First off - a thanks to the contribs team, Mitel and user community for their combined efforts. That's what has made SME good up to now.
I have concerns about ANY payment model. I realize that expenses are incurred and the heavy volunteers should earn expense reimbursements at the very least. But when the payment becomes mandatory rather than voluntary, you are establishing some expectations, and perhaps some contractural obligations and potential liability.
I see that some of the SME/contribs guru's offer 'server packages' to their clients and stand by them on the basis of their own expertise. That is all well and good - the SME/contribs distro is an 'unsupported developer release' and they should profit from their services. But to charge for the base distribution? Let us consider this a bit.
I am considering offering SME server as a commercial option for my clients. I would have no problem telling them that there was a one-time donation required that I would collect (and forward) or a smaller recurring annual fee. My profit would come from my consultation time. But the customer would then expect and demand ongoing support (naturally) from contribs.org (in addition to what I provide).
No real problem with that so far, except from the comments I have seen posted in this and other threads, our volunteer organization doesn't have a clear roadmap for the future or structure to collect and distribute these funds. If it exists, post it and we will line up behind you (perhaps some will leave). I have seen threads where people have suggested several possible directions, but have not seen a FORMAL declaration or plan/migration path (only a form for bugfix xxx... in the next release section). How does the GROUP contribute to development of SME without a published plan? (Yes - I've seen the call to volunteer and a jobs will be doled out on that basis, but maybe more poeple will participate if there is a plan with a listing of unassigned tasks that might strike a volunteer's fancy).
Others have called for a 'business plan/financial statements' and spoke of general dissatisfaction with the way things are being run. I personally don't have complaints as I realize that the work here is done by volunteers. But at what point does one cease to be a volunteer if money is collected?
Enough rambling - here are my suggestions/two cents worth...
1) Contribs.org group/foundation whatever should CHARGE for a value-added product. Two examples might be
a) a custom install script on a special iso that allows the installer to choose which of the pre-configured, tested and certified contributions (the most popular ones) will be installed along with the base distribution. This would mean a free base and a second value-added iso. I would think many newbies would be glad to pay $20 for a copy of that iso (with no limitation on the number of server installs) rather than spending hours in the forums and faqs trying to do it on their own. The added-value is in the pre-configured and tested setup. The popularity of the custom 6.X.X iso should bear witness to the viability of this option. The guru's that lead this effort probably already have their own custom iso's that they could quickly combine into a group offering with a modified install script.
b) Offer a lifetime/one-time charge membership subscription service like redhat update for something like yum - but with access to a tested and certified update repository. The unsupported SME version users would have to download their updates from public sources.
2) Keep the unsupported distribution as it is - free. Users that don't wish to pay or can't afford to pay can still use our community offering. The main difference is that more work on the part of the individual will be required to install and use the distro. The community can continue to submit contributions and how-to's that can be used by all.
Temper these thoughts with the observation that more structure and openness with our future direction and finances would be desireable if we 'charge' for services rather than ask for donations. Keep the suggested fees low ($5-$20/person/site for unlimited use to cover needs only - we are non-profit, right?) or volunteers may dry up if they feel they should get a cut for their contributions. Also allow for non-profit, etc. free access.
Let's bring the financial discussion to a head and make a decision. SME is too good to suffer from dissention in the ranks. If you have better funding ideas other than asking for donations, speak up. At least some of these ideas will generate income without violating the 'free use' nature of our volunteer effort. But let's move on before our community begins to fragment.
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