To devil’s advocate in a different direction, most projects aren’t setup to actually do anything with donations. They could be, like if they had a stable income source they could hire people full time as a job rather then relying on volunteer time. And some of the larger projects are already at that point, and so maybe having more money would allow them to expand the team further. And some projects have a particular goal they’re trying to fund, like an external security audit, or some kind of certification process.
But for most projects, sporadic donations are like “hey cool, I guess. I’ll go out to dinner tonight” gifts of appreciation, because up until they become a solid full time wage, they’re not a solid full time wage. And once they are a solid full time wage, any further donations are like “hey cool, I’ll go out to dinner tonight” until they’re big enough to be a second wage 😛
I’m not saying we shouldn’t donate stuff, gifts of appreciation are still appreciated, I’m sure. But they don’t produce output.
I would argue that this is not even close to true.
As an open source developer myself, my contribution to open source is pretty much exactly proportional to how well I’m feeling. Getting a donation makes me feel appreciated, using the money makes me feel better, all leading to me being more motivated to spend time on some open-source.
Obviously, being able to only work on open-source would generate more output, but the psychological impact of feeling appreciated to output can’t be dismissed and is huge.
Well, this is in the context of people choosing to accept donations as an open-source developer. Taking donations requires opt-in, I would assume someone like you just wouldn’t take them in the first place.
However, I’m sorry that they make you uncomfortable or even guilty, because that sounds to me like you think you don’t deserve them. Which to me, is sad, because the other person making the donation definitely thinks you deserved it.
Smaller projects don’t have structure for managing donations in part because they’re not used to receiving donations. There’s a chicken and egg problem in here
To devil’s advocate in a different direction, most projects aren’t setup to actually do anything with donations. They could be, like if they had a stable income source they could hire people full time as a job rather then relying on volunteer time. And some of the larger projects are already at that point, and so maybe having more money would allow them to expand the team further. And some projects have a particular goal they’re trying to fund, like an external security audit, or some kind of certification process.
But for most projects, sporadic donations are like “hey cool, I guess. I’ll go out to dinner tonight” gifts of appreciation, because up until they become a solid full time wage, they’re not a solid full time wage. And once they are a solid full time wage, any further donations are like “hey cool, I’ll go out to dinner tonight” until they’re big enough to be a second wage 😛
I’m not saying we shouldn’t donate stuff, gifts of appreciation are still appreciated, I’m sure. But they don’t produce output.
I would argue that this is not even close to true.
As an open source developer myself, my contribution to open source is pretty much exactly proportional to how well I’m feeling. Getting a donation makes me feel appreciated, using the money makes me feel better, all leading to me being more motivated to spend time on some open-source.
Obviously, being able to only work on open-source would generate more output, but the psychological impact of feeling appreciated to output can’t be dismissed and is huge.
Huh, that’s some fun psychology. Donations make me feel guilty and uncomfortable 😛
Good to know someone enjoys them!
Well, this is in the context of people choosing to accept donations as an open-source developer. Taking donations requires opt-in, I would assume someone like you just wouldn’t take them in the first place.
However, I’m sorry that they make you uncomfortable or even guilty, because that sounds to me like you think you don’t deserve them. Which to me, is sad, because the other person making the donation definitely thinks you deserved it.
Smaller projects don’t have structure for managing donations in part because they’re not used to receiving donations. There’s a chicken and egg problem in here