[fregante]

It's kind of weird to work for free though, isn't it? Sure it's something we like doing, but I really see no reason to reject free money. For uBlock this free money would be a fairly large amount, I'm sure. Even if that'd require some legal setup, I assume those fees will be largely covered.

[lwouis]

Money as the end-all-be-all is pretty new. I notice it a lot in American culture in particular.

People have dedicated their life to all sorts of endeavors in the past, and still do of course. Big religions are a prime source of people doing large amounts of work for no money.

It's quite odd to me to think that any activity i engage in should be to accumulate these tokens. Something i do stuff for the process itself. Sometimes to get a smile from people. Sometimes to see more beauty around me. Etc

[fregante]

Yeah but… money. You can’t pay rent with smiles. Accepting donations would probably mean having to work less at their main job. Or they could re-donate it.

There are people willing and able to pay, leaving those money on the table is pure waste.

[lwouis]

> You can’t pay rent with smiles.

You do. Make an effort to think of the many cases in life where people do things for each other without money. Parents will host you for free, shelters do it, woofing or being au-pair, etc.

Open-source can be run like a business, but it can just as well be run like a shelter, or language-enthusiasts club, and any other form of human social organization.

In the same way, people do ride-sharing for a fee, yet you can also put your thumb in the air and people will gladly share their ride for free.

Humanity has many facets to it

[BeetleB]

> It's kind of weird to work for free though, isn't it?

Agree with the sibling. Trying to get compensated for everything you do - particularly hobbies - is what is considered weird in most of the world.

> For uBlock this free money would be a fairly large amount, I'm sure. Even if that'd require some legal setup, I assume those fees will be largely covered.

I think you're highly overestimating how much he'd get. I recall many years ago another developer stopped receiving donations and he posted in detail how much he would receive. It really wasn't that much, but while it may just have covered all the overhead fees, when you factor in the time spent on record keeping, etc, it was a net loss.

> Or they could re-donate it.

Consider this his way of trying to make things more efficient, and giving people the hint to donate elsewhere rather than him being the conduit to donate elsewhere :-)

> leaving those money on the table is pure waste.

So are so many aspects of our lives: For the majority of folks, eating at an average restaurant and paying tips is leaving money on the table - both literally and figuratively. If you look at the efficiency of how people use (and waste) money, you'll see almost everyone does it - including anyone who buys a car less than 6 years old.

I don't know much about the author, but say you have a job and 2+ kids. You are very likely in the "negative" when it comes to free time. You value time more than money, and only want money if it can buy you more time. In this case, it's really not clear whether the money he would get from donations would be worth the tax hassle alone. Also: Consider that many of us do our own taxes, so it's not a matter of "just throw this at my tax person".