Let's stop and try to develop a taxonomy of LiveCode users who don't put money into the company:
1. People who don't have sufficient income to buy any of the commercial versions of LiveCode.
2. People who don't have sufficient income to donate money to LiveCode.
3. People who earn pots of money (a lot of it from using LiveCode) who don't put money into LiveCode.
Category 3 seem to be classifiable as 'cheapskates,' although quite why one needs to bandy
offensive words around like that beats me; it certainly will not make those people suddenly
shell out their millions; merely put their backs up.
As a person who, in the last 18 years has managed to earn $600
directly from products made using LiveCode, and ploughed about $150
back into the company, I may have, proportionally, put more money
into LiveCode than anyone else on this use list.
Today I taught a class of young programmers; now we spent about
45 minutes working with LiveCode on Linux, 45 minutes working
with BBC BASIC on MOS (the operating system in BBC computers),
and another 30 minutes looking at MicroSoft BASIC.
For that class, after the usual deductables (electricity, rent,
amortisement on chairs and other crap, tax . . .) I earned
the princely sum of 30 Euros. How much of that is "owed" to
LiveCode to keep several foul-mouthed types from calling me
a cheapskate I just don't know. Actually I spent most of that
money taking my wife out to lunch.
Also, lest we forget, LiveCode IS available as Open Source Software;
and having "let the cat out of the bag" you must live with the
consequences. I do not believe LiveCode would have a higher income
had that not done that.
If LiveCode spent a lot more time on seriously targetting
the Education sector (their natural 'home' sector) instead of what
they are doing they might find their income went up.
The much vaunted LiveCode 'Community' might become something resembling
a community if its would-be members did not use offensive words, especially
in cases where it is not always clear the name callers know anything about other
LiveCode users financial situations.
Come to think of things, probably the only financial situation of anyone hereabouts
that is known is mine.
