Affero's Hack-a-Thon 173
Henri Poole writes "I've got friends who ride their bikes for a week and get me and others to donate $100 to their cause. Spending more time on lists then roads, we've set up an analogous service for Free Software and Open Source projects. Substitute the physical sweat with a good hack, and you'll see the match. After you save your next newbie from tech-hell, just ask them to help your cause. In Lessig's blog, he writes "If there's one thing I've learned from watching, and tinkering, in this web-log space, it is that the many tiny brushstrokes of thousands paints more and more powerfully than the blast of even the most important and powerful papers...As I indicate on my Affero page, I count FSF and EFF as the two key players to support." And if you don't think you can make a difference, do this math: A $1 donation to the FSF for every user of GNU/Linux would increase their budget by 30 fold."
Advertising (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Advertising (Score:5, Funny)
You're new here, aren't you?
Re:Advertising (Score:1)
"Wow, I didn't know Slashdot was in the business of giving away beowulf clusters of free advertising in Soviet Russia... Good to know!"
Re:Advertising (Score:1)
Re:Increase 30 fold? (Score:2, Funny)
until you think about it...
Reminds of an old proverb "I am not a selfish man, I only want $.05 from every man in america."
Re:Hmmm QWZX (Score:2, Informative)
This is simply a good idea (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, I could give my money to these people who will fight the scourge of the corporate world...or I can make a twenty minute phone call!
Wait, i'm reading Slashdot, that means that I don't have anyone to call, so i'll just give my buck to the EFF instead of Terry Bradshaw.
Re:This is simply a good idea (Score:1)
http://www.eff-europe.org/
but it seems to be just a place holder at the moment.
Re:This is simply a good idea (Score:1)
Re:This is simply a good idea (Score:1)
Thanks anyhow.
I'd donate, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
As a college student who has a stomach to fill, rent to pay, and an education to complete, making monetary contributions really isn't an option. Hell, if I had money to spare, I wouldn't be trying to sell thongs (see sig).
Re:I'd donate, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
Donate 10% of every thong sale to FSF! (Score:2)
Re:I'd donate, but... (Score:1)
wow... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, i know one shouln't reply to one's own posts (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yeah, i know one shouln't reply to one's own po (Score:1)
Re:wow... (Score:2)
verification? (Score:4, Insightful)
If so, how?
Re:verification? (Score:3, Funny)
I think... (Score:4, Funny)
Hrm... (Score:2)
I mean, maybe they should be responsible, but they certanly don't act like it.
This will never work... (Score:1)
And what if the people asking for help don't even know how to click a link - much less achieve donation.
could be easier process flow (Score:2)
Re:could be easier process flow (Score:2)
Re:This will never work... (Score:1)
Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)
Ummm, not that you should be expected to read your own site before submitting a story about it but -- which is it? Donations for hacking or in appreciation for tech support? The site is entirely focused on the latter and your writeup seems to be half about that and half something entirely different.
Actually, that's not a bad idea. (Score:2, Interesting)
It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:5, Interesting)
User: "So what do you want for this?"
Tech: "If you find my service useful, please consider contributing $25 to blah blah blah" (at this point user has tuned tech out)
User: (Internal monologue) "He doesn't want my money, apparently. Very well. I shall buy bread and circuses. Huzzah!"
Maybe it would be better just to take their money and donate it for them. =)
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:1)
Project to a point where hopefully you find a critical mass, and what you have helped to do, in fact, is teach people about what rights they are losing, and then we have a chance to actually fight these laws. When you have the general public complaining about laws, you (you being a politician) can't ignore them as easily as you would a group of geeks.
But, to get back to the point of how you will know whether they've donated or not, I think I'll be doing this from now on:
1) Tell them how much it would cost someone else to deal with the problem
2) Tell them that if they donate a small amount of money to a group of your choice, you'll do it for nothing
3) Before doing the work, ask them for proof of the donation
Now, regarding Point 2: I would actually give them a few to choose from, and ask them to choose, after doing just 5 minutes research on each group, and ask them why they chose that particular group.
And regarding Point 3: This gets back to my original point that a donation now isn't necessarily needed: if they didn't donate, ask them at least for a quick rundown on what they consider to be the benefits of that group. Try and convince them to at least join an announcements list. They will eventually see the value in joining, and so it will happen over time.
Finally, if they ask you why they should bother doing at least looking up the groups, tell them the work you'll be doing for them didn't just jump into your head: you had to learn, and all you're asking is for them to do some learning too.
Well, that's what I'll be doing from now on, anyway.
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:2, Interesting)
As for the EFF, remember that the majority of Americans think it's okay for the government to read your e-mail, as long as it helps stop terrorism.
-a
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:1)
If they don't want to do that, that's fine by me. But as I said in my original post, if they don't want to do that, they can pay me my normal hourly rate.
