Also sprach vonHalenbach:
Have any of the Inkscape developers been asked to work for hire improving Inkscape? (Not including the Google Summer of code.) This seems to be something likely to happen later when smaller businesses take the plunge and switch to inkscape. I think most of the people requesting features at the moment would only be able to offer a donation as a gesture rather than enough to pay a developer for a few days work. Theories of end users clubbing together to fund development haven't ever panned out far as I know, but it is certainly a nice hope.
Sincerely
Alan Horkan
Inkscape http://inkscape.org Open Clip Art http://OpenClipArt.org
I don't think we want to get into the business of having donations cause reprioritization of work. It seems to work best when there is a full sponsorship for a large scope of work, such as happens with the GSoC. That'd take quite a pool of donations, but I think it could be made to happen.
Bryce
That is in my opinion very likely to happen. I had contact to one guy who had to convert his graphics with some crappy propritary software which is protected by a dongle. He used the software just to convert the files for a cutting-plotter. He asked me, if he can do that with inkscape in the future. Such people like it easy and would gladly pay real bucks, so that they can ditch their old software. Would you like to draw a picture with inkscape, shut down the computer, change the dongle on the printer-port, start the computer again, convert your files and plot them? Every day ?
If inkscape-coders like to earn some money, they should write something in the wiki or on the homepage, that they were availebal for such activities.
greetings Stefan