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OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

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Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#92
post #45

> The OpenBSD project uses a lot of electricity for running the > development and build machines. A number of logistical reasons > prevents us from moving the machines to another location which might > offer space/power for free, so let's not allow the conversation to go > that way. I don't understand this comment. If the choice came down to moving versus shutting down entirely, why is moving an unacceptable answer?

I've seen a picture posted on Slashdot how they server rack looks like. There are many very old machines, I am sure that at least one reason is fear that they break during transportation. Found it: http://www.openbsd.org/images/rack2009.jpg

That image has been present on the lower right corner of the openbsd homepage for a long time. Given the name of the image, I imagine it's been present since at least since 2009, but my (fuzzy) memory wants me to believe there has been an image of a rack there even before then.

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#93

A little bit off topic, but this reminds me again of how much the web needs an easy payment system (as easy as in-app purchases in mobile). EFF, wikipedia, I often see notices or news of things they're doing and think to myself that I should donate. But I'm usually in the middle of something and stopping everything to take out my wallet, get the CC, fill out a form, etc. is just too disruptive. So I try to remind mys…

Square Cash is pretty sweet, just send an email

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#94
post #66
post #10

Just to make the call to action a little more direct, the donation link is here: http://www.openbsdfoundation.org/donations.html

Thanks, just donated, I use openssh every day so it just makes sense.

Wow. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I had no idea OpenSSH fell under the OpenBSD umbrella! It certainly makes very good sense for me to donate now!

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#95
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he's asking for money from me, I would like to know why it's not an option. The root of the issue being raised is power/space, so I'd definitely want to know why I'm forking up for something the project could potentially get for free. It's not a big deal, and I don't expect him to go into detail. He just won't get a cent from me without elaborating, and that's OK. I'm not mad, and I understand he has mis-givings.…

If you're asking for help and you have constraints, you better qualify those constraints in a way that builds confidence. The more transparency you have in your discussion, the more supportive people will be.

> The more transparency you have in your discussion, the more supportive people will be.

I think that's total, obvious nonsense and if you need to be convinced, here's an exercise: consider how much money the average nonprofit would raise if people knew where all that money went.

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#96
post #79
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OpenBSD supports a number of odd and unusual platforms and does builds on them. See http://www.openbsd.org/plat.html . Older hardware can both use a significant amount of electricity and require much more hand-holding than is possible. Virtualization and emulation are not acceptable substitutes because they claim that doing builds on e.g. VAX is one of the best ways to ensure that the code works on VAX as opposed to…

OpenBSD's main value is high security standards. - Is there a significant amount of people with high security standards and an interest in SGI workstation hardware? - What about people who have high security standards and Sharp Zaurus hardware? If these groups aren't as important, as say, ARM and x86 users, perhaps it could be worth dropping some of these platforms?

As a longtime OpenBSD fan and advocate, this has always fascinated me. I loved SGIs back in the day but they are slow as shit today and unusable for any kind of modern desktop usage unless all you do is write code in a terminal. These platforms survive in OpenBSD land because somebody still cares enough about them to enjoy hacking on them. There's no point in saying "Drop them!" because the devs working on them probably could care less what the rest of us think.

Personally, I do wish OpenBSD could somehow regain the popularity it once had and that support for modern hardware like 10GBE and scaling PF throughput w/ multi-core CPUs would improve. I don't know what it would take to bring people back.

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#97
post #10

Just to make the call to action a little more direct, the donation link is here: http://www.openbsdfoundation.org/donations.html

Thanks for the link. I donated as well. Isn't OpenSSH used by a lot of companies? $20,000 a year would be extremely trivial for many companies where it is widely used, without even splitting it among them. Doesn't Apple ship OpenSSH by default? Wish they would step in.

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#98

A little bit off topic, but this reminds me again of how much the web needs an easy payment system (as easy as in-app purchases in mobile). EFF, wikipedia, I often see notices or news of things they're doing and think to myself that I should donate. But I'm usually in the middle of something and stopping everything to take out my wallet, get the CC, fill out a form, etc. is just too disruptive. So I try to remind mys…

EFF and Wikipedia both have prominent options to donate via Paypal. Wikipedia offers an Amazon option as well.

Either of those are two clicks (choice and confirmation) plus authentication which is identical to my in-app experience.

The biggest difference isn't about the process, but at what level a user has bought in to it - a payment shim from a particular provider or an ecosystem (Google / Apple).

I wonder how folks would react if Chrome / Safari started popping up a button to allow a seamless donation through Wallet/iTunes whenever a page presented a PayPal link or a CC form?

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#99
post #66
post #10

Just to make the call to action a little more direct, the donation link is here: http://www.openbsdfoundation.org/donations.html

Thanks, just donated, I use openssh every day so it just makes sense.

Just donated to support the project as well.

Re: OpenBSD will shut down if we do not have the funding to keep the lights on

#100
post #52

> The OpenBSD project uses a lot of electricity for running the > development and build machines. A number of logistical reasons > prevents us from moving the machines to another location which might > offer space/power for free, so let's not allow the conversation to go > that way. I don't understand this comment. If the choice came down to moving versus shutting down entirely, why is moving an unacceptable answer?

OpenBSD supports a number of odd and unusual platforms and does builds on them. See http://www.openbsd.org/plat.html . Older hardware can both use a significant amount of electricity and require much more hand-holding than is possible. Virtualization and emulation are not acceptable substitutes because they claim that doing builds on e.g. VAX is one of the best ways to ensure that the code works on VAX as opposed to…

I don't see why they're proposing a all or none situation when they could choose to move and in doing so, limit the number of platforms they support. If anyone complains about a specific platform being dropped, well have them pay for the overhead associated with it.
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