257 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
257 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Sponsoring Onyx
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location: Moscow, Russia
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excerpt: Standardizing and implementing a system programming language is hard, but you can help!
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cover: /public/img/posts/2020-08-27-sponsoring-onyx/think-about-it-meme.jpg
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ogType: article
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---
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Standardizing and implementing a system programming language is hard, but you can help!
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Find out how you can sponsor the future, and many hours does it take to create a language mascot, in this post.
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<h2>TL; DR;</h2>
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I wAnT yOuR mOnEy! 🤑
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Pledge to my will at [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/vladfaust) or buy me a beer at [BMC](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vladfaust)! 😂😂😂
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----
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<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
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${toc}
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## Introduction
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I've been working on the [Onyx programming language](/posts/2020-08-20-the-onyx-programming-language) full-time for the past year.
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The work includes standardization and implementation.
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The process is _near to completion_, and there is a substantial chance for you to write your name in history.
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In this post, I'll try to justify my eager will to grab your money with some proof of work.
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By the way, I assume you've read my recent [post on System Programming](/posts/2019-08-16-system-programming-in-2k20), there is a [section](/posts/2019-08-16-system-programming-in-2k20/#on-open-source-sustainability) regarding to the open-source sustainability; as long as all my work is open, I'm also, um, an open-source engineer and thus need financial support.
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## Deeds Already Done
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The onyxlang.com domain name was registered on June 20^th^ 2019.
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As I have a sin of registering domains as soon as I have a solid idea, the day may be treated as the Onyx birthday.
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Today is August 27^th^ 2020, and I've already spent a plethora of time on Onyx.
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You can see it for yourself in [NXSF](https://github.com/nxsf) and [FancySoft](https://github.com/fancysofthq) organization repositories!
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### Tracked Time
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From June 20^th^ 2019 until August 27^th^ 2020, this is the total time I've spent on *coding* Onyx specification, reference(s) and implementation(s):
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::: hero
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<big>1043 hrs 34 mins</big>
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:::
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I've had hard _time_ on maintaining a single project across machines, so there is a lot of them (projects).
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You may click on a project's name to see a detailed timing per file.
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_Due to WakaTime limitations, I have to split the periods._
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From June 20^th^ 2019 until June 20^th^ 2020:
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<div class="table-wrapper">
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Project name | Time spent{style="width: 10rem"} | Notes
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--- | --- | ---
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[`onyx`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/hmfpxdoxna?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 362 hrs 28 mins | Three generations of compilers. There even was [one written in Lua](https://github.com/fancysofthq/fnxc/tree/762e945916aa23f128f82541dd68bd8b90ff74f4)!
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[`onyxlang`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/gbrlphmype?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 237 hrs 47 mins | The [Specification](https://github.com/nxsf/onyx)
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[`lang`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/vnqouuvero?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 109 hrs 25 mins | A mix of specification and references
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[`onyxsoftware`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/tjfynfxpvi?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 29 hrs 21 mins | Specification, again
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[`kaleidoscope`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/amomlfdyzs?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 25 hrs 32 mins | Well, I've been learning [how to fight dragons](https://github.com/vladfaust/kaleidoscope)!
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[`ref`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/vjnrvaqkxn?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 18 hrs 9 mins | Some reference
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[`reference`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/bcdesjivqi?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 15 hrs 10 mins | Duh
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[`onyxstd`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/swdwsydknq?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 14 hrs 45 mins | An attempt to implement a standard library... in Onyx
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[`onyxcontrib`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/jrjvmhlpps?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 10 hrs 7 mins | Some Onyx code like HTTP server implementation
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[`onyxc`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/qrrswxtxje?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 9 hrs 58 mins | Another work put in a compiler
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[`code`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/wzdrcnwxzr?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 9 hrs 29 mins | [The Visual Studio Code extension](https://github.com/fancysofthq/code)
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[`compiler`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/jvoarxevqx?start=2019-06-20&end=2020-06-20) | 7 hrs 36 mins | A compiler?
