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Re:Trisquel GNU/Linux by squarefoot on Friday December 24, 2021 @06:48PM (#29678923)
You miss the point. It is absolutely true that making a living by writing FOSS is really hard, but it's not just about money. Monetizing out of personal data and advertising has never been profitable like today; Open Source is the only defense against abuse in that context. Look at what many popular closed operating systems and products, hardware included, became in the last 10 years or less: they stopped being tools in the hands of the user to morph into business platforms that mine users' data and/or bomb them with advertising. Many people probably would accept to live in a world in which every square meter is plastered with some ads and every move is analyzed to infer users habits and ultimately find what would be the easiest way to grab the most money from them, but I don't. All this privacy and security aside, which in some countries can make the difference between being poor and being poor and jailed or dead. FOSS is the last line of defense against that kind of abuse, being a bit extremist when dealing with abuses is a sign that someone, somewhere, understood what is going on.

BTW: if making money with FOSS is hard, it's not FOSS fault, but rather it shows how badly our economic system has failed.

Re:Trisquel GNU/Linux by scoopertrooper on Friday December 24, 2021 @07:16PM (#29679065)
> BTW: if making money with FOSS is hard, it's not FOSS fault, but rather it shows how badly our economic system has failed.

If your business gives away its products for free, then it's always going to be an uphill battle to make money.

Re:Trisquel GNU/Linux by easrng on Friday December 24, 2021 @07:20PM (#29679089)
Just pre-fund with kickstarter or similar.
Re:Trisquel GNU/Linux by squarefoot on Friday December 24, 2021 @09:08PM (#29679676)
Or through a light taxation system for biggest companies. If say .01% of the revenue of the 100 biggest IT corporations was distributed yearly among the most useful projects, those in need of maintainers etc, the developers living in bad economical conditions etc. the problem would probably cease to exist for thousands of developers while those being taxed would barely notice some missing change from their pockets. Not that different from public healthcare, therefore it requires a change of perspectives (the common good) to fully understand it.
Re:Trisquel GNU/Linux by scoopertrooper on Friday December 24, 2021 @09:49PM (#29679903)
Who defines the most useful projects? How do new projects get their start?

I think a simpler and less revolutionary route would be to simplify the registration of open source projects to be able receive tax exempt donations. That’d be a massive boost with only a minor change to the tax code.