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Asking for donations in Plasma
(pointieststick.com)
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this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2024
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A lot of people here have such a bizarre stance.
People have put work into this, for free. And the moment they ask for support, you immediately bring the pitchforks out, over a singular pop-up you can permanently disable? That's just plain disrespectful, at the very least
Unfortunately, there has always been the issue that a not-insignificant percentage of users of FOSS software believe the FREE part means "free as in beer" and take umbrage when asked to contribute.
I've long been a proponent (and I know I'm in a minority) that has advocated for a shift in the marketing of FOSS applications from "donation based" to "value based". Meaning that the expectation is that if you enjoy the software, you pay an amount that you believe is commensurate to your use. This is voluntarily of course...if you can't pay, than please use it and enjoy it. But those who can pay, should pay...at least a little bit, to offset the costs for those who can't.
It's more or less that the wording of FOSS apps needs to change so that you are expected to contribute if you can.
Just my opinion. Like I said, I know I'm in the minority. Just not a fan of the percentage of users that has always existed that (falsely) think that asking for money for your project is somehow anathema to the Open Source ideal and whine whenever they're asked to contribute.
Also what the hell is up with everyone saying "free as beer"?
Beer isn't free!
The full saying is "Free as in Speech, not Free as in Beer"
Basically the "Free" in free means that it's free to do with as you please, modify, etc... But not free as in "here's a free product...like getting a free beer"
That's also confusing and it is not the full saying. The full saying is "free as in free speech, not free beer".
From the FSF website:
While I absolutely agree with what you are trying to say and donate to kde myself already. The issue with a lot of comments like yours is that the examples you use are almost always commercial software that already only see's limited use. I get value out of non commerical use applications such as dolphin, kate, konsole, and kdeconnect. Finding examples of popular paid versions of those applications would go a long way in my opinion because it would be something that more people can relate to.
The problem I see with the examples you are giving are the same problems I see when someone uses those examples as reasons why they can't switch to linux in the first place. And that is the fact that while those programs are popular. They aren't used by the vast majority of people who don't have a work related need to use them. Half the people that claim it as an excuse probably don't actually use those programs as well.
Your examples such as Cyberduc, Elmedia, and BBBedit are your stronger examples. Again just my opinion.
They make more apps than just Cyberduck?
I like that terminology. I use some very high quality, high visibility FOSS software and sometimes feel bad that I more frequently donate to smaller projects that bring me value by filling a specific want or need that no one else is working on.
I'm not against the idea, but I do think it's a bit unfair. There are dozens of projects KDE relies on that never even get the chance to ask for donations this way, simply because they don't need a GUI.
I believe KDE should at least offer to share the donations with other projects, projects that would otherwise have no voice. Something like the old Humble Bundle donation method would work really well, and let users to choose how their money is allocated.
While I understand where you are coming from. That goes for a lot of projects in general. Not to mention that KDE is literally an example of the thing you are talking about. KDE has an entire ecosystem of libraries that anyone can use called kde frameworks with many examples of these libraries being used on various projects large and small outside of KDE. They don't see a dime from this either. I recall a conference on TechHut's youtube channel spotting KDE's frameworks in the wild being used by companies at the event.
And KHTML! Basically, KDE work is the foundation of the browser engines behind Chromium and Safari.
It's not complicated.
It's an ad.
There's no version of advertising I will ever be OK with.
Not an ad. No one is trying to sell you anything.
(If you get the notification) you're already using their product.
Yes, it is an ad. Any call to action is an ad.
And its mere presence will ensure I don't give them any more money. The core concept of inserting any ad in an OS is not behavior I am willing to reward.
This is not an OS behaviour. KDE is a desktop environment.
If it bothers you so much, remove the DE and use the command line, full time
Drink some water!
...was that an ad?
Stop it, you're scaring him!
Ads try to sell you something, there is no "call to action". Here, there is nothing to sell, so by definition it's not an ad.
They are just asking you if you'd like to help them in providing you the product you're already using.
You pretty clearly don't know what a call to action is, or an ad is, because "please give money" is very obviously a call to action, and many ads make no effort whatsoever to sell any product.
Then just not use it? You could even ask for a refund, I'm sure they'll give it to you.
Your entitlement is Karen level.
You're advertising your opinion here, is that okay?
From experience with Windows "freeware" some of us have seen what happens when such pop-up notices become commonplace. It is not pretty.
This isn't Windows, and this isn't freeware
This isnt freeware.
"Free" in free software is free like free speech, not free as in beer.
This is one of the places where english fails. Libre vs gratis
Sorry, I was assuming everyone knew that. Should've said "nagware" instead.
If you don't like it, don't use it.
Then you also don't cause any more cost to the KDE project.
The claim that more users increases costs for the KDE project in any meaningful way is another thing that might be disputed. The examples given do not seem convincing.
So the reason it makes me uneasy is that at the same time as I do want KDE to succeed, I do not want this tactic of begging for money in annoying little on-screen pop-ups to succeed. If it does, then perhaps it might spread to other free software projects. If all of the hundreds of them that go into a linux distribution start feeling free to make their demands it will be a real mess. As some old philosopher said: To judge the morality of an action, consider what would happen if everyone did it.
I remain an Xfce user. They also accept donations.
The one change I would make would be adding a "never" button to the notification so you don't have to disable it in the settings if you don't want it
Or actually "Don't show again" would probably be better phrasing