I think it would probably be a 'good thing' if there was a mechanism by which the heroic efforts of Mr. Wall et al could be rewarded so that they didn't have to deplete their mortgages, worry themselves in to ulcers etc.

As a private individual I would willingly pay a token amount for my copies of perl.

If I was running a company which was using perl to make money, I would think it totally aceptable to be expected to contribute some token percentage of my profits back towards the R&D of Perl 6. I would also consider a subscription to a "Perl R&D Interest Group" a completely justifiable and desirable business expense if it allowed me to have a 'vote' on the development processes. This wouldn't need to be a real vote, but if my (commercial) concerns were given at least equal weight with those of the academic/hobbiest/purist views, then paying to ensure that my voice was heard would be a commercially viable thing to do.

To explain what I mean a little scenario: Say I had built a commercial system using perl that used (for example) v.strings. Ignore whether this would be good technically for a moment. My system uses v.strings as the basis for the handles of some OO-DB. The whole thing is predicated upon being able to use the v.stringiness to work. I have successfully sold my system to a few customers that are very happy with it. My company employs half a dozen programmers, an office administrator and a salesman. Noone's making a fortune, but despite hard times, were all keeping food on the table.

Whoot! Whoot! Whoot! "I just read that they are dropping support for v.strings from 5.10. But the latest set of features we've promised XYZ PLC are predicated upon the feature X which isn't going to work properly until 5.10".

I know it is (badly) contrived, but the point is clear. It would be worth this companies dollars, which wouldn't harm the perl R&D process either, to pay a reasonable sum to ensure that this feature remained inplace against the wishes of those who wish it to be removed.

As someone whos, far from outragous, income for the last 20 years came from the sale (directly or indirectly) of the software I wrote, I do not understand why Perl programmers feel that Perl should be free?

I understand the antithesis against closed-source, mega-expensive, monopolistic software, but is it necessary to throw the baby out with the bath-water?

This is a purely personal and probably unpopular opinion, but I would be prepared to pay (in advance) for my licence to use P6. I'd be prepared to pay more to have an influence in the development process.(Note: Development NOT design!). I'd be even more interested if I felt that my fees contributed directly to sustaining the R&D process. If there was a mechanism by which I could contribute time to offset against future fee's that would be nice.

I was recently informed that I am unlikely to be able to go out to work (or even much beyond my back garden) for another 6 months and possibly longer. I'd dearly like to utilise that time to contribute to what I feel is going to be the most remarkable language yet developed. If that effort was 'rewardable' in the sense that it made my (currently bleak) future work prospects more viable, that would be a definite bonus.

One mans opinion, nothing more.