Donate to Open Source Day
I’m trying to find out if there is already a “Donate to Open Source” day. I suppose it should really be, “Donate to Freeware,” or something along those lines. There are a lot of great software programs, plugins, and utilities that we use everyday for free. Often, we mean to give a little back to the developer for his or her hard work, but we don’t always get around to it.
Is there a Hallmark Card for your local struggling software artist? Hopefully it would be a red envelope with a check inside.
I know that I’ve been guilty of using software and never rewarding the author, but I’ve also gone out of my way with some products to make an unsolicited payment. I’ve received donations from people who appreciate my hard work. All of the contributions that I’ve received mean a lot to me and my family.
How many of you have paid for your tiny url service? How much have you spent on your Twitter client? What about that plugin that displays your “greatest” posts?
While it all seems like a literal free-for-all, someone spent a good deal of time and effort building this software. If we don’t have one already, there should be a special day when we remind ourselves to give back to the developers.
Maybe there’s a day already and I’m just not aware of it. If not, it’s time to ask ourselves, which day will become, “Donate to Open Source Day?”
– Photo Credit: Josh Bancroft
