<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body text="#000099" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/12/2013 3:04 PM, The Wanderer
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:52A0023C.2020109@fastmail.fm" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256
On 12/04/2013 04:25 PM, Kent James wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">On 12/3/2013 9:26 AM, Tanstaafl wrote:
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Yes, the comment is clear... the logic - solicit donations from
NON-commercial end-users to avoid 'subsidizing free software for
businesses' - is... well, it simply isn't (logical).
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
The quote about "subsidizing free software for businesses" is not
really my quote, it was originally Mitchell, I only mentioned it to
make the point that Mozilla itself is not really all about
free-as-in-beer products.
You are correct that the main intent of the donation link proposal is
to solicit donations from individuals, not from businesses. So I will
add my own statement here that subsidizing free software for
individuals is not the primary mission of Mozilla, nor something that
motivates me to be involved. Individuals who use FOSS software have
the same obligations as businesses to give back.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Yes, they do: none at all.
"Giving back" to upstream may be good citizenship, but it's very much
not an obligation; that's part of the idea of free-as-in-liberty
software. Arguing that it *is* an obligation not only undermines the
idea of free software, but seems likely to reduce the motivation of
people to actually do it - or even to use the software at all.
There's a very big difference between "you should do this" and "you are
obligated to do this".
For what it's worth, as a very minor contributor who'd like to become a
bigger one if I can find the time: I don't have a particular problem
with the idea of a donation request as a one-time-only thing, or a
once-per-major-version thing, or even a permanent-on-the-"home"-screen
thing... as long as presenting the request will *not* involve
automatically opening a new tab in Thunderbird, which I think I've seen
proposed as an alternative to using the "home" screen.
I don't want tabs in my mail client, and I go out of my way to avoid
having any appear, ever. Having one 'shoved in my face' as part of a
donation request would be something I'd find highly objectionable, and
I'd be inclined to refuse the request just on principle because of it.
Also (and a bit closer to the previous topic of the subthread), from my
admittedly somewhat limited experience deploying software for an
enterprise, I can say that having officially-deployed software solicit
funds from the end user would be seen as a Big No-No. There would need
to be some way for administrators to override this, so that the request
never appears to the user.</pre>
</blockquote>
Perhaps they could buy a key to input to stop the annual donation
drive. That would meet everyone's desires. Free as in beer,
requesting donations, and getting some money from enterprise.<br>
<br>
Unlike some others here, I do think business users are under more of
a moral obligation to contribute, either financially or in kind.
They are the oners saving their $XXX per seat licensing. They are
also the ones who are hopefully profiting most from the use of FOSS
tools. <br>
<br>
Mozilla has always pitched Thunderbird to the home users, but the
reality is this is a shrinking market, the business market however
is not nearly so pinched. Enterprise features are actually the
future for Thunderbird I think.<br>
<br>
<br>
Matt<br>
</body>
</html>