With regard to your last question, that’s a hard one. This isn’t the first time it’s come up, so I guess it’s going to continue to do so.
Generally, I don’t like the idea of accepting donations for several reasons, the biggest being that as a GPL program, it benefits from the contributions of many people. Not just the dozens of people who sent in code, but the code it builds on and the tools used to compile it.
How do I split compensation with Herman, who admins this web site? Or Anders, who’s working on the web-based playlist editor? Or Paul and Hiren who did the dynamic cover art stuff? Or Timo, who added the transcoding support? Or any of the other people who have helped?
That said, I *have* incurred real costs associated with this. My hosting costs and domain registration costs are around $500, and although others have contributed time and effort to the project, I’m the only one that has had to bear the actual costs (as measured in dollars and cents) associated with the project.
So. I’ve turned on the “contribute” button on sourceforge. You can get to it here: http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/mt-daapd.
I will leave it on so long as:
1. Contributions don’t exceed my out-of-pocket expenses
2. I make it clear this is to offset my real expenses, not pay me for my time
3. Nobody that has contributed time or effort to this project has any objections
I think that represents a fair balance. I’m not exploiting other peoples work for my profit, but I don’t have to be a martyr either.
I think this seems reasonable, but I’d welcome comments.
— Ron