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Affero's Hack-a-Thon
Henri Poole writes "I've got friends who ride their bikes for a week and get me and others to donate $100 to their cause. Spending more time on lists then roads, we've set up an analogous service for Free Software and Open Source projects. Substitute the physical sweat with a good hack, and you'll see the match. After you save your next newbie from tech-hell, just ask them to help your cause. In Lessig's blog, he writes "If there's one thing I've learned from watching, and tinkering, in this web-log space, it is that the many tiny brushstrokes of thousands paints more and more powerfully than the blast of even the most important and powerful papers...As I indicate on my Affero page, I count FSF and EFF as the two key players to support." And if you don't think you can make a difference, do this math: A $1 donation to the FSF for every user of GNU/Linux would increase their budget by 30 fold."
Hacking? That's a paddling!
Wow, I didn't know Slashdot was in the business of giving away free advertising... Good to know!
Is that increase for every user, or is it for every "download of GNU/Linux"?
At first, I thought the headline was "Afro's Hack-a-Thon". And I thought, "Huh? Are you they lining up a bunch of Africans and letting a machete-wielding mob go wild?"
Yeah, I could give my money to these people who will fight the scourge of the corporate world...or I can make a twenty minute phone call!
Wait, i'm reading Slashdot, that means that I don't have anyone to call, so i'll just give my buck to the EFF instead of Terry Bradshaw.
I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
and I thought MY posts were really confusing...
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
But having a job is overrated. For instance, I am at work right now, but all I am doing is trolling slashdot with stupid IN SOVIET RUSSIA jokes.
Is the world a better place for me having a job? Not really.
nt
1) Fork Linux tree.
2) Offer Windows extras in WinLinux disc only (no downloads).
3) Sell WinLinux for same price as usual: $180.
4) PROFIT!!!!!!
Can you verify that your "earnings" are really forwarded to the cause you've selected?
If so, how?
Hemos is still hungover from CmdrTaco's wedding.
The best education consists in immunizing people against systematic attempts at education. - Paul Feyerabend
The diagrams notating the donation process are too confusing, this system spells trouble from the get go. ;-)
And what if the people asking for help don't even know how to click a link - much less achieve donation.
--"The perfect example of the man of action is the suicide." - William Carlos Williams
Ummm, not that you should be expected to read your own site before submitting a story about it but -- which is it? Donations for hacking or in appreciation for tech support? The site is entirely focused on the latter and your writeup seems to be half about that and half something entirely different.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
...the one without a job is YOU! What a coun-try!
If FSF/EFF had $1 for every person whose computer I've fixed/reinstalled/upgraded they would have...well heck...atleast $20 more than they have now. I think that in the future I shall make a point of telling them to donate a small sum to FSF/EFF the next time some coworker of my mom/distant relative/that guy from high school asks me "So what do you want for this?". (Well, the guy who calls at 11:30 PM on a sunday evening because he can't find his favorite font will still have to pay me $50 per hour plus expenses) Bummer it's a hassle to donate money if you live in Sweden though.
"Education is a system of induced ignorance" / Noam Chomsky
And if everyone in the world gives me 1 dollar, I would be a six billionaire.
Gee. You're so kind-hearted. Two can play this game.
Ok everyone, come donate on my competing webpage. I only charge 3% with a minimum of $0.50.
http://this.is.very/stupid.html
1) Biking??
2) Hacking??
3) ??????
4) PROFIT!!!
Isn't he a former MandrakeSoft CEO who has been thanked from Mandrake 18 months ago for having tried to convert the Linux company into a e-learning company?
;-)
As it seems Poole didn't know anything about Free Software when he joined, it's great to see the months he spent with the Mandrakians converted him to Free Software anyway! Free Software: a real virus
I spend my days posting to slashdot and looking at titties.
Really, would the world notice if I didn't come into work anymore?
Aside from the titty industry, that is.
I ride my bike every day, and you're telling me I can get money for it?
I am wary of handing my bank details out over the internet, so if you are genuine please contact Mr.Abiola Williams at the Bank of Nigeria. He has all my account numbers.
:wq
Is it just me, or does anyone else think we should find out 'Anonymous Coward's IP addy and ban him from here?
In Soviet Russia we imagen a beowulf cluster of these...
In Soviet Russia, Beowulf imagines a cluster of YOU!
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
All your donations are belong to us.
User: "So what do you want for this?"