When presented with the two options, my average computer newbie or mother in law is going to want the cheaper option, but to get that they need to realise that I will make sure they learned something.
In a way I'm forcing them (financially) to learn about what's happening to their rights. And I believe that they will see a connection between the fact that I am willing to do this for free if they learn this. ie. it must be valuable to me, a non-computer newbie, so therefore they'll start to wonder why it's that valuable to me to do work for nothing.
I think that they will realise that:
1) I obviously believe in this
2) I obviously want them to believe in this
3) They should obviously believe me that they should want to believe in this
If they come to me for help, and my help comes free but with a little "but hey, you know what...?", wouldn't they begin to realise it's for their own good?
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:1)
Anyway, have you actually tried this? Your expectation may be that you will blackmail them into learning about their rights. The reaction I would expect is more along the lines of "He's a bit of an odd one, isn't he?"
Personally, I willingly help people with tech support if they need it (and I don't demand money or that they share an ideology). Generally, this is limited to when I was already in their home. But if I get really stuck on something, I don't bang my head against the wall; I simply tell them I don't know how to fix it.
-a
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:1)
Like you, I will normally help people if they need it: I'm a big fan of having someone else's machine to play with, but quite a number of times I've had "friends of friends" ask for help. They offer money, but they're too closely linked to actually accept it, so this could be a happy medium.
I mean really, most of the people close enough to me to get "unrequited support" already know enough about the things that are important to me 'cause I always end up whinging about it while I'm helpinf them out.
Everything in moderation, I suppose...
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:2)
Or I could take the money and send it myself. But this way I'd eliminate the middle man, and gain the ability to accept payment in the form of credit cards
Re:It just seems unlikely to me... (Score:3)
Tech: "If you find my service useful, please consider contributing $25 to blah blah blah" (at this point user has tuned tech out)
User: (Internal monologue) "He doesn't want my money, apparently. Very well. I shall buy bread and circuses. Huzzah!"
I admit I have thought this way before. I've gotten a lot of use out of VIM, but I've never
Henri Poole... (Score:3, Interesting)
As it seems Poole didn't know [linux-mandrake.com] anything about Free Software when he joined, it's great to see the months he spent with the Mandrakians converted him to Free Software anyway! Free Software: a real virus
Really? (Score:5, Funny)
I am wary of handing my bank details out over the internet, so if you are genuine please contact Mr.Abiola Williams at the Bank of Nigeria. He has all my account numbers.
Oi... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Oi... (Score:1)
Re:Oi... (Score:1)
every user of GNU/Linux (Score:2, Insightful)
of GNU/Linux than Linux users. Maybe the
30 fold figure is a bit unrealistic.
DV, Linux user since '92 , a time where
the FSF could not care less about Linux
Re:every user of GNU/Linux (Score:2)
Linux is a kernel.
GNU/Linux is a kernel with user space tools (almost a complete operating system, depending on your needs).
Re:every user of GNU/Linux (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Funding Free Software (Score:1, Interesting)
30 Fold? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:30 Fold? (Score:2)
GNU/Donations (Score:2)
Joe and Bob (Score:1)
My Test (Score:1)
When I (mis)read the title of the story... (Score:2)
*true*
Not free as in beer (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Not free as in beer (Score:3, Funny)
After all, the saying goes "You don't buy beer, you rent it."
So beer sounds more like a licensing deal. In the end, if you keep trying to use it, you just end up with a bad taste in your mouth.
Don't forget the ACLU (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Don't forget the ACLU (Score:2)
Huh? (Score:2)
I mean it's not like they're PETA...
Institute for Justice (Score:3, Informative)
Though the Institute for Justice is mostly into economic liberty (breaking government-sanctioned monopolies), protecting homeowners from eminent domain abuse (so the govt. can't force you to sell your property at whatever price so their favorite big developer can have a bigger parking lot), and defending school choice. That said, they're very good at what they do.
Re:Institute for Justice (Score:1)
Aren't these the same people who think that limiting the amount of pollution you can dump into a stream from your property amounts to a "taking" of your property?
Sorry, the waterways belong to all the people. One individual should not have the right to ruin it for everyone. If anyone is "taking" anything it is the idividual who degrades a common resource for their own selfish motives.
These are the wacky extremists.
Re:Institute for Justice (Score:1)
For a look at some extremist ranting on the issue, check out the West Virginia Farm Bureau. [wvfarm.org]
The Institute for Justice also has a page supporting so-called Private Property Rights. [ij.org]
What really identifies this group as bogus is the way they've plastered pictures of black people all over their Web pages. I couldn't find a single issue they espouse that would benefit any condition that disproportionately affects blacks. The Institute for Justice is working to protect the rights of the wealthy.
n.b. I'm not against the rights of property owners. I just believe they end at your property line.
