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dinckelman ,

A lot of people here have such a bizarre stance.

People have put work into this, for free. And the moment they ask for support, you immediately bring the pitchforks out, over a singular pop-up you can permanently disable? That’s just plain disrespectful, at the very least

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

From experience with Windows "freeware" some of us have seen what happens when such pop-up notices become commonplace. It is not pretty.

dinckelman ,

This isn’t Windows, and this isn’t freeware

superkret ,

If you don’t like it, don’t use it.
Then you also don’t cause any more cost to the KDE project.

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

The claim that more users increases costs for the KDE project in any meaningful way is another thing that might be disputed.

Adderbox76 ,

Unfortunately, there has always been the issue that a not-insignificant percentage of users of FOSS software believe the FREE part means “free as in beer” and take umbrage when asked to contribute.

I’ve long been a proponent (and I know I’m in a minority) that has advocated for a shift in the marketing of FOSS applications from “donation based” to “value based”. Meaning that the expectation is that if you enjoy the software, you pay an amount that you believe is commensurate to your use. This is voluntarily of course…if you can’t pay, than please use it and enjoy it. But those who can pay, should pay…at least a little bit, to offset the costs for those who can’t.

It’s more or less that the wording of FOSS apps needs to change so that you are expected to contribute if you can.

Just my opinion. Like I said, I know I’m in the minority. Just not a fan of the percentage of users that has always existed that (falsely) think that asking for money for your project is somehow anathema to the Open Source ideal and whine whenever they’re asked to contribute.

conciselyverbose ,

It’s implemented as a KDE Daemon (KDED) module, which allows users and distributors to permanently disable it if they like.

Eh. I guess good enough.

But I’m still opposed on principle.

mactan ,

cool and good. thunderbird is also very good about this and more projects should present their donation stuff just as tastefully

k_rol ,

I personally think once a year is not enough. Every 6 months might be better. Also people already spend a lot during December that they might not prioritize donating to KDE.

For those complaining… Well I don’t know what to say to them. Such a big complex software which is 100% free should be allowed to remind us that they need money.

Don’t forget they said it’s running as a daemon specifically so you can easily disable it if it triggers you so much.

savvywolf ,
@savvywolf@pawb.social avatar

I mean, at least I’m not paying $200* for the privilege of being advertised to… I’d like an option to disable it permanently in the popup but it seems mostly reasonable?

^* This is the first price I got for a Windows licence when I searched for it. I know you can probably get them cheaper, but that’s the price they’re advertising, so eh.^

starshipwinepineapple ,

There is an option to disable it permanently. Otherwise it is once a year and easily dismissed

LostXOR ,

Seems like a reasonable donation prompt; it's infrequent, unobtrusive, and can be easily dismissed and disabled. Some people are so sensitive to the idea of any sort of soliciting that they forget projects do need money to function.

TimeSquirrel ,
@TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org avatar

Some people just don't like their OS being used for that purpose and want it to be just a tool that shuts up and does exactly as it's told and no more. I can see that point of view. Our computers aren't free billboards. It's like when car dealers stick their own custom logo on the cars they sell to people.

FQQD ,
@FQQD@lemmy.ohaa.xyz avatar

The difference is, that you’re using something for free, and you can disable this very easily.

TimeSquirrel ,
@TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org avatar

I get that. I was just saying why it might tick some people off. My idea of a good OS is one that you don't even notice while using it. It just sits in the background doing its thing and you don't have to think about whether you're using KDE, Gnome, or whatever, because it never makes itself known and you just happily use your programs.

uint ,

In my opinion no OS manages such a feat of making itself unknown, there are always some problems, and I think you agree with that in practice (it’s more a matter of thresholds). So there is continuous improvement. The question is then whether or not the possible financial boost from the donations will improve the OS in such a way that the net benefit is positive with respect to the negative value of the donation notification (a utilitarian viewpoint, I guess). I would say it will be a net benefit, not least because the negative value of the notification is so small.

Ptsf ,

I understand this, but we need to be reasonable and avoid extremes. This software is extensively free (as in beer) and requires development support. As long as the prompt doesn’t cross any lines into exploitive territory I think it’s fine. It would be nice for them to have explored other fundraising avenues first though and have saved this as an exhaustive “final” option.

Adderbox76 ,

This software is extensively free (as in beer)

No…it’s not. It’s free to download and to use, but the expectation that people contribute in exchange for using it is how FOSS has always worked.

That doesn’t necessarily mean monetary. But contributing can be helping with user guides, or making youtube tutorials, or even just extending the reach of the program to friends and family by talking about it.

There are many ways to contribute, and money is one. But the notion that Open Source software is “free as in beer” has never been correct. Users have an expectation to contribute…period.

that_leaflet OP ,
@that_leaflet@lemmy.world avatar

Yup. I like their just in December approach too. I have a problem with distrohopping so I’m often re-setting up my system. Every time I do, Thunderbird pops up donation prompts both in the app and in my browser. I get why they do it, but it’s annoying when that happens. KDE’s approach avoids this pitfall.

Plasma ,
@Plasma@lemmy.ml avatar

As long as the “No Thanks” button is a one and done go-away button, I think this is a decent idea!

starshipwinepineapple ,

It’s once per year, easily dismissed, and can be permanently disabled. Seems entirely reasonable for a piece of free software that someone would use everyday

MyNameIsRichard ,
@MyNameIsRichard@lemmy.ml avatar

I do suspect a small but vocal crowd of people will spread doom and gloom about it on social media anyway, of course.

I see they’re here already

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

Wow. Just when their excellent marketing tactics over the past few months had almost persuaded me that I might give KDE another try some day.

unexposedhazard ,

I use it. I like it. But i admit its fucking bloated to hell.

derbolle ,

well thats unfortunate. Personally I’d rather click away one message per year while knowing I donate 40 euros every quarter than having the project die or degrade in the long run.

I think if you complain, you should contribute(either through effort or donation) to make such pop ups unnesseccary.

KDE Plasma albeit a bit bloated in default state is freaking amazing and getting better with every update.

Enjoy whatever DE you Like and complain as you like but just complaining is not going to fix Problems

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

I've contributed to various projects when I had money, but this would probably make me less likely to do so if I were a user. It's unquestionably true that some people "hate pop-ups and this is going to turn them off" and I am among them.

kylie_kraft ,

checks if it’s April 1

no? just no. please don’t open a door to Microsoft BS.

just_another_person ,

It’s open source. You could go in and just edit the code to show some ASCII porn if you want. Or just disable it.

thecheddarcheese ,

i honestly don’t see the issue here. kde is free, and the popup really doesn’t seem all that annoying.

TheImpressiveX ,
@TheImpressiveX@lemmy.ml avatar

Now this is much better than getting ads in your Start Menu.

kde.org/donate/

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