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Re: Question about donations and such..
by Eric Laffoon on Thursday 10/Oct/2002, @14:27
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> Is there any way that things like the KDE e.V. or League can sponsor development?
I could ask. Nobody in free software is rolling in money. However we are capable of making our appeal I think.
> Unfortunatly, most people are greedy and won't pay for software unless they have to.
I disagree. I think it's mostly a matter of economics. I don't rate low donation ratios at all to greed. You can only part with so much for so many causes. I think the addition of merchandise is good. I've done fundrasing for charitable causes and merchandising is the way to go. People get a cool product and the cause gets money. Traditionally causes get 10% from professional organizations which they are thrilled to have. Here we realize substantially more as all net profits are returned and no labor costs are factored in.
> Lastly, how about finding a company that can give donations or sponsor part of the project without taking it over. That seems quite do-able.
We have that. The company is Kittyhooch LLP. Unfortunately it's a relative start up and it's my company so if it doesn't have a good month it just pays me less and I do without satellite TV another month and limit my spending on cigars and supplements so I can pay my guys. It's worth it. When I begin pursuing web work again shortly I will be phenominally more productive.
I am open to corporate sponsorship. If you think about it any company using free software like Quanta would be incredibly well served to take a small fraction of their income and divert it to tool development. I'd be the most incredible tech support you could imagine for 1% of the revenue generated by any company using quanta to generate income with. It is foolish to limit or risk limiting your efficiency by determining that your tools are really free. It is free to use, not to produce.
I consider myself the fortunate one. I really do believe it's better to give than receive. The emotional rewards for this project are impossible to describe. I did not start out to make free software. I started out wanting an editor. I fell in love with what I was doing and the lives I was touching. You can't imagine what it feels like to know you are touching the lives of potentially millions of people who appreciate you. Do you get that at your anywhere else?
> I'd donate to Quanta myself, but I only make use of html editors like once a year.
It's okay, we don't exclude you. You can buy a mouse pad (or $5 woth of Quanta satisfaction). ;-)
> People who use quanta everyday should contribute!
As their heart leads. I appreciate your encouragement. I finally decided to begin asking when I realized how much I was really giving in time and money. I don't want anyone to feel bad if they use it and never give anything. There are a lot of people I want to give Quanta to and I never want anything from them. That gift is my reward. You just can't assume the next guy will give your gift.
Our choice is to become an outstanding first class tool. Many people may have been perfectly happy editing only (depricated) HTML. People may think we should just stick with the basics or try to reach our goals in 5 or 10 years instead of 1-2. Not contributing is a good way to vote for that. ;-) If you like where we're going our mouse pads and T-Shirts are reasonably priced. |
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