Re:Institute for Justice (Score:2)
IJ does tend to respresent a disproportionately large number of black litigants, especially when it comes to school choice (since minority-majority districts tend to NEED school choice the most) but also in fighting eminent domain abuse. The New York City commuter van companies they defended were all owned by blacks. What arguments do you have against specific cases?
a question about giving and OPenSource (Score:1)
Would I part with the dollar, yes!
Debian Project Donations (Score:2)
I've got an idea (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, wait...
Good idea but... (Score:2)
Might I suggest the EFF as a considerably less politically dangerous target of such contributions? Whilst their scope is admitedly more US-centered, I'm guessing the opinion that they are a genuinely useful entity is nearly unanimous.
Oh, and don't get me wrong-- the FSF is useful as well, and they have created good, useful software which I use daily; it's just that they(1) also hold political/sociological stances which make me beleive that some of the figureheads are going forward with both feet firmly planted in midair. :)
-- MG
1) Where they can generally be understood to mean RMS.
It's called selling your software (Score:1)
I'll give money to the FSF when... (Score:1)
They stop insisting on the absolutely fucking retarded GNU/Linux moniker. Give it a rest.
From their website.. (Score:2)
Do this: Blah Blah Blah
I cannot fathom any problem that would be fixed by doing "Blah Blah Blah". If anyone can tell me what a Blah is - I'll donate to your cause.
But I don't use GNU/Linux... (Score:3, Interesting)
Who should I donate to then?
___
In all seriousness, I still have not seen a cogent argument that supports "if we use free software, we must support the ideals of free software," and it's corellary, "If we use free software, we must support Dick Stallman."
As for paying people for doing tech support in newsgroups and mailing lists (Ob-topic), I keep on thinking it makes someone little more than a hi-tech waiter. It also makes people more demanding. "I won't pay if you don't handhold me through this" when "pay" is akin to 5 bucks.
I always wondered how a 900 number would work for answering questions... Perhaps an 800 number that asked for the credit card number would work better. That way, people aren't paying to wait on hold...
I have but one word to add to this... (Score:1)
Micropayments better not be too micro (Score:2)
What it doesn't say is if that is 6% plus credit card charges (usually 2.5%, but often higher of you have lots of small transactions) or instead of credit card charges.
Either way, donations of $10 or less means that they are taking a substantial portion. To be fair to them, it's probably the only way they can stay in business.
log space (Score:1)
You can learn and watch in LOGSPACE? Impressive. I would have guessed you would need at least P to do those things.
Man, (Score:2)
Celebrity Jeopardy (Score:1)
Sounds like a good way to keep bad help off the internet!
Assets, liabilities, non-profits, our donations (Score:1)
I am not an accountant (IANAA?), so perhaps someone could explain why sitting on the best part of $1m cash is a good way to operate a non-profit whose turnover is half that? How do these figures compare with for-profit organisations? As the site says, if assets significantly outstrip liabilities (presumably a difference that has to be considered in relation to annual cash flow to determine if it is a "big" difference or not) then the organisation may not be putting its resources to best use.
Last Post! (Score:1)
pay higher prices for the convenience of being able to shop for lumber,
hardware, and toasters all in one location. Notice I say "shop for," as
opposed to "obtain." This is the major drawback of home centers: they are
always out of everything except artificial Christmas trees. The home center
employees have no time to reorder merchandise because they are too busy
applying little price stickers to every object -- every board, washer, nail
and screw -- in the entire store
Let's say a piece in your toilet tank breaks, so you remove the
broken part, take it to the home center, and ask an employee if he has a
replacement. The employee, who has never is his life even seen the inside
of a toilet tank, will peer at the broken part in very much the same way
that a member of a primitive Amazon jungle tribe would look at an electronic
calculator, and then say, "We're expecting a shipment of these sometime
around the middle of next week."
-- Dave Barry, "The Taming of the Screw"
- this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...
Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score:2, Funny)
In Soviet Russia, Beowulf imagines a cluster of YOU!
Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score:1, Offtopic)
In Soviet Russia, Beowulf imagines a cluster of YOU!"
That style of humor is getting a little forumlaic. It's like that Mexican Funny Videos show where 43% of their content is people falling down, and another 10% of their content is repeating that footage over and over again.
Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score:1, Offtopic)
"getting a little formulaic?" The bit was formulaic twenty years ago when CIA plant Yakov Smirnoff was doing it and there *was* a Soviet Russia.
Now it's pure gold, and I can't get enough!
Only in America can you have a web site with non-stop Smirnoff ripoffs on current events of interest to nerds. What a country!
Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score:1, Offtopic)
A) Where did the re-invention of this gag come from?
B) Why do you fuckin' numbskulls think it's funny?
Thank you.
Re:Idea: donation thread (Score:1)
Re:Idea: donation thread (Score:1)
Re:Idea: donation thread (Score:1, Insightful)
Oh come on. If you're gonna post AC, you should donate $500,000 like I just did.