You may not know who OSL is, but they impact all of us every single day.
Well, they're out of money. That's the short of it. Let's just say that they're in the US, and right now, funding for such things is difficult. (Remember, no politics.)
osuosl.org
It's not clear on that page. On that page, it almost looks like they're asking for a single donation or that they're only looking for corporate donations. That's not the case. If you scroll down the page, you'll come to this link:
osuosl.org
I've sent one donation already. If the project survives, I'll set up monthly donations at a more reasonable level. While we'd like to think this stuff just magically happens because it is open source and people are kind, the truth is that some of this stuff is extremely expensive. Given what they do, they're actually doing it at great prices. (Cheap student labor helps.)
No, you don't have to donate. Some of us aren't in a position to donate. But, it'd be awesome if you could and you did. This is something we all rely on.
Also, some of the projects they listed may have some surplus funds kicking around. The Linux Foundation might have a few bucks in its couch cushions, but we can't count on that. If MSFT wanted some goodwill, they could take the $250k out of their petty cash drawer and pay for the whole thing.
I'm optimistic that getting the word out will make somebody aware of it. It'd be a shame (and disruptive) if OSL went under. Linux would survive. These distros would survive. Well, the bigger distros will survive. Some projects may have issues, and some will not recover. I can MAYBE host a few small projects if they want to reach out to me.
Well, they're out of money. That's the short of it. Let's just say that they're in the US, and right now, funding for such things is difficult. (Remember, no politics.)
Future of OSL in Jeopardy | OSU Open Source Lab
A nonprofit organization working for the advancement of open source technologies.
osuosl.org
It's not clear on that page. On that page, it almost looks like they're asking for a single donation or that they're only looking for corporate donations. That's not the case. If you scroll down the page, you'll come to this link:
Donate | OSU Open Source Lab
A nonprofit organization working for the advancement of open source technologies.
osuosl.org
I've sent one donation already. If the project survives, I'll set up monthly donations at a more reasonable level. While we'd like to think this stuff just magically happens because it is open source and people are kind, the truth is that some of this stuff is extremely expensive. Given what they do, they're actually doing it at great prices. (Cheap student labor helps.)
No, you don't have to donate. Some of us aren't in a position to donate. But, it'd be awesome if you could and you did. This is something we all rely on.
Also, some of the projects they listed may have some surplus funds kicking around. The Linux Foundation might have a few bucks in its couch cushions, but we can't count on that. If MSFT wanted some goodwill, they could take the $250k out of their petty cash drawer and pay for the whole thing.
I'm optimistic that getting the word out will make somebody aware of it. It'd be a shame (and disruptive) if OSL went under. Linux would survive. These distros would survive. Well, the bigger distros will survive. Some projects may have issues, and some will not recover. I can MAYBE host a few small projects if they want to reach out to me.
