> This being the case, how on earth can such individuals make the case that > they deserve to be paid for what they do for a living, while an artist, > programmer, or individual in some line of work other than their own - does > not? Ah, I was wondering where the 'OT' dicussions were... LOL, not really OT but simply with a philosophical focus, and just as important. We gotta discuss these things ya know :) I believe the reason why digital products with a cost are frowned upon so heavily is simply that there is no cost (or very little cost) for reproduction, and hence their potential for widespread use and EXTREME network effects (especially when re-use is permitted) are much greater when they are distributed under one of the free licenses. I do not believe that proper compensation is not possible under these circumstances. The proper way to do it has simply not been implemented yet very widely. This guy http://tipping.selfpromotion.com might be a good place to start looking. That classic economics problem is this: Price | \ | \ |- - \ | ¦\ | ¦ \ |_________________ Quantity x For any given price, you have a number of people who would have bought if the price was lower, and a number of people who would have bought even if the price was higher. The proper price is a compromise of the two. The income you yield is price times quantity, represented in the diagram by the area of the square. If you start a tipping economy, AND you assume that everyone will tip his or her highest price possible (which they will, if they are grateful enough for your product and have been able to earn some money with it as well), and further assume they will if you succeed in making them very grateful for your service, you need no such compomise; your yield is represented by the area of the complete triangle. Not to mention free viral advertising. My theory is that for good tipping marketing two things must be done: 1. Create a good product 2. Make the product as personal as possible to promote gratitude (If you've got a bald head and a pot belly that's great, it helps make you human and people will be thrilled that this less-than-perfect human is working his butt off for them) In my case, this will probably be the 'looks gay but is friendly sympathy bonus', LOL I can't wait to get some good songs out to test this. For linux software (and other free software) what we need is a good method for tipping distribution, because there are so many people involved who all deserve their fair share, so people simply can tip to 'linux audio' and the bulk will be covered... including kernel, libraries... And they then may proceed to tipping towards special sympathies :) You know, I just know this can work, and I'm looking forward to. Carlo
