[beshrkayali]

Which is why I think it would be a great idea to have a KickStarter-like system to fund these free courses. As much as someone wants to share their knowledge, it consumes a lot of time and effort. It would be nice if teachers got something in return, other than gratitude :)

A KickStarter-like system would also help in eliminating lurkers, and focus the efforts of both teachers and students on the actual course and assignments, and everyone would benefit if these courses are released for free after they're funded, but at least it guarantees an interested student base for the course to become a success.