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Affero's Hack-a-Thon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the making-the-money dept.

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."

8 of 173 comments (clear)

  1. Actually, that's not a bad idea. by dabj.net · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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
  2. Henri Poole... by joestar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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 ;-)

  3. It just seems unlikely to me... by Soulfader · · Score: 5, Interesting
    ...that your average Joe is going to respect your wishes to make a micropayment to an organization he's never heard of.

    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. =)

    1. Re:It just seems unlikely to me... by God!+Awful+2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah right, like your average computer newbie is really going to want to contribute to one of these groups. As if your mother in law is going to read one of RMS's manifestos and think he's a prophet, not to mention sane.

      As for the EFF, remember that the majority of Americans think it's okay for the government to read your e-mail, as long as it helps stop terrorism.

      -a

      --
      /. users can't
  4. Funding Free Software by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    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.

  5. Don't forget the ACLU by autopr0n · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.
  6. Re:I'd donate, but... by LetterJ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hear that. All of this "if every one just donated a dollar" talk doesn't go anywhere. If every user who downloaded my PHPTriad gave me $1, I'd have nearly $2 million. I made about $200 in 2 years with nearly 2 million downloads. I switched to a more commercial model and am doing much better. It's a sad fact, but without at least a small level of coercion or extreme celebrity, people don't pay.

    --

    The Glass is Too Big: My Take on Things
  7. But I don't use GNU/Linux... by Eneff · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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...