Debvgger

So, wXR, my views on this, are that you have kind and noble intentions but you are risking to inadvertently alienate a bit the AROS developers with your proposal. As a developer by heart, I think I truly understand why they would not want to go to Github or even accept your money at all. Let me try to explain, of course taking into account these are my views and may be, or probably are, absolutely wrong :-)

First of all, if it was a project where I work on in my free time, I would rather spend the limited time I have coding instead of learning how to deal with a site that I may not like. Github, as a social network, has a lot of nice advantages, but I personally don't like social networks, maybe because I'm really not that social after all.

There are concerns about the USA legal views on reverse engineering. These concerns may be founded or unfounded, but nevertheless the feelings are real and nobody likes to have concerns at all, especially if they come from something done for free. If I was giving my free time to this project I would not want to have to spend even one second fearing a future law change that puts me into trouble.

There's also something you have to take into account. The way the project is being developed may be good, bad, may be the right way or the wrong way, but long projects become alive on themselves and have their own mood, spirit, pace and shape. People working on AROS may be in the project because they like it in it's present form. Move it to Github and, maybe, this magic may be lost, even if a new magic arises and is even better.

If you want to help, and I'm sure you truly show that is what you want to do, then I would just ask the current AROS developers: I have this money, how do you think it would serve AROS better? Maybe you can spend the money buying a few Amigas for development and testing, with a range of accelerators, 68020, 68030, 68040... Get some Vampires and 68060s. Maybe paying for hosting, new development computers with lots of cores so compilation is much faster, give them SSDs :-) Get them licenses for fancy software tools, pay for accomodations if they want to go to Amiga parties so they can show AROS in action. This sort of actions would make their efforts enjoyable and everyone would feel as their super hard work is being rewarded. You may ask if they would like to do something you would like to see done. But that's all. I think it's not a good idea to tell them what they have to do, how to do it or when and where to do it. And be prepared to get a "sorry, no, thanks". It's their choice. Always will be. And that is good.

If for example you and your friends like to go to a pub and then I tell you I'm a fan of your conversations and I have a lot of money ready to pay for your drinks, but you have to go to another pub and maybe I have a list of the topics I would like you to discuss, then, maybe, maybe not, you would feel a bit weird when thinking about what I'm proposing. Suddenly, something you were doing just for the sake of it, because the challening discussions, the fun or the beer, becomes a second job. I don't think they want or need a second job, because if that was the case then they would not work on this project that is not a job.

I may be just projecting my feelings and because that I may be absolutely wrong. But, me at least, I code because... Because that is what I have to do. I don't need any motivation. I code because I feel like doing it. Throw money at some of my pet projects and then I don't want to work on them anymore, because now I have an obligation, goals to reach, dates to look at, maybe having to spend time justifying why I did something, why not, why in that order. And, for that, I already have a job. One I truly love too, where I have tons of fun when everything works as it should, but professional obligations have nothing to do with having fun in my free time. Just the fact of not having someone watching me already changes everything. I'm free to try crazy things if I want, to be right and to be wrong, or just not do anything at all because I'm tired or because I want to go out with my wife and my daughter. Because it's my time. You can't monetize that. At all. I would rather pay to be able to continue working on my free time projects as I do, than accepting money then feeling obligated to put work on them.

Maybe I'm just crazy, or stupid. I don't know. But at least I hope I was able to explain myself :-) Congratulations on being a generous person. If I'm in a similar economic position some day I will just do as yourself.