$$$$ [was: Re: To the Armchair Directors]

Colin Percival wrote:
> At 17:56 15/03/2004, Poul-Henning Kamp wrote:
>> If you feel something should be done, then do it or pay somebody
>> to do it, don't pontificate that the nonexistant committer "somebody"
>> should do it.
> 
> 
>   Naturally, money is a good motivator for wishlist items.  FreeBSD
> Update has cost me both time and money; being a DPhil student, I have
> little of one and less of the other.  (Rant: Why, when people pay $60
> per year to get access to RedHat's updates, will nobody give me any
> money for FreeBSD Update?  Over 2500 happy users, and the only time
> anyone has sent me anything was when I begged for the money to buy a
> 5.x buildbox.)
> 

I think it would be cool if the project as a whole were pushier about 
getting people to pony up some dough.  Has there ever been a push for 
cash?  I'm thinking something like a "Beneficiary of the Month" type 
thing that urges people to contribute.  I know I would prefer to give a 
small amount every month than to giving a lump some to this or that 
random committer.

One would think putting a notice on freebsd.org, a reminder in Mark 
Johnson's cvs-src summaries, and sending a note to the various BSD news 
sites ought to garner something.  I don't know, maybe the amount raised 
per month wouldn't even be worth the effort.  I guess core would have to 
take time out to decide who the beneficiaries would be, and I'm not sure 
people's seemingly limited generosity would make the time spent worthwhile.

Well, just an idea.

Pete...