Tech: "If you find my service useful, please consider contributing $25 to blah blah blah" (at this point user has tuned tech out)
User: (Internal monologue) "He doesn't want my money, apparently. Very well. I shall buy bread and circuses. Huzzah!"
Maybe it would be better just to take their money and donate it for them. =)
Hum, seems that there is far less users
of GNU/Linux than Linux users. Maybe the
30 fold figure is a bit unrealistic.
DV, Linux user since '92 , a time where
the FSF could not care less about Linux
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Affero EULA part:
withhold a fee equal to the greater of $1.00 or 6% of the amount transferred to Affero charged to you as compensation
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
Holy living fuck, you've been running linux since '92?
I'm so impressed I almost shit my pants, man!
Maybe it was the nachos I had for lunch.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I just donated $5. It's so easy nowadays-- a couple clicks and it's done. I hope they don't have to pay per transaction fees to paypal.
Everyone-- go donate a couple of dollars, and post a response here. This will be the donation thread! I start with my $5 to EFF.
Perhaps we could convince one of the CDROM distribution vendors to market a "bundle" with a price that included a small donation to FSF/EFF. I occasionally buy a CDROM-plus-book bundle, and paying 1$ more to support a good cause would not bother me.
1. Dude on bike 2. ?????? 3. Profit!!! 4. plea for money 5. ??????? 7. EFF and FSF Budget increases 30 fold!
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
Some questions will always have the same answers. Google feels like it's slipping, no more magic answers from there. Need something permanent and reliable . Search engines cannot be trusted for the long term. Need GPL database of questions and answers.
For ever user of GNU/Linux? I don't think RMS has that kind of money.
..There's a-dooin's a-transpirin'
"In Soviet Russia we imagen a beowulf cluster of these...
In Soviet Russia, Beowulf imagines a cluster of YOU!"
That style of humor is getting a little forumlaic. It's like that Mexican Funny Videos show where 43% of their content is people falling down, and another 10% of their content is repeating that footage over and over again.
I've donated money to the EFF in the past and a few other electronic charities, but I've never considered donating to the FSF. Does the FSF support projects that refuse to call their project GNU/Projectname? I guess what I'm trying to say, is giving money to FSF an endorsement of Stallman's views? Does the FSF give money to KDE or other programs that are in competition with FSF projects? The irony of the matter is that I would have donated to the FSF long ago if it wasn't for Stallman's extremism, but I guess the FSF wouldn't exist without Stallman's original vision.
--
How valuable was my contribution? Share your feedback at Affero: http://svcs.affero.net/rm.php?r=bob
1) Bob is mad, the company that was supposed to donate money to the cause he choice had a huge party with hookers, drugs and booze. Joe know's Bob is mad, so he goes into hiding now that he has collected $1,000,000. Bob becomes very angry and decides to get back at Joe by hiring a hit man. Joe dies a tragic death, Bob gives the hitman $1 to go to the cause of his choice. 2) Profit!
SYPHILLIS- The Disease of KINGS!!!!e s-stds-symp toms-pictures-testing.com/im ages/syphilis-6.jpg
http://www.sexually-transmitted-diseas
ah what the hell it's not like I have anything to do with my day might as well.....besides this whole advertisement made little sense to me
In Soviet Russia we imagen a beowulf cluster of these...
In Soviet Russia, Beowulf imagines a cluster of YOU!
In a Beowulf cluster, you imagine a Soviet RUSSIA !
Two wrongs may not make a right, but three
Test
- Hosting Guide http://www.mirical.co.uk -
Children in the back cause accidents. Accidents in the back cause childr
we believe in the direction the FSF is going. I personally would donate 50$ if they would drop the GNU argument...
Since I just read that Microsoft is going to make software for Linux, I'll support the FSF/OpenSource/Linux movement by spending my extra money on a new copy of Windows XP.
And if you think about it, it makes more sense than the original post!
As a college student who has a stomach to fill, rent to pay, and an education to complete, making monetary contributions really isn't an option. Hell, if I had money to spare, I wouldn't be trying to sell thongs (see sig).
---
Open Source Shirts
It's like that character from Mystery Men.
You must first learn to master your rage...
Or my rage will become my master? That was what you were going to say wasn't it?
Not nescisarilly.
It's only one dollar, but if everyone does it I will be rich. Hi, my name is Dave Rhodes, and six months ago my car was being repossessed...
I thought it was about black hairdressers...
*true*
Cake or Death? Cake Please!
