The EU should fund open source. So should the US. So should corporations that are using it for any number of reasons to keep their systems afloat.
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/07/github-eu-open-source-funding
@mike One one hand, governments and corporations shouldn't have to pay for using open-source software since it is explicitly provided Free....
On the other hand, it's not really fair when some poor maintainer finds themselves maintaining a project that a lot of people really depend on (the #XZbackdoor comes to mind).
@golemwire I don't know. I'm inclined to side with the idea businesses making money using these products should have to pay at least a small sum for their use. For individuals it should be free. Of course there are always going to be people/companies on the cusp, and it's going to be hard to draw a hard line anywhere. I don't think a mom and pop store in a small town should have to pay when an individual like Elon Musk doesn't, so where and how the line gets drawn is hard to define.
@mike It would be a cool trend if open-source projects changed their licenses to say that businesses with over a certain amount of profit have to pay a certain slice of that profit.
Like what you're saying, right?
@golemwire Made sense to me.
I may have not phrased that well