like a hero or what I contribute is important...but I can assure you its MUCH more than most.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - kemitchell 7y ago
    Last time I looked into it, I could count all the open software developers making more than $1k per person per month on donation platforms like Patreon, Liberapay, and Open Collective on less than two hands. Most of those weren't actually just taking donations, but using the perks system as a store for add-on products and services like ads, access to security alerts, and work prioritization. I don't know you and I don't have anything to say about you. My point is on the funding mechanism. The evidence I've seen shows that donation-based funding a la Patreon produces a few highly funded, highly visible outliers, many of which would be far better off doing large-dollar deals with their larger supporters off the platform. So far, I don't think the evidence supports recommending the donation-platform approach as a general solution to enabling more valuable contribution from developers, even those with substantial online reputations. Supporter counts and supporter amounts don't bear donations alone out as a meaningful support for individuals.
    - JerryBerryDerry 7y ago
      I think you are making my point and we would support the same things. I never said I have the solution but I did say selling ad space is not it. And I am sorry that patreon works for some and not others and that the “curve” is not fair. My only point was that contributors should not make their issues the communities or the projects; it’s developer specific not project unless all agree to make it project based; then go for profit. All things are not equal and each project has its own lifecycle/ecosystem. We are both in agreement that we would like a method of rewarding efforts of contributors.
      - kemitchell 7y ago
        I don't know what you'd support, only what you oppose.

kemitchell 7y ago

How many of the developers you support on Patreon take in meaningful money, overall?

JerryBerryDerry 7y ago
Is their contribution to an F/OSS project a "job" or guarantee of income? If you do not want to "donate" your time anymore...stop; this isn't a difficult concept. I contribute $500/year to 4 projects that are integral to implementations I support. And I am not attempting to sound like a hero or what I contribute is important...but I can assure you its MUCH more than most.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- kemitchell 7y ago
  Last time I looked into it, I could count all the open software developers making more than $1k per person per month on donation platforms like Patreon, Liberapay, and Open Collective on less than two hands. Most of those weren't actually just taking donations, but using the perks system as a store for add-on products and services like ads, access to security alerts, and work prioritization. I don't know you and I don't have anything to say about you. My point is on the funding mechanism. The evidence I've seen shows that donation-based funding a la Patreon produces a few highly funded, highly visible outliers, many of which would be far better off doing large-dollar deals with their larger supporters off the platform. So far, I don't think the evidence supports recommending the donation-platform approach as a general solution to enabling more valuable contribution from developers, even those with substantial online reputations. Supporter counts and supporter amounts don't bear donations alone out as a meaningful support for individuals.
  - JerryBerryDerry 7y ago
    I think you are making my point and we would support the same things. I never said I have the solution but I did say selling ad space is not it. And I am sorry that patreon works for some and not others and that the “curve” is not fair. My only point was that contributors should not make their issues the communities or the projects; it’s developer specific not project unless all agree to make it project based; then go for profit. All things are not equal and each project has its own lifecycle/ecosystem. We are both in agreement that we would like a method of rewarding efforts of contributors.
    - kemitchell 7y ago
      I don't know what you'd support, only what you oppose.