Re: [Dragora-users] FSF interview with Matías Fonzo

[Tiberiu]

La 13.07.2024 21:26, Volkeng via Dragora-users a scris:
> > > I mainly see a forced fullscreen popup, a permanent banner taking half of the 
> > > page and 5 links, all selling FSF paid memberships.
> > > All links include advertising campaign-based visitor click tracking, akin to 
> > > what a corporate would do.
I disagree, the FSF doesn't track visitors, but corporations usually do. 
The campaign code inclusion in the URL is simply to measure its performance.
> > > Ah, now that I squint my eyes, yes, there is also a tiny interview at the 
> > > bottom, squished under the FSF members-only forum and the shop.

The Dragora interview is prominently listed as second topic in the 
bulletin announcement and in the web version of the bulletin, and the 
printed version of the bulletin is ending with the story, precisely for 
visibility (the first and last pages - the beginning and the end -  of 
any print are the ones that people read first).

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/spring-bulletin-issue-44-now-online-read-and-share-it-with-your-community
https://magazine.fsf.org/2024-spring/
https://static.fsf.org/nosvn/magazine/2024-spring/FSF_Bulletin_Spring-2024.pdf

> > The problem is that nothing is free, because we live in a monetary system.  And 
> > what is free, costs money to maintain or provide over time...
> The FSF creates the illusion that their membership is equivalent to sustaining 
> all free software developers, while the real usage of the donations remains 
> opaque. They are stealing your potential donors, giving back nothing tangible.

These are unsubstantiated accusations. FSF doesn't run misleading 
fundraisers and it's mainly supported by individuals, unlike most 
organizations, that depend on corporate sponsors and have to follow 
their agenda.

The FSF raises funds transparently, informs what the funds are for, and 
reports how the funds have been spent. Many free software projects (not 
only GNU packages) are sustained by the infrastructure that the FSF 
maintains, and the organization gives those projects visibility. This is 
exactly the case with Dragora.

> They are just exploiting the image of Dragora to attract more donors for their 
> personal profit: most of those who visit that page will only donate to the FSF 
> wrongly thinking Dragora will receive part of the donation...

The FSF is a non-profit organization and it's obviously not a person. 
Dragora is not well known, but FSF is the main organization that has 
promoted it from the beginning and has answered to the project's urgent 
funding needs.

If anything, FSF is inviting people to redirect to Dragora money from 
their available funds for donations, publishing the interview that 
contains the exact message that its developer wanted people to receive.

All things considered, please show your direct support to Dragora using 
the information on the Donate page, and let's return to the topic, which 
is further attracting donations for Dragora to allow its developer to 
continue the work: https://www.dragora.org/donate/

Thank you for your understanding,

Tiberiu

PS If anyone would like to comment further about the FSF, I suggest 
replying off-list or better yet, sending a message directly to the FSF. 
Let's keep this discussion about Dragora.