Can someone please explain to me where these jokes started? I keep hearing them, but no matter how much I google, I can't seem to find the source. I know this is of the main topic, but it's on this particular threads topic ;)
"There's a madness to my method." -mthed
That style of humor is getting a little forumlaic.
"getting a little formulaic?" The bit was formulaic twenty years ago when CIA plant Yakov Smirnoff was doing it and there *was* a Soviet Russia.
Now it's pure gold, and I can't get enough!
Only in America can you have a web site with non-stop Smirnoff ripoffs on current events of interest to nerds. What a country!
Don't underestimate the amount of sweat produced by hacking out code. I need to wear nylon shorts...
I guess they weren't kidding when they said not free as in beer.
Vote for Pedro
Being able to copy and share files, use strong encryption, etc are nice. But lets also try to keep our "real life" rights as well, and donate to the ACLU along with the EFF!
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Since we can charge for the costs of cds in distributing opensource projcts..why can't we add one dollar to the cost for revenue stream that goes to these orgs..with of course fully informing the public about this?
Would I part with the dollar, yes!
Don't Tread on OpenSource
Is it just me, or is it amazing how few people realize that the editors arn't responsible for the text in italics?
I mean, maybe they should be responsible, but they certanly don't act like it.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
I don't get it. I've been reading Slashdot for 5 years, but this "Soviet Russia" shtick is lost on me. I have two questions:
A) Where did the re-invention of this gag come from?
B) Why do you fuckin' numbskulls think it's funny?
Thank you.
Whenever I make a purchase from http://www.everythinglinux.com.au, I make sure I add a Debian Donation or two to the order.
Slashdot: Where nerds gather to pool their ignorance
The only people who have that reaction to the ACLU are right-wing crazies. You're not a right-wing crazy, are you Suppafly?
I mean it's not like they're PETA...
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Maybe the FSF could get funds by having everyone who uses one of their products give them a dollar.
Oh, wait...
You obviously fail to understand the phrase "a good hack."
Go find it's meaning on the net. It should be easy enough. You will be enriched for the effort.
There is.
Though the Institute for Justice is mostly into economic liberty (breaking government-sanctioned monopolies), protecting homeowners from eminent domain abuse (so the govt. can't force you to sell your property at whatever price so their favorite big developer can have a bigger parking lot), and defending school choice. That said, they're very good at what they do.
Might I suggest the EFF as a considerably less politically dangerous target of such contributions? Whilst their scope is admitedly more US-centered, I'm guessing the opinion that they are a genuinely useful entity is nearly unanimous.
Oh, and don't get me wrong-- the FSF is useful as well, and they have created good, useful software which I use daily; it's just that they(1) also hold political/sociological stances which make me beleive that some of the figureheads are going forward with both feet firmly planted in midair. :)
-- MG
1) Where they can generally be understood to mean RMS.
>>A $1 donation to the FSF for every user of GNU/Linux would increase their budget by 30 fold It's called selling your software. Some people seem to find it quite profitable....
YOU are lost on joke!
Then they'd truly be open source thongs!
They stop insisting on the absolutely fucking retarded GNU/Linux moniker. Give it a rest.
How are you supposed to pay one dollar to the EFF? Going to a bank you'd probably end up paying like $21 for that transfer.
Oh, I do have joined my local EFF branch instead...
Here's an interesting article about Poole's departure from Mandrake -
...Poole set out to professionalize MandrakeSoft and sharpen its operations. To whip the company's finances into shape, he brought in an old friend, Jon Zimman, as acting CFO. Zimman was shocked to discover the startup had no budget and few controls. Mandrake's top-ranked financial manager was more of an accountant than a strategist. Writing a three-year business plan took months of effort and required placing big, risky bets.
That's when visions began to diverge. MandrakeSoft, with expected 2001 revenues of $3.7 million, was already a big seller of Linux. In fact, it sold more units through U.S. retail channels in 2000 than any other company, according to researcher PC Data.
Trouble was, those boxes didn't carry big margins, and Poole felt the company needed to find a more profitable niche for the long haul. His plan: Offer a suite of technical support services to MandrakeSoft's customers, including offering non-Linux products. For the founders, who had a strong emotional attachment to Linux, that was too much. "His business plan was really aggressive," says Walsh. "People here are just more conservative."
I know how to fix your problem.
Do this: Blah Blah Blah
I cannot fathom any problem that would be fixed by doing "Blah Blah Blah". If anyone can tell me what a Blah is - I'll donate to your cause.
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
I use Redhat Linux 8.1!
Who should I donate to then?
