7 ms·

Useful (non-slashdot) links: Initial ask for help: http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138730448307723&w=2 http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138730448307723&w=

by 4ad 13y ago

Useful (non-slashdot) links: Initial ask for help: http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138730448307723&w=2 http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138730448307723&w=2 How much it costs: http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138972987203440&w=2 http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=138972987203440&w=2 Why old hardware platforms matter: http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-tech&m=138973312304511&w=2 http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-tech&m=138973312304511&w=2 Why not kickstarter: http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-tech&m=138973837906139&w=2 http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-tech&m=138973837906139&w=2 And most importantly, the donation link: http://www.openbsdfoundation.org/donations.html http://www.openbsdfoundation.org/donations.html

Spooky23 13y ago
I wish they had done an appeal before the end of 2013. I usually do my donations then, when I "close the books" for the year.
- rrjamie 13y ago
  From their donation page, donations are not tax-deductible (for individuals at least; businesses may be able to expense them). Nevertheless, I donated $50 just for the excellent work they do on OpenSSH.
  - transitionality 13y ago
    A very rational decision. Nobody else will sell you a comparable product for that price. Is there even a comparable product?
- 4ad 13y ago
  They did: > Date: 2013-12-17 18:20:48 It just took a month to have this thread on HN (there were others).
  - dalke 13y ago
    Like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6924644 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6924644 from 2013-12-18.
j_s 13y ago
> 20 thousand dollars in electrical expenses [annually?]
- fennecfoxen 13y ago
  > A number of logistical reasons prevents us from moving the machines to another location which might offer space/power for free, so let's not allow the conversation to go that way. and there's no way that overcoming those logistical reasons would be cheaper than $20,000? at all? okay, well then, I guess that limits your options doesn't it.
  - d_theorist 13y ago
    It certainly seems rather unlikely that moving the machines to another location would reduce the expenses to $0. I can well imagine that there would be a lot of difficulty in moving an large eclectic collection of old machines into a modern data center, and that such an undertaking might be extremely expensive.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      Maybe not to zero, but what about from $0.14/kWh to $0.06/kWh? (I don't actually know what they currently pay)
      - d_theorist 13y ago
        The answer is in the second line of your post. We don't know the details of their situation. But somebody who does know says that there are good reasons not to move. Doesn't seem that implausible that he might be right.
        sliverstorm 13y ago
        I don't think any of us truly have a problem with OpenBSD being unwilling to move their machines. We have a problem with OpenBSD being unwilling to move their machines, offering practically zero explanation why, while simultaneously asking for strangely large sums of money "because they can't move their machines". If it wasn't for those three elements coming together, we wouldn't give a damn.
sliverstorm 13y ago
I really love how we keep getting advice. Anyone want to suggest we hold a bake sale? It's funny to hear this sort of thing from someone trying to accrue $20k in donations. Yes, many people will give bad advice. No, you don't really get to complain about it when you are asking them for large sums of money.
- doktrin 13y ago
  It's kind of off-putting, to be honest. This quintessential open-source abrasiveness is fine and dandy until you start asking for cold hard cash.
  - Fomite 13y ago
    This. Don't be a dick to people giving you money - customers or donors. If you can't turn it off, don't be donor facing.
    - vinceguidry 13y ago
      Sure, they should totally just get their PR person on it. Oh look, now they're asking for $40,000
      - Fomite 13y ago
        Is there no one at OpenBSD who can't not be a dick? The situation is more dire than I thought.
      - jethro_tell 13y ago
        From what I can tell the current mentality is: We don't need to accept feature requests or patches to get donors, we could just get more users and sell CDs "oh Look here's a poor idiot in the Mailing list that didn't become a UNIX expert before asking a question, let's flame the shit out of him." Alright Let's collect some money. Wanna know why? fuck you it! It just needs to be this way. Wanna help or suggest a solution? fuck you unless it's a check. How is this system not working?
f2f 13y ago
I think they should hold a bake sale.

by 4ad 13y ago

Spooky23 13y ago

I wish they had done an appeal before the end of 2013. I usually do my donations then, when I "close the books" for the year.

rrjamie 13y ago
From their donation page, donations are not tax-deductible (for individuals at least; businesses may be able to expense them). Nevertheless, I donated $50 just for the excellent work they do on OpenSSH.
- transitionality 13y ago
  A very rational decision. Nobody else will sell you a comparable product for that price. Is there even a comparable product?
4ad 13y ago
They did: > Date: 2013-12-17 18:20:48 It just took a month to have this thread on HN (there were others).
- dalke 13y ago
  Like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6924644 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6924644 from 2013-12-18.

j_s 13y ago

> 20 thousand dollars in electrical expenses [annually?]

fennecfoxen 13y ago
> A number of logistical reasons prevents us from moving the machines to another location which might offer space/power for free, so let's not allow the conversation to go that way. and there's no way that overcoming those logistical reasons would be cheaper than $20,000? at all? okay, well then, I guess that limits your options doesn't it.
- d_theorist 13y ago
  It certainly seems rather unlikely that moving the machines to another location would reduce the expenses to $0. I can well imagine that there would be a lot of difficulty in moving an large eclectic collection of old machines into a modern data center, and that such an undertaking might be extremely expensive.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    Maybe not to zero, but what about from $0.14/kWh to $0.06/kWh? (I don't actually know what they currently pay)
    - d_theorist 13y ago
      The answer is in the second line of your post. We don't know the details of their situation. But somebody who does know says that there are good reasons not to move. Doesn't seem that implausible that he might be right.
      - sliverstorm 13y ago
        I don't think any of us truly have a problem with OpenBSD being unwilling to move their machines. We have a problem with OpenBSD being unwilling to move their machines, offering practically zero explanation why, while simultaneously asking for strangely large sums of money "because they can't move their machines". If it wasn't for those three elements coming together, we wouldn't give a damn.

sliverstorm 13y ago

I really love how we keep getting advice. Anyone want to suggest we hold a bake sale? It's funny to hear this sort of thing from someone trying to accrue $20k in donations. Yes, many people will give bad advice. No, you don't really get to complain about it when you are asking them for large sums of money.

doktrin 13y ago
It's kind of off-putting, to be honest. This quintessential open-source abrasiveness is fine and dandy until you start asking for cold hard cash.
- Fomite 13y ago
  This. Don't be a dick to people giving you money - customers or donors. If you can't turn it off, don't be donor facing.
  - vinceguidry 13y ago
    Sure, they should totally just get their PR person on it. Oh look, now they're asking for $40,000
    - Fomite 13y ago
      Is there no one at OpenBSD who can't not be a dick? The situation is more dire than I thought.
    - jethro_tell 13y ago
      From what I can tell the current mentality is: We don't need to accept feature requests or patches to get donors, we could just get more users and sell CDs "oh Look here's a poor idiot in the Mailing list that didn't become a UNIX expert before asking a question, let's flame the shit out of him." Alright Let's collect some money. Wanna know why? fuck you it! It just needs to be this way. Wanna help or suggest a solution? fuck you unless it's a check. How is this system not working?

f2f 13y ago

I think they should hold a bake sale.