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1 @ignore
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2 @c Set file name and title for man page.
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3 @setfilename fsf-funding
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4 @settitle Funding Free Software
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5 @c man begin SEEALSO
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6 gpl(7), gfdl(7).
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7 @c man end
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8 @end ignore
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9 @node Funding
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10 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
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11 @unnumbered Funding Free Software
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12
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13 If you want to have more free software a few years from now, it makes
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14 sense for you to help encourage people to contribute funds for its
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15 development. The most effective approach known is to encourage
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16 commercial redistributors to donate.
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17
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18 Users of free software systems can boost the pace of development by
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19 encouraging for-a-fee distributors to donate part of their selling price
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20 to free software developers---the Free Software Foundation, and others.
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21
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22 The way to convince distributors to do this is to demand it and expect
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23 it from them. So when you compare distributors, judge them partly by
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24 how much they give to free software development. Show distributors
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25 they must compete to be the one who gives the most.
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26
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27 To make this approach work, you must insist on numbers that you can
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28 compare, such as, ``We will donate ten dollars to the Frobnitz project
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29 for each disk sold.'' Don't be satisfied with a vague promise, such as
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30 ``A portion of the profits are donated,'' since it doesn't give a basis
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31 for comparison.
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32
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33 Even a precise fraction ``of the profits from this disk'' is not very
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34 meaningful, since creative accounting and unrelated business decisions
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35 can greatly alter what fraction of the sales price counts as profit.
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36 If the price you pay is $50, ten percent of the profit is probably
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37 less than a dollar; it might be a few cents, or nothing at all.
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38
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39 Some redistributors do development work themselves. This is useful too;
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40 but to keep everyone honest, you need to inquire how much they do, and
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41 what kind. Some kinds of development make much more long-term
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42 difference than others. For example, maintaining a separate version of
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43 a program contributes very little; maintaining the standard version of a
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44 program for the whole community contributes much. Easy new ports
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45 contribute little, since someone else would surely do them; difficult
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46 ports such as adding a new CPU to the GNU Compiler Collection contribute more;
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47 major new features or packages contribute the most.
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48
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49 By establishing the idea that supporting further development is ``the
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50 proper thing to do'' when distributing free software for a fee, we can
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51 assure a steady flow of resources into making more free software.
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52 @c man end
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53
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54 @display
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55 @c man begin COPYRIGHT
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56 Copyright @copyright{} 1994 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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57 Verbatim copying and redistribution of this section is permitted
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58 without royalty; alteration is not permitted.
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59 @c man end
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60 @end display
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