NAME

       fsf-funding - Funding Free Software

DESCRIPTION

       Funding Free Software

       If  you  want  to  have more free software a few years from now, it makes sense for you to help encourage
       people to contribute funds for its development.  The  most  effective  approach  known  is  to  encourage
       commercial redistributors to donate.

       Users of free software systems can boost the pace of development by encouraging for-a-fee distributors to
       donate  part  of  their  selling  price  to  free software developers---the Free Software Foundation, and
       others.

       The way to convince distributors to do this is to demand it and expect it from them.  So when you compare
       distributors, judge them partly by how much they give to free software  development.   Show  distributors
       they must compete to be the one who gives the most.

       To  make  this  approach work, you must insist on numbers that you can compare, such as, ``We will donate
       ten dollars to the Frobnitz project for each disk sold.''  Don't be satisfied with a vague promise,  such
       as ``A portion of the profits are donated,'' since it doesn't give a basis for comparison.

       Even  a  precise  fraction  ``of  the  profits  from  this  disk'' is not very meaningful, since creative
       accounting and unrelated business decisions can greatly alter what fraction of the sales price counts  as
       profit.   If the price you pay is $50, ten percent of the profit is probably less than a dollar; it might
       be a few cents, or nothing at all.

       Some redistributors do development work themselves.  This is useful too; but to keep everyone honest, you
       need to inquire how much they do, and what kind.  Some kinds of  development  make  much  more  long-term
       difference  than  others.   For  example,  maintaining  a  separate version of a program contributes very
       little; maintaining the standard version of a program for the whole community contributes much.  Easy new
       ports contribute little, since someone else would surely do them; difficult ports such as  adding  a  new
       CPU to the GNU Compiler Collection contribute more; major new features or packages contribute the most.

       By  establishing  the  idea  that  supporting  further  development  is  ``the  proper thing to do'' when
       distributing free software for a fee, we can assure a steady flow of  resources  into  making  more  free
       software.

SEE ALSO

       gpl(7), gfdl(7).

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  Verbatim copying and redistribution of this section is
       permitted without royalty; alteration is not permitted.

gcc-3.3                                            2003-03-01                                     FSF-FUNDING(7)