Would you list a Free Software organization in your will?

[8_Bit]

Say you are a filthy rich, but retired CEO.

You find out that tomorrow, you will be dead.

You are now writing your last living will. On the list of beneficiaries...

Would you include a free-software / Linux / open-source organization? (ie. The Free Software Foundation)

If so, which one(s)?

And how much money would you donate to them, if any? (A lot, a little?)

What if you WEREN'T a filthy rich CEO? Would you still do it?

[Legendary_Bibo]

No, never. I would rather leave it to a random hobo than to a group of people that argue about version numbering.

[KiwiNZ]

No, its only OS's and sundry software. I would leave it to a cause that counts.

[Spice Weasel]

There are non-profit organisations out there doing much more important work, so no.

[SingingBush]

I may do. Freedom is a cause that counts, I'd prob leave with FSF.

[Thewhistlingwind]

I would leave it to a cause that counts.

Like?

I'm not asking to be rude, I'm genuinely interested.

[Legendary_Bibo]

Like?

I'm not asking to be rude, I'm genuinely interested.

Habitats for humanity perhaps.

[KiwiNZ]

Like?

I'm not asking to be rude, I'm genuinely interested.

Rescue Helicopter Service immediately springs to mind

[jhonan]

If I was to leave money to anything tech-related it'd be to one-laptop-per-child http://one.laptop.org/action/donate

[Gerontion]

The idea reminds me a bit of the mad old bags you hear about from time to time who leave their houses - and a trust fund valued in the millions - to be shared equally between Fufu the poodle and Lady Sniklepoops the Third, the pet canary. Tens of thousands of children die every day from easily preventable causes; they deserve the money more than some computer foundation.

[Legendary_Bibo]

The idea reminds me a bit of the mad old bags you hear about from time to time who leave their houses - and a trust fund valued in the millions - to be shared equally between Fufu the poodle and Lady Sniklepoops the Third, the pet canary. Tens of thousands of children die every day from easily preventable causes; they deserve the money more than some computer foundation.

It's also wrong to tell them who they should give their money to.

[Gerontion]

Tell who? The mad old bags who leave millions to their pets? Nothing wrong in pointing out how ludicrous that is.

[t0p]

This question was posed as if I were filthy rich. If I was filthy rich, I'd stick a Free Software organisation in my list of beneficiaries along with other organisations that some of you would probably consider more deserving. I'm filthy rich, loadsamoney, plenty of it to spread around. I might even get rms some hair clippers.

However, I'm not filthy rich, and I won't be leaving a huge amount of anything to anyone. The FSF will have to get by without a vast inheritance from me.

[jhonan]

Tens of thousands of children die every day from easily preventable causes; they deserve the money more than some computer foundation.
And what would a dying child do with a million dollars?

Surely it'd be better to increase the number of qualified doctors in the areas that have preventable illnesses.

And rather than flying the doctors in from developed countries, wouldn't it be better to educate the population so they can have their own doctors and researchers, and lots of them?

Hence my idea for OLPC - It's about education. With the added benefit that an educated population doesn't put up with shite from a corrupt government (well, not much anyway)

[t.rei]

Hehe, yes, there is that reality factor to this question: Who IS filthy richt, and if you are and are into linux, why not follow the redundancy system and spread that wealth around to all kinds of places that need it:
- healthcare (the non-corrupted part)
- education (the non-moronic part)
- freedom / human rights (desperately needs a buff in our days)
- humanitarian causes (prone to be stolen/corrupted/wasted... but the needed...)
- animal rights (I'm not a vegitarian, but my heart bleeds at the thought of abused animals :/ )
- activities that promote honesty, real justice and freedom of choices all over the world (am I a criminal now for saying that I have a deep respect for those who sacrifice their freedom to give us more or ours?)
- a foundation for a homeless shelter in at least one town.
- free software (shure - that helps the ones that can't afford to pay for an os but can think for themselves the most)

I guess the biggest problem would be to come up with trustworthy, honest people within this truely short amount of time.

[Gerontion]

And rather than flying the doctors in from developed countries, wouldn't it be better to educate the population so they can have their own doctors and researchers, and lots of them? The problem is often not a lack of domestically trained professionals. The problem is that to keep costs down for western voters, health professionals from developing countries are recruited to work cheaply in the health systems of the (allegedly) 'developed' nations.

[RiceMonster]

Absolutely not. If I wanted to give money to a cause in my will, I'd give to something that matters. I think maybe to the cancer society, since someone was asking what people would pick.

[red_Marvin]

I don't see why so many of you interpret the question as 'would you give money to a free software organization and no other organizations'...

If I manage to get filthy rich without loosing my current level of idealism on the way, I would probably do it, but then again I would not wait until I died either.

But a some free software organization would be only one of the of the causes I would try to support.

[PhillyPhil]

No, I'd probably choose a (non-crazy) environmental group. Or possibly a scientific group working on something world-changing, like a clean energy source or human level AI.
No, never. I would rather leave it to a random hobo than to a group of people that argue about version numbering.

Rather a broad and dismissive statement. There are undoubtedly many organisations that qualify for this thread that have never argued about version numbers.
Having once argued about something petty doesn't seem like a very good indicator of the importance of their work anyway.

[RiceMonster]

I don't see why so many of you interpret the question as 'would you give money to a free software organization and no other organizations'...

If I manage to get filthy rich without loosing my current level of idealism on the way, I would probably do it, but then again I would not wait until I died either.

But a some free software organization would be only one of the of the causes I would try to support.