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**Total** | 849 hrs 2 mins |
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</div>
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From June 20^th^ 2020 until August 27^th^ 2020:
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<div class="table-wrapper">
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Project name | Time spent{style="width: 30%"} | Notes
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--- | --- | ---
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[`onyxlang`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/gbrlphmype?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 106 hrs 1 min | The [Specification](https://github.com/nxsf/onyx)
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[`nxc`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/rcdubvxegp?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 47 hrs 56 mins | The [C++ Compiler](https://github.com/fancysofthq/fnxc), finally
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[`onyx-quickref`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/oygjwrhlgt?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 19 hrs 29 mins | The "quick" [reference](https://github.com/fancysofthq/onyx-ref)
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[`onyx`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/hmfpxdoxna?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 14 hrs 31 mins | Mostly reference
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[`onyxlang.com`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/aeahlrpcbp?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 2 hrs 44 mins | The website
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[`quickref`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/oirloanfrd?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 2 hrs 42 mins | Also [reference](https://github.com/fancysofthq/onyx-ref)
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[`fancyx`](https://wakatime.com/@vladfaust/projects/ozhupbhlcw?start=2020-06-20&end=2020-08-27) | 1 hr 9 mins | Some parts of the C++ compiler
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**Total** | 194 hrs 32 mins |
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</div>
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### Untracked Time
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One shall not forget that designing a language does not equal constantly slapping keyboard strokes.
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In fact, implementing before giving a good thought may lead to [tragic results](https://github.com/crystal-lang/crystal/labels/kind%3Abug).
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 is the general sponsor of Onyx](../../../public/img/posts/2020-08-27-sponsoring-onyx/thinking-meme.jpg "A 'programming is mostly thinking' meme" =60%x)
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I've destroyed several notebooks while deciding on either using `do` / `end` or tabs.
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<small>There has been a double of them throughout the year, but who's gonna believe in it?</small>
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Would you dare to calculate the number of sleepless hours I've spent on _thinking_?
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![](../../../public/img/posts/2020-08-27-sponsoring-onyx/some-notebooks-1.png "A pile of three notebooks" =49%x)
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![](../../../public/img/posts/2020-08-27-sponsoring-onyx/some-notebooks-2.png "Contents of one of the notebooks" =49%x)
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### Time Tracked in Real... Time
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[WakaTime](https://wakatime.com/) is awesome, because it allows to embed recent coding statistics, so you can see how much I <s>wasted my youth</s> coded during the last 30 days!
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<figure>
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<embed src="https://wakatime.com/share/@vladfaust/d2418af2-a022-4f64-ada1-05fede7619fd.svg"></embed>
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<figcaption>Coding activity in the last 30 days (updates daily)</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<figure>
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<embed src="https://wakatime.com/share/@vladfaust/e1ccdc24-0b8a-461e-8dd6-066a5f4220c9.svg"></embed>
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<figcaption>Languages used in the last 30 days (updates daily)</figcaption>
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</figure>
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## Sponsoring the Development
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So, the idea is simple: I want to be able to pay my bills while working on a thing both I enjoy working on and being useful for humanity.
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Later on, I'm planning to make [NXSF](https://nxsf.org) an official 501 \(c\) non-profit organization, so donations made to it would be tax-exemptive, and I will have an official salary (_finally!_).
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However, this would only happen when the language moves to the alpha stage (see the roadmap at [nxsf.org](https://nxsf.org/)).
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Right now, Onyx is in the pre-alpha stage.
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Nothing is publicly stable, work-in-progress etcetera.
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::: off
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Note that theoretically I could've tried applying to Open Collective right now, but:
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1. It implies free-will donations, but what I'm proposing here is clearly purchase of placement in history;
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1. I don't think Onyx is currently "popular" enough;
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1. They take **huge** commissions.
