1. Using Kickstarter as a way to give PRO users a discount on their normal $40 rate. 2. Using Kickstarter as a way to market/announce their new business model.
If that's indeed why they are doing this as a Kickstarter then its a pretty great way to use Kickstarter, imho!
I'm not sure exactly which mix of benefits FA has in mind, but personally, I don't mind it.
And currently, they've gotten well over double their original goal - which is huge validation that the market likes what they are doing.
That's a new one. How does someone getting making a living while developing open source software mean "everybody loses"?
You can, however, do it as a function of your work for your employer. Almost all of today's viable FOSS started like this, because it provides the financial security and moral support you need to bring a FOSS to maturity.
That's not to say there is something wrong with it. It just seems confusing at face value.
I'm not really sure why the idea is such a foreign concept to the point where you need to insinuate that I think that Free software "falls from the sky" or some such nonsense.
Good thing they're selling a product then, not asking for a handout. And hey, as a bonus, they're releasing a fully refreshed set of icons for free!
Your perspective on what open-source can/should be is utterly unrecognizable to me. I'm glad it seems like the majority of people are finally getting comfortable with the idea that you shouldn't have to choose between making a living and contributing to the open source ecosystem.
I'm sure they don't need to do that but if you've already got the following to allow it, why not take the opportunity to ramp up the buzz?
It also puts some focus on the much-ignored professional versions. Most people have been happy to use the free versions. This draws attention to the fact that designing things takes time and that is worth something.
They need to choose between: 1) If you're gonna raise money, then release all your work for free. No "premium" icons. 2) If you're gonna have a freemium-premium model, then don't have a fundraiser and get others to underwrite your risks.