Please find below the proposal I will be sending in the coming days via email, I’ve incorporated most of your complaints but some remain unresolved or are only partially resolved.
And I say proposal but I have no intention of trying to speak at the Qubes OS summit, but if someone out there believes the below version is good then they are free to do so.
Proposal
“The only difference between a medicine and a poison is the dosage.”
In large doses, greed is ruining the world, but in small doses it could become the cure that saves the world.
Idea
There should be an affiliate program where for every donation dollar secured, the affiliate gets a small cut (I.e. 10%).
Recover Setup Costs: Charge each person trying to become an affiliate a certain amount
No Tracking Links
Instead of tracking links, the person donating can optionally say why they are donating (i.e. if they want to support the affiliate they select them or they can leave it blank to give it all to Qubes).
Branding
Instead of using the word affiliate, we could use a less offensive term like ambassador. And given the uniqueness of this program, it’s fair to change the term. For simplicity, I’ll continue to refer to them as affiliates below.
Compliance
A single person be in charge of compliance so programmers can focus on programming. This person must actively recruit affiliates and must be a volunteer unless the program reaches the point that they can afford to pay someone.
Style 1-More Risk More Reward More Compliance
Almost anybody should be allowed to become an affiliate (I.e. me).
In order to “cash out”, the person must have at least $100 dollars worth of rewards. Rewards must not expire at any time.
(Optional) Half of all rewards can only be used to purchase or discount Qubes OS certified hardware
Those that have less than $100 worth of rewards would be considered a “future affiliate” rather than an actual one, and be designated as such in legal documents.
Style 2-Less Risk Less Reward Less Compliance
A limited number of people applying are selected to become affiliates based on their user pool, such as youtubers, game makers, influencers, etc.
In this case, only those selected can be charged to join and can be charged a significant amount.
Timing
With fears of AI on the rise, more and more people will seek security options such as Qubes OS that can also run traditional options such as Windows.
Pros
-More donations
-Shouldn’t affect existing or ongoing donations
-More awareness can lead to more partnerships globally
-More users can mean more protesters or emergency donations in the face of government shutdown/blocking
Cons
-Setup Costs
-Incalculable Value
-Backlash from open source purists
-Backlash from government? Although plenty of organizations have affiliate programs and money laundering is unlikely at 10% return
Forum Discussion :
Thanks for taking the time to read this.