
Free Software Foundation Releases FY2015 Annual Report - jordigh
http://www.fsf.org/news/free-software-foundation-releases-fy2015-annual-report
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mark_l_watson
I enjoyed reading that! I am a member (donate $10/month to FSF and $4/month to
the Software Conservancy).

I am a little surprised that there are only 3200 members (but many non-members
also donate).

I don't always follow the FSF credos (e.g., I use an iPad) but they do great
work and along with organizations like the ACLU and EFF are a 'good deal' for
people wanting to maintain (as much as possible!) our rights in a digital
world.

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jordigh
I feel a little bad that "my" GNU Octave is taking so much of the directed
donations. It feels like Mediagoblin, Mailman, or Replicant would be more
useful to a larger proportion of people. I wonder why this happens. It's not
like we aggressively campaign for donations.

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tormeh
I would start by looking at usage data. Octave actually seems more mainstream
to me than the others. Mailing-lists and self-hosting are ultra-niche and few
bother installing their own OS on desktops - let alone mobiles. Nearly all
scientists use Matlab-like software, on the other hand.

Also, if there's nothing wrong with charging for software, then it sure as
hell is nothing wrong with accepting donations for it. Congratulations!

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jordigh
I don't have a problem with taking donations. I wish other projects that seem
more urgent got more. Mailman is important because we need decentralised means
of communication and Replicant is important because Android is everywhere and
needs a free replacement. I know Matlab is also very big and needs a
replacement, but I think other projects need more funding and could have a
much greater impact.

~~~
em3rgent0rdr
FYI, you can donate your money to specific projects, here for replicant:
[https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?id=19](https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?id=19)

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a_imho
I can't seem to find the old pie charts on the FSF site about their money
breakdown (~the fsf has plenty of money, like 5x their annual spend and
contributions cover more than operating expenses).

Every once in a while pops up a (not so subtle) post like this and every time
I really want to help their cause, but after my wikipedia fiasco I only want
to put money where I believe it does good and really needed.

[][http://www.fastcompany.com/3024306/bottom-line/why-this-
star...](http://www.fastcompany.com/3024306/bottom-line/why-this-startup-made-
their-salaries-radically-transparent)