___
In all seriousness, I still have not seen a cogent argument that supports "if we use free software, we must support the ideals of free software," and it's corellary, "If we use free software, we must support Dick Stallman."
As for paying people for doing tech support in newsgroups and mailing lists (Ob-topic), I keep on thinking it makes someone little more than a hi-tech waiter. It also makes people more demanding. "I won't pay if you don't handhold me through this" when "pay" is akin to 5 bucks.
I always wondered how a 900 number would work for answering questions... Perhaps an 800 number that asked for the credit card number would work better. That way, people aren't paying to wait on hold...
What the hell is wrong with you? Get out of your geek world and wake up. You yuppies sicken me with your fucked up causes. How about donating a buck to some real cause. Developers, open source or not dont need money like people with real problems. If your smart enough to write shit that people download, then your smart enough to get a f*ckin job making some dough. Dont bore me with your gnu rhetoric. Stop being the wierdo in your family and peddle for cancer or some shit, not for the latest blackbox WM that the real world doesnt know about, you greedy yuppie self promoting bastard.
what?
The terms of service (and I imagine how they support themselves), say they take 6% or $1.00, whichever is higher of each donation.
What it doesn't say is if that is 6% plus credit card charges (usually 2.5%, but often higher of you have lots of small transactions) or instead of credit card charges.
Either way, donations of $10 or less means that they are taking a substantial portion. To be fair to them, it's probably the only way they can stay in business.
If there's one thing I've learned from watching, and tinkering, in this web-log space
You can learn and watch in LOGSPACE? Impressive. I would have guessed you would need at least P to do those things.
The shareholder is always right.
Shit, I can help the brotha out if he's -that- hurting for a hamilton and some lincolns.
And if you don't think you can make a difference, do this math: A $1 donation to the FSF for every user of GNU/Linux would increase their budget by 30 fold."
...I ride my bike to uni and to work (and most everywhere I go for that matter, unless it's another city, in which case I take public transport); send me money!
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
The idea basic idea is good but I'm not sure affero.com is the way to go.
Did anyone notice that the minimum donation is US$5.00 and affero.com charges a 10% processing fee on top of whatever the donation is.
The better solution would be a simple paypal donation link.
e.g. Found my help useful? "click here" to donation a $1 to EFF
The "click here" pop-ups a quickie payment link. Think along the lines of the "Buy it Now" link in EBay. Minimal hassle on the "buyer's" part is the real key to generating donations via mail-lists, etc.
just my two bits.
If you found this idea, useful go make it happen.
I download a lot of stuff at times, then when test the program out. Realize that it doesn't fit my need, then either uninstall it or just don't use it. So I don't think that I should donate to a program that I didn't end up using. So downloads don't always indicate use.
I do though think if you use the program and like it, it would be a good idea to donate.
I have donated so far to Gentoo and KDE. I plan on donating some more to other projects. And so far I have spent more on Linux than I have on Windows. That seems weird.
I have not written any programs for Linux, but have designed a gui for mplayer and have a linux help site. Try to keep it up-to-date,... but the only mail I get is, "Thanks for the help/or/gui, but I am broke." Didn't expect to make any money off it, but kinda thought might make a couple bucks for the extra effort.
Hate to say it, but just like Napster, business/people are going to get to a point where if they don't make a little bit, they just won't do it. Not talking Microsoft buttloads or money, but something.
But also, people don't want to nickel and dime themselves to death, donating to every project out there. So maybe a central repository is the start of a good idea. I would like to know more about how it would be implemented.
So does this mean that if the help was sub-par or more hurting than helpful, that we can dock them?
:)
Sounds like a good way to keep bad help off the internet!
I am not an accountant (IANAA?), so perhaps someone could explain why sitting on the best part of $1m cash is a good way to operate a non-profit whose turnover is half that? How do these figures compare with for-profit organisations? As the site says, if assets significantly outstrip liabilities (presumably a difference that has to be considered in relation to annual cash flow to determine if it is a "big" difference or not) then the organisation may not be putting its resources to best use.
Home centers are designed for the do-it-yourselfer who's willing to ...
pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop for lumber,
hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say "shop for," as
opposed to "obtain." This is the major drawback of home centers: they are
always out of everything except artificial Christmas trees. The home center
employees have no time to reorder merchandise because they are too busy
applying little price stickers to every object -- every board, washer, nail
and screw -- in the entire store
Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the
broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has a
replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the inside
of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the same way
that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at an electronic
calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of these sometime
around the middle of next week."
-- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw"
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