Search and ad funding for open source [LWN.net]

Search and ad funding for open source

Posted Nov 9, 2011 11:00 UTC (Wed) by Cato (guest, #7643)
Parent article: Firefox 8 released

I was thinking how lucky we all are to have a great open source browser like Firefox that's not dependent on a mega corporation, and has the funding to cover full-time developers, huge download traffic, etc.

Since there was a discussion about Linux Mint using a Mozilla-like search and ads funding model, and this model seems to work well for both projects - maybe more open source projects should adopt this model? I don't mind unblocking ads for Mint since it is doing good work on a usable distro, and search based revenue is even less hassle. It does open up a small risk of malvertising but that's not such an issue for Linux users.

One of the key things I hate, which Mint has so far avoided, is banner ads that move, blink, etc - I can live with even banner ads if they are static and reasonably relevant, but motion in the corner of my eye is far too distracting. Unfortunately, that's why I still have to disable LWN ads.

Unlike many of the other revenue models (open core, dual licensing, selling support contracts), the ad model is easily adopted by almost any project that gets some web traffic, and the search model is applicable to Linux distros as well as browsers.

Maybe an LWN article on the pros and cons of this revenue model would be worth while?

to post comments

Search and ad funding for open source

Posted Nov 9, 2011 13:37 UTC (Wed) by njwhite (guest, #51848) [Link] (2 responses)

I for one really hate adverts. I'd *far* rather (and do) donate to projects which are important to me, rather than have them bombard me with crap to encourage me to consume more. Ads are never truly relevant; they're paid placements on what you actually want to read.

I expect it is true that most people don't donate to projects they rely on, or really think of doing so, but changing that mindset makes projects much more sustainable, and our mental environment much nicer.

I doubt it'll work

Posted Nov 9, 2011 14:36 UTC (Wed) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

LWN is barely able to collect enough fees to support itself - and people are accustomed to pay for magazines IRL.

I'm not sure if it'll be possible support major project like Mozilla this way.

Search and ad funding for open source

Posted Nov 9, 2011 17:09 UTC (Wed) by Cato (guest, #7643) [Link]

I should have mentioned donations (quite a lot of Mint funding comes from them), but as long as ads are easily blockable with Adblock Plus, you can donate instead. Search-based funding doesn't involve graphical ads and the project gets the revenue even if you block the text ads, which I find are quite relevant and sometimes useful.