Re: Asking for money

faq
flatforty
contribute
subscribe
configure
search
rdf

main
parent
thread

Re: Asking for money
by Oscar on Wednesday 27/Feb/2008, @04:49

I think it's perfectly OK to ask for money here. I probably wouldn't have donated at all if it weren't for the article and the fact that he wanted money. He contributes to the community in a way that he can (coding and funding the project) and the rest of us that either don't have the skill or the time to code will have to show our support some other way.

I've chosen to donate the money I get for being in a "consumer panel" to encourage work on open source and free software. It's not much but I do think it's more than what the average user of free software donates, and it makes me feel good.

So I do think articles on "the dot" that explains what a project does and why they need money are good and they should keep coming. Hopefully there are more people like me that get inspired and donates a few bucks. $5 actually sent are more than "I'll give $100 later".

Related Links

·   Articles on Applications
·   Also by Oscar
·   Contact author

The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )

Re: Asking for money
by anon on Wednesday 27/Feb/2008, @19:38

$100, for someone who freely decided to develop and work on this project. Why not give you money to something more needy. 30,000 children die from starvation each day, but hey, give money to someone who freely decided to work on this project, rather than truly needy people in the world

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: Asking for money
by Eric Laffoon on Wednesday 27/Feb/2008, @21:31

Why not do both? Usually people saying such things do niether. In fact statistically it's a safe bet. I have gotten people money to help them out recently in the form of finding work for them to do that I didn't need to have done. So what? That's not relevent to this topic.

I once received an email from a man in his mid 20s in Africa who had been out of work for three years. He was building web sites with Quanta Plus and he was so excited to be earning a living and taking care of his family... He wanted to send a donation. I told him not to. No amount of money is more valuable than knowing you changed someone's life. So what is morally superior, giving a man a fish or giving a man a fishing pole? I don't consider the moral superiority so much as I think about the man and his needs. Many people in third world countries have to choose between illegally using stolen commercial software or free alternatives. For these people an office suite can be a large portion of their annual income. Free software can make a difference there. Even in more prosperous countries few people can afford $100-$500 every time a new task comes up they need to do.

I may have volunteered to work on this, as well as spend thousands of dollars of my own money on it over the years, but Andras is sponsored and it is his primary source of income. Your argument effectively says supporting us bringing the tools of economic freedom in free software isn't as good as a handout of food to hungry people and therefore you can't see financially supporting it. Your moral argument equates to "support commercial software with money, but don't support free (as in freedom) software with money." Or is your position to just steal commercial software?

I'd like to think your average teen ager has a better grasp of ethics and social conscience. I'm doing something to make the world better. I think that's important. You should examine your motivations. If you're not trying to make the world a better place then don't think you should argue for it without first having a clue!

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: Asking for money
by Oscar on Wednesday 27/Feb/2008, @21:51

Actually I do. I donate money to Amnesty International, I donate blood as often as I'm allowed, my wife donates money to an alcohol damage prevention organisation and works as a volonteer for the red cross every now and then, and we're thinking about being "world parents" to an african or asian kid to help them through school. If I can help needy of all kinds, why not do it?

I can only assume you do something similar?

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: Asking for money
by Eric Laffoon on Thursday 28/Feb/2008, @20:27

Yes I do. I also contribute to animal rescue and donate to several foundations, plus I sponsor developers which enables them to live where they want and work on free software, and I have a small business which employs over a dozen people with supplemental income. I am actively planning to dramatically reduce my carbon footprint in the coming few years to no petrochemical fuel consumption, but this site and story is about software. At least one post here seems have been suggesting it would be morally superior to not contribute to free software, which in fact promotes free economies and economic welfare.

What I hope to find when I come here is something about using Kommander, questions, comments, somewhere I can help. This project is very dear to me and lots of people have used it. It would be nice to get the right focus. There is nothing else out there like Kommander and it will only get better... assuming I can cross from where I am to where I can better fund it. Maybe I shouldn't care if others are enjoying it? I certainly am. ;-)

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: Asking for money
by Paul Eggleton on Wednesday 27/Feb/2008, @22:39

Agreed - in fact it was reading Eric's words in an earlier article that inspired me to donate, too. I was really quite impressed that someone would not only put significant amounts of their own money into directly sponsoring free software developers, but would also have the courage to ask others to do the same; and that such an enterprise could be reasonably successful over a number of years. IMHO it is even more impressive when you consider that the software (Quanta / Kommander) is only tangential to Eric's core business.

Thanks Eric & Andras, and keep up the good work :)

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: Asking for money
by Eric Laffoon on Thursday 28/Feb/2008, @20:35

Thanks Paul. It's great to read your comments. To bring out full disclosure, actually it was when I got very ill a few years ago I first asked for help. It's funny really. The community rallied and I remember thinking "I'm an idiot! I'm trying to do this all myself. I should get others involved."

Our projects have been successful and I honestly wish I could say I had less to do with it. I'm 50 years old, and while I'm healthy now I've been deathly ill twice in the last five years. Facing one's mortality adds urgency to build bigger. It may mean less sleep, or more effort or the humbling work of asking for help and explaining to people why your request is valid... When I'm gone I hope my name appears in some history book as someone who proved community could work to better the lives of others at the dawn of the internet. That would make it all worthwhile.

You are one of the people who give me the concrete affirmation I am doing the right thing and my efforts haven't gone unnoticed. Thanks for your kind words and support Paul.

[ Reply To This | View ]

The Fine Print: The previous comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )


		"My hobbies include, well, coding... and uhm... that's about it." -- Daniel M. Duley
KDE®, "K Desktop Environment", "KDE Dot News", "got the dot?" and the KDE Logo® are trademarks or registered trademarks of KDE e.V. in the European Union, the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster. The rest: Copyright © 2000-2008 KDE e.V. for The KDE Project. For further information or comments on this site, please contact the Webmaster.