On Thu, 2009-07-09 at 11:36 +0000, silvio grosso wrote: > In my opinion, it is always a bit "tricky" to ask about donating money > for Open-source developers. > Some users assume that Open-source softwares must be always developed > and released for free.
Often people assume that because they miss the most basic thing about Free Open Source Software, that is, a better way to develop software. And there are multiple examples that it is. (Of course, there are many unsuccessful open source projects as well. Everybody should learn through these unsuccessful experiences.) "Free" is/should referring/refer to transparency, access to knowledge, meritocracy, the right to be informed, the right to doubt and not to (solely?, necessarily?) have cost-free software. Personally, I feel great to have the opportunity to use FOSSes which do not restrict the way I like to work, where I work or force me to either pay licenses or find somehow "illegal" copies of proprietary tools. All this is enough to make me, a simple user, to contribute as much as I can (financially, bugreporting, documenting, communicating FOSS news). Now if FOSS will make our world better the time will show... ;-) Best regards, Nikos
