I've always thought that often the best way to give is anonymously and I understand I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but in this case the 'horse' analogy might be appropriate. This isn't a criticism of the FreeBSD Foundation; I'm just raising a question about this gift and similar gifts for other FOSS projects:<p>FOSS projects thrive on transparency; are such large anonymous gifts good for them? Think of a similar anonymous gift to a politician - in that case, humble anonymity isn't a good thing (it's a very imperfect analogy; I'm just trying to relate the issue to something familiar). I assume, maybe incorrectly, that the FreeBSD foundation knows who the donor is; should the wider community know who wields such influence? Will the donor want something in return, now or later? Is it a corporation or corporate leader who may want FreeBSD's cooperation later, perhaps to stay out of or to support a certain market segment or technology? A U.S. government entity such as In-Q-Tel, or an entity controlled by a foreign government?<p>FreeBSD and the donor may both say, and even mean, that there are no strings attached, but it's similar to a parent saying they won't favor their own children; when that donor calls with a request, it is very hard to say no.<p>Likely the donor is being very generous and should be thanked, not questioned. And of course, if the FreeBSD Foundation said they were turning down the gift for the reasons above, many would question that decision too.
So, they/she/he did his job, but have you? ;) FreeBSD needs your support[0], every donor counts, no matter what's the amount you can spare!<p>[0] <a href="https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/donate/" rel="nofollow">https://www.freebsdfoundation.org/donate/</a>
I often give money anonymously. I dont expect anything back.<p>Its just extra zeroes for some people. If you have $5,000,000 then giving $5000 to some worthy cause is not a big deal at all. Its like going to Starbucks... chump change.<p>if you have $500,000,000 then $500,000 becomes chump change.<p>Someone who made lots of money in the recent tech bubble could easily swing this much $ with no strings attached.