I don't interpret it that way, because I wouldn't give anything to them period.

[gnomeuser]

That seems to require me having anything to leave in a will.. If I did perhaps, but something like Project Cauã seems deserving. Helps Open Source, gets internet to the poorer parts of Brazil and encourages starting businesses.

That being said, I am retired on medical grounds, I have very little in terms of possessions and money. I believe if I want to help Open Source and perhaps the world, I should do it while I am still breathing to make an impact.

I am though in the process of moving from Denmark to Brazil, so I am donating a lot of my books to second hand charity shops and the majority of my old clothes I am giving to the homeless.

[3Miro]

The will is for kids/relatives. If I want to give money to a FOSS organization, I will do it while alive.

[Dustin2128]

Irrelevant. If I were rich, I would pay a team of scientists to give me nanobot injections to live forever! Then, after world domination, I'll make all software free and cure cancer and stuff.

[forrestcupp]

Say you are a filthy rich, but retired CEO.
Aside from your scenario, I would only list a FOSS organization in my will if they are willing to be responsible to pay off all of my debts. :)


Irrelevant. If I were rich, I would pay a team of scientists to give me nanobot injections to live forever! Then, after world domination, I'll make all software free and cure cancer and stuff.Or at least have myself cryogenically frozen until they have the nanobot tech ready. :)

[BrokenKingpin]

If I was really rich, sure I would give some money to an Open Source project I was passionate about. Software development and the computer industry in general is my life and puts food on my family's table. So I do think giving money to an Open Source group is a "cause that counts", and could effect millions of people's lives.

I would make sure that my family is taken care of first though. And I would also try and give money to people in need as others have stated... but you can't help everyone.

[KingYaba]

I would for the EFF.

[Quadunit404]

Absolutely not. I'd rather list some random person I probably never heard of instead of an organization of hippies who still live in their mother's basements are trying to keep up an outdated business model (as in, 1980s business model) and try to force their skewed view of "freedom" upon you.

You want your freedom? Take it. You already have it.

[forrestcupp]

Absolutely not. I'd rather list some random person I probably never heard of instead of an organization of hippies who still live in their mother's basements are trying to keep up an outdated business model (as in, 1980s business model) and try to force their skewed view of "freedom" upon you.

You want your freedom? Take it. You already have it.

Steve Ballmer, is that you? :lol:

[ebasa]

I intend to die totally broke and highly in debt, and so far my plan is working.

[Dry Lips]

The will is for kids/relatives. If I want to give money to a FOSS organization, I will do it while alive.

+1!

The question really ought to be:
How many of you have donated (or will donate) to FOSS
organisations, such as for instance the very ones that
provide the software you rely upon?

I'm considering donating a little money to a couple of projects.
If all of us Linux users gave a little money to support development
of a few chosen projects, it could mean that Linux became a
much more interesting platform.

Even if FOSS is free to use, it doesn't mean that it is free to
develop.

[spoons]

Getting stuck in and getting things done yourself usually helps a far greater deal than just throwing money at things. So I guess I'd say no.

[Nyromith]

I like computers more than people, so yes.

[Dustin2128]

Steve Ballmer, is that you? :lol:
Either that or he has a script that swaps free software with proprietary software globally. I mean think about it, if you do that, his post actually makes sense.

[ClientAlive]

Regardless of where I wanted money to end up - I would not just give the money to them. I would either (a) start a self sustaining foundation that actually generates money from something they do and have their money go to what I wanted it to; or, (b) if I would not live long enough even to do (a) I would designate the money to an individual or individuals for the purpose of establishing (a) even after my departure.

But ultimately, yes, I would leave money to a FOSS organization. It just wouldn't be on the top of my list and it would have to be a situation where it were one among other, more important, causes. I do think that "freedom is a worthy cause," too though (as someone else in this thread said) - and I think FOSS stands for that.

If you're so rich though, 8-bit, why don't you leave me some money. I'm a worthy cause if you get to know me . . . :)

[uRock]

No. Everything I own goes to my daughter. If something happens to all of us at once, then another family member is set as secondary.

[Quadunit404]

Steve Ballmer, is that you? :lol:

You have reached the wrong number or the person you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeep.

:wink:

[PhillyPhil]

Absolutely not. I'd rather list some random person I probably never heard of instead of an organization of hippies who still live in their mother's basements are trying to keep up an outdated business model (as in, 1980s business model) and try to force their skewed view of "freedom" upon you.

You want your freedom? Take it. You already have it.

Whoa, another emotional no. Did some FOSS organisation source their startup capital by beating kids up for their lunch money?

Just gotta point out there are a large number of FOSS organisations. Some of them:
- live in bigger houses than you
- have very modern business models and non-FOSS competitors with outdated business models
- don't try to force their views on anyone (or even "skew" the meaning of freedom in the first place)

[Quadunit404]

The FSF, at least to me, seems to be trying to force their view of freedom on people. I mean, why else would they have all these anti-Windows campaigns and hand out CDs with Linux distros that they endorse to people who actually bother to look at the idiocy?

And yes, I know there are more free/open source organizations out there, but most of my criticism goes toward the FSF in particular.

[ClientAlive]

Absolutely not. I'd rather list some random person I probably never heard of instead of an organization of hippies who still live in their mother's basements are trying to keep up an outdated business model (as in, 1980s business model) and try to force their skewed view of "freedom" upon you.

You want your freedom? Take it. You already have it.


You're running FOSS software (Ubuntu 11.04) and that's how you feel about it? Hmmm . . .

[KiwiNZ]

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