I enjoyed reading that! I am a member (donate $10/month to FSF and $4/month to the Software Conservancy).
I am a little surprised that there are only 3200 members (but many non-members also donate).
I don't always follow the FSF credos (e.g., I use an iPad) but they do great work and along with organizations like the ACLU and EFF are a 'good deal' for people wanting to maintain (as much as possible!) our rights in a digital world.
I feel a little bad that "my" GNU Octave is taking so much of the directed donations. It feels like Mediagoblin, Mailman, or Replicant would be more useful to a larger proportion of people. I wonder why this happens. It's not like we aggressively campaign for donations.
I would start by looking at usage data. Octave actually seems more mainstream to me than the others. Mailing-lists and self-hosting are ultra-niche and few bother installing their own OS on desktops - let alone mobiles. Nearly all scientists use Matlab-like software, on the other hand.
Also, if there's nothing wrong with charging for software, then it sure as hell is nothing wrong with accepting donations for it. Congratulations!
I don't have a problem with taking donations. I wish other projects that seem more urgent got more. Mailman is important because we need decentralised means of communication and Replicant is important because Android is everywhere and needs a free replacement. I know Matlab is also very big and needs a replacement, but I think other projects need more funding and could have a much greater impact.
I can't seem to find the old pie charts on the FSF site about their money breakdown (~the fsf has plenty of money, like 5x their annual spend and contributions cover more than operating expenses).
Every once in a while pops up a (not so subtle) post like this and every time I really want to help their cause, but after my wikipedia fiasco I only want to put money where I believe it does good and really needed.
I am a little surprised that there are only 3200 members (but many non-members also donate).
I don't always follow the FSF credos (e.g., I use an iPad) but they do great work and along with organizations like the ACLU and EFF are a 'good deal' for people wanting to maintain (as much as possible!) our rights in a digital world.