🚀 go-pugleaf

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To: gnu-misc-discuss@cis.ohio-state.edu
Date: 6 Feb 92 15:57:00 GMT
Message-Id: <6FEB199211575588@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Organization: NASA/GSFC-Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics
From: Dave Cottingham <dc@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov>
Original-Sender: gnu-misc-discuss-request@edu.ohio-state.cis
Reply-To: dc@cobi.gsfc.nasa.gov
Subject: How to charge for supporting free software?
Original-Sender: gnu-misc-discuss-request@cis.ohio-state.edu
Sender: gnu-misc-discuss-post@cps.compnews.co.uk

I have unsuccessfully been trying to figure out exactly how this business
of supporting free software is supposed to work out.  But since there
are functioning businesses out there that do it, there is clearly an
answer.  The conventional system operates sort of like an unregulated
utility -- the people who own the code set themselved up as the only
people who maintain it, and they spread the costs of their activity
evenly over everyone who wants fixes.  The customers are encouraged to
pay for this service by the fact that they have no other option for
getting bugs fixed.  For free software, if you make the patches freely
available, how do you design your service so as to avoid having each
patch paid for entirely by the customer that asked for it?

Dave Cottingham
dc@cobi.gsfc.nasa.gov