> well Google's using all three in different ways...
So that justifies giving them a seat at the board of directors and not just a sponsorship?
Apple and Facebook both use Rust but I don't see anything about them being on the board (at least Facebook for now), the least I expect is sponsorship.
If you mean by dedicating workforce (which costs money, and a lot for them because of their salaries policies) they are buying a seat? Yes. The same way a major contributor (not just code, but doc, funding, community building...) to a FOSS project often has more power on the decisions than users.
Now I would be unhappy to see a company that just pours millions in a project, gets to take decisions but doesn't do anything else to make the project better. But I don't believe that's the case here.
So that justifies giving them a seat at the board of directors and not just a sponsorship?
Apple and Facebook both use Rust but I don't see anything about them being on the board (at least Facebook for now), the least I expect is sponsorship.