The problem I was trying to solve with this new dual system is not so much one of income, but one of incomprehension and frustration (but a side effect of it is increased income).
Yep. And I do think that addressing this issue is likely to yield real benefits all around; it's the one area where DC really can do better. That's why I'm especially interested in hearing how you do with it!
I just think it's important to point out that perhaps the cleanest way to reconcile the differing arguments made by superboy and others -- is to acknowledge that it *IS* for all intents and purposes virtually impossible to get people to donate/pay if there is no tangible benefit to them for doing so.
But that there are a variety of ways to provide some minimal benefit which is sufficient to raise enough income to be satisfied by, while still making it possible and not overly difficult for everyone to use the software fully even if they can't/won't pay.
What's interesting about the open source route is the natural option, which has been used before, see for example
XChat, to provide the source code for free, but charge for the compiled version. This is an unusual option not available to non-open-source tools, because it in effect presents almost all potential users with a requirement that they purchase a license -- since they are not prepared to compile the source themselves, while still making it possible for anyone to get it for free IF they are willing to do a substantial amount of work. [The only time this breaks down is when the software gets popular enough to fork or inspire someone to start publicizing a public compiled version -- but people's distrust might still make this unappealing].
In many ways this is the concept of "work equalization" I mentioned in my article on DonationCoder -- but much more extreme. It says the program is free *IF* you are willing to do a huge amount of work which most people aren't.
Part of whether this is appealing comes down to whether you are more interested in open source or insuring that everyone can use the software for free without too much effort even if they don't want to donate.
Just some random thoughts.
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