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this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2024
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We all need to demand that our governments start funds for open source software.
It's fucking ridiculous that you volunteer your time to build software that benefits millions and billions of people and the government is just like "nah not a charitable contribution to us so you can get fucked in every way".
When you draw a parallel to social charity both are largely volunteer based and underfunded. And both have direct and indirect gains for society.
Physical charity often serves basic needs. I'm not sure selecting qualifying quality open source projects is as easy. Need and gain assessments are a lot less clear.
If it's about public funding distribution, I would like to see some FOSS funding too, but not at the cost of or equal or more than social projects.
How many FOSS projects actually benefit "millions and billions of people"? That kind of impact feels like it's few and far between.
I think there is a much stronger argument for tech businesses being forced to finance and support FOSS. They are the ones directly benefiting from the free work.
Not a clue how to force that though, would probably need to be via some form of regulation. I can't think of any good way to do it without leaving gaping loopholes for abuse. :(
The EU passed laws that require companies (under conditions) to ensure base requirements in their supply chain.
I think a digital equivalent could be possible and similar. Requiring reasonable security and sustainability assessment.
It's not very obvious or simple to enforce, but would set requirements, and open up opportunities for fines and prosecution.