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A comment on Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access.

Re:Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access by RcouF1uZ4gsC on Wednesday March 25, 2026 @09:21AM (#47517002)
> We must realign how businesses work with open source so that payment is no longer an optional charitable gift but a cost of doing business. To do that, we need an organization to create a viable, supportable path from big business to individual programmer. It's time for someone to step up and make this happen. Businesses, open source software, and maintainers will all be better off for it.

Congratulations, you rediscovered commercial software - where you are legally obligated pay to use software.

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Re:Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access by ThrowawayB7 on Wednesday March 25, 2026 @10:14AM (#47517637)
The 50th anniversary of Bill Gates' "An Open Letter To Software Hobbyists" was a couple of months ago and the letter was literally about developers deserving to be compensated for the hard work put their code. Now that much of the FOSS community is starting to say the same, it's time for them to finally admit that Bill Gates turned out to right in the end.
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Re:Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access by card_zero on Wednesday March 25, 2026 @10:43AM (#47517998)
"An Open Letter to Hobbyists", 1976 (he was 20).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists

In short it says: I can't make you pay me, but I'm calling you a thief, so you should pay me anyway, or else I'll call you a thief again. Other people get paid, so I should be paid too because I like money.

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Re:Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access by ThrowawayB7 on Thursday March 26, 2026 @11:25AM (#47531678)
Change "thief" to "free rider" and it's exactly what the shared source / post-open license folks are saying.
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Re:Open source isn't a tip jar – it's time to charge for access by freedomben on Wednesday March 25, 2026 @09:59AM (#47517445)
Yep, and the whole "this comes with absolutely no warranty" isn't going to fly anymore. You will also need at least some support system too. Yeah, no thanks, that's not why I do so much open source stuff.
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