Look, I’m a big fan of supporting FOSS projects. But, pop-up ads for donation requests feels a little too Microsoft to me… Anyone else get one of these?
So, at least it’s not a hijacked link. That said, I’m kind of concerned that KDE can push these kinds of notifications to my computer. “Help us create software that gives you full freedom and protects your privacy…” yet here they are pushing a notification to my desktop - that means something is “phoning home”. IDK how I feel about this…but it’s not good. And 100% does not make me feel safe or private.
Thanks for this link. It did absolutely nothing to assuage my concerns for privacy. Ok, so they claim it’s timed to pop-up once a year in December when folks are in a giving mood, cool. But this fundamentally undermines the very philosophy of privacy and autonomy. Just because they only do it once a year, doesn’t make it ok.
I understand where they’re coming from, but this article basically boils down to “the ends justify the means, even if we have to violate our own values so we can stay afloat”.
I’m not sure I have the solution, but this - ideologically - doesn’t feel right.
I thought it could be disabled, thanks for confirmation @nepti .
Personally, a once a year notification from KDE doesn’t bother me in the least.
No one likes to have to ask for money. In Garuda’s case, everyone originally involved with the project were extremely averse to going down that road. However, we also realized that without accepting donations the projects long term viability was in doubt. Reluctantly, the Garuda team’s leadership decided it was important to set up the apparatus to make donations possible. As it turned out, it was extremely fortunate that we did, because within the year the company providing our free hosting discontinued their support for free projects.
If the Garuda project hadn’t begun accepting donations when we did, the project would likely now be defunct. We try to leave it up to our members discretion as to whether they wish to donate or not. However, if Garuda’s costs were beginning to outstrip donations, we would reluctantly be forced to actively solicit for more contributions from our users. That’s just reality, server costs aren’t free and the distro leadership couldn’t continue paying expenses out of their own pockets once we attained thousands users.
Sadly, soliciting donations is sometimes necessary to ensure the long term viability of any free project. Garuda simply chose to never pressure our users for donations, as long as our expenses weren’t projected to exceed our monthly donations. I don’t begrudge the KDE project asking for money around Christmas time as I have used KDE for over 20 years.
The notification is programmed to appear once a year, and takes non of your privacy unless you click to open the browser. It can also be turned off completely.
Personally, if I use something that relies on infrastructure, countless hours of work from people around the world, and a ton of moving parts, I don’t get annoyed by them asking for a donation once a year. In fact I think it should be more normal in the Linux ecosystem.
M$ will never ask for donations, they will simply include what they want in the price of your computer, take all of your privacy anyway, and keep on trying to sell you more privacy invasive tools every day you use the OS. But hey, no yearly notifications, only nonsensical ones every minute or so!
I completely understand the calculus of weighing these pressures - truly I do. My issue isn’t the solicitation - per se - it’s the dissonance between ideological declarations for what FOSS is supposed to be, and how to balance that with support.
I’m not sure I have the solution. That said, I wouldn’t be opposed to some sort of paid support solution - understanding, of course, this brings other complications to the support team.
My issue isn’t that they rely on donations, and that we as users of FOSS, shouldn’t donate to support it - we absolutely should. My issue is in the solicitation on my desktop. I didn’t realize this could be disabled, and I did do that.
The point of this thread isn’t about debating the merits of donation solicitation and the moral obligation to support these projects as best as the individual can afford to do so - so let’s not devolve into that.
The point is - what’s the proper method by which FOSS organizations solicit financial support from their user base?
I can definitely understand how the notification can give the first impression of your desktop being somewhat “hijacked”, especially if you hadn’t known about this feature before. Perhaps it’s not the best method out there. Gnome for example has a link in the about section of the settings now.
It literally gave me Ubuntu vibes from a few releases ago that suddenly started showing desktop ads and what have you. I think part of the problem is that FOSS orgs aren’t really framing the work as requiring user base financial support.
For example, I’m a member of a private ebook torrent site that is free to use, and they have very permissive, yet strict adherence to their sharing policies, which are further supplemented by voluntary donations which are incentivized by perks - this has kept it going for well over a decade.
Perhaps there could be a better effort of educating users on the importance of financial support and provide incentives for giving. M$ used to sell their OS, and that was a single payment (and a hefty one for me at the time when I purchased Windows 95 on disc), and that was the only time I paid for the OS. I did not make further financial contributions. I also didn’t get M$ support, which cost extra.
I’m grateful the Garuda team left these enabled. They are only once a year, yet were considered better than having it mentioned on install with the greeter.
KDE is only getting more popular and ambitious, so it needs all the help it can get.
As mentioned in @nepti 's link (in the comments), its a miracle that anybody signs up for sponsored work for very minor pay. Hopefully funds raised can be used for tackling “less fun” work that KDE needs done
One a Year is still fine for me to be honest. I just see it as friendly reminder. Who does not use WIKIPEDIA? How often is it coming here as Example I spend if i can do it too. We need a lot of more real Coder or Developer anyway in our Tech World. (not AI)
I think the difference is, when I’m going to an external resource, and on that resource they solicit financial support - that makes sense. But having it on my local desktop environment feels like a violation.
I know what you mean by it itself. Yes they could do it on their Store Site or the Bug Report whatever It is coded inside as a Module already because more People using Plasma now. There many discussions since it came out in the newer Plasma 6.2 or something IIRC. I just also say to stop making to fast newer Versions and fix known Problem with Mesa,EGL,Vulcan and so on but its not my decission. Thats why i have also XFCE and Hyprland as DE`s too if Plasma makes to much trouble
Open source projects historically struggle extremely hard to acquire funding through donations. There’s one difference between projects that get the funding they need and projects that don’t: They ask for it. That is the one factor that makes all the difference.
Although you might feel this is an ideological compromise, it is actually an ideological necessity. The KDE funding not only funds KDE development, but also funds the registered organizations KDE has like the KDE Free QT foundation that keep Software like QT open source and free as in freedom for everyone forever.
Projects like KDE, Garuda, and countless others cannot survive without donations. I think we agree on that. At the same time, we all know that very little is donated to free software and projects, even though there is a donation button on the website. It’s common knowledge that progress and survival are impossible without donations.
Most users just take without ever giving anything back. It’s a terrible mentality. How much free software do we use every day without thinking about who developed it, who maintains it, and how much time and money that takes?
If we want to continue enjoying the freedom of free software, we must support the projects in some way. Not everyone can do so extensively. However, even if it’s only a few coins, if many users donate small amounts, it will add up to a significant sum in the end — every little bit helps.
I think the KDE team has carefully considered how to get more donations, and they certainly did not take this step lightly. Apparently, they see no other alternative. I don’t like it either, but I approve of their approach when considering the facts. I see it more as a sign of desperation than as an intrusion on my desktop.
I wonder how far this tactic will go… Today it’s “let’s display a donation pop-up once or twice a year” but down the line, how can this be exploited for further disruption? This feels like a reactionary slippery slope to try to find the “least harmful to our values” solution, instead of taking a proactive approach that doesn’t infringe on the value-system while still getting the needs of the project met.
I’m not sure I have the solution, but this doesn’t feel like it’s the right one…
XFCE never seen lol