Believe it or nit, the answer to this is -- more communism.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by socalgal2 on Thursday October 08, 2026 @04:02AM
(#50003069)
Sorry to be harsh but, dev gets hit by bus, project is forked, people move on.
I'm sympathetic to this topic but I hate the framing. "The people holding up the internet" includes thousands of people at Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and yes, some volunteers too who are doing as a hobby.
They are free to give it up and stop doing it. Some person or company will pick it up.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by dyauspitr on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:14AM
(#50002724)
The devs should send emails asking for a couple million each to all the large tech companies while reminding them how much their utility is being used for their product. I think a lot of them will donate the money. It’s lesser than chump change to them.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by alpaca128 on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:45AM
(#50002942)
I remember when the maintainer of an open source XML library contacted dozens of companies for support to fix a critical vulnerability, and most of them didn't even respond and aside from two the rest went basically "not our problem, get lost".
A handful of companies probably care a bit but most won't bother to pay even a penny.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by dyauspitr on Thursday October 08, 2026 @12:04PM
(#50007536)
There’s a difference between assigning resources to a problem and taking on the responsibility for a utility and just donating money no strings attached with no accountability and potential positive press.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by alpaca128 on Thursday October 08, 2026 @06:25PM
(#50013269)
It was possible to just donate money with no strings attached actually, and one of the two companies that helped did just that. And positive press was also involved.
Re:The people holding up the internet
by ElijahLynn on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:18AM
(#50002762)
+100
That’s true, after all. Technically very new or challenging technologies get the spotlight from many people, but these technologies are very important yet are a kind of engine technology that is less visible... I’m curious how this should be identified or selected.
That said, if you set up a committee, the committee could also become an inner circle based on their personal connections.