What if I paid for all my free software?
cynicusrex.com
I've always felt guilty by taking for granted the rare breed of virtuous humans that provide free excellent software without relying on advertising. Let's change that and pay, how much would I “lose” anyway?
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My yearly spend is approximately €500, give or take a little. Fortunately, I can afford to do this. I hold no judgement for those who are not in a position to do. My only motivation for contributing financially is to ensure the free, functional, ad free, privacy preserving software I love continues to exist. It needs to exist especially for those who cannot afford to pay a corporation for proprietary software. A shout out to all the developers who adhere to FOSS principles. Each new year I make a list of the software I've mainlined and similar to the article I allot an amount to each one based on my usage. Many times it's time-tested old-school tools, but we're seeing a lot of new development with Rust apps, crates and TUIs. This year I added Matrix. Also EFF, despite not being directly impacted by that jurisdiction. They truly are holding back a giant wave with global repercussions. It's not always easy to justify the time spent creating FOSS tools when there's bills to pay, mouths to feed. Thank you - You know who you are.
Is your list public? (I can't check if you have personal website because an account is required to see your profile on feddit.)
No public list, sorry. I'm willing to say that I already support many things on your list. And like you pointed out, many projects with software I use don't have a way to support them financially, which frustrates me to no end.