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:::
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----
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But I still need to pay my bills.
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And as I haven't got a real job for a long, long time, my financial cushion is relatively thin.
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As a copyright holder, I'm planning on licensing the Onyx Standard Specification and auxiliary standards with a free, open-source license requiring attribution.
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Therefore, I can offer you, a potential sponsor, a **perpetual**\* attribution in the standards I'll be working on during the pre-alpha development stage.
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Your name or company logo with an optional link would be put into according "early contributors" sections of the standards.
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\* As long as my attribution is required.
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For example, if a standard is rewritten from scratch by an NXSF committee without infringing my patent rights, it then stops being a derivation of my work.
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### The Dark Scheme
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First of all, what I'm proposing is not a _donation_.
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It is a _purchase_ of placement in my attribution texts, a _sponsorship contribution_.
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Of course, you're free to pitch your ideas informally, but you will not have any voting rights in the standards development with this sponsorship.
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----
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There are three sponsorship tiers:
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1. Individual contribution: from $25 per month (compensates half an hour of my work).
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You're attributed with your name or nickname.
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1. Individual contribution with a link: from $100 per month (compensates two hours of my work).
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Same as previous, but also with your custom link.
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1. Business contribution: from $500 per month (compensates ten hours of my work).
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Your company's logo and link are attributed.
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----
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I want to incentivize early contributions, so the <s>pyramind</s> scheme is as follows.
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I learned the hard way that estimating time on completing such a big project as a <big>language specification</big> is _quite_ hard.
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Nonetheless, I'm planning to move on to the alpha stage in **3-6 months** from today (August 27^th^ 2020).
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The earlier you contribute, the more belief you have in me, the more you shall be rewarded.
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And higher reward means higher placement in the contributors list!
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The placement of your attribution depends on your _contribution score_, which is based on the amount you've contributed.
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Each month from today until the alpha stage, the score multiplier is reduced proportionally.
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The multiplier stays the same for you throughout the months if you contribute sequentially, i.e. without cancellations.
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::: spoiler An example
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Let's _imagine_ that alpha stage comes December 13^th^ 2020.
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That means that since September 1^st^ 2020, **3 full months** passed.
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The contributions are made 1^st^ of each recurring month.
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<div class="table-wrapper">
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Month a contribution was made | Contribution score multiplier{style="width: 50%"}
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--- | ---
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September | `1`
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October | `(1 - 1/4) = 3/4`
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November | `(1 - 2/4) = 2/4`
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December | `(1 - 3/4) = 1/4`
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</div>
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If Jake began their sponsorship in September with $100 per month without cancellations, his final score would be `100 * 1 + 100 * 1 + 100 * 1 + 100 * 1 = 400`.
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If John contributed $100 once in October, then skipped November and contributed the same $100 in December (as the hype grows), his final score would be `100 * (3 / 4) + 100 * (1 / 4) = 100`.
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As a result, John's placement would be lower than Jake's in the contributors list.
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In case of argument, the day a contribution was made matters: making a contribution on 3^rd^ gives more score than on 5^th^.
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:::
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Note that to be actually listed in the contributors list, you have to contribute the minimum corresponding sponsorship tier amount **at least once** during the pre-alpha stage.
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For example, even if you're continuously sponsoring with $24 per month, but never contributed $25+, your name will not be listed.
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Also, note that individual tier contributors are listed separately from business tier contributors.
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### My Soundcloud
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You're welcome to become my patron on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/vladfaust) or [BuyMeA<s>Beer</s>Coffee.com](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vladfaust).
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Neither is preferred, choose whichever you like most.
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I'm not planning on creating paid posts etc.
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The difference is that BMC only has a single tier, but allows one-time contributions, which are counted as well.
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Direct Bitcoin donations are also accepted, but they are not eligible for listing.
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### Everlasting Dev
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I want to assure you that I have no long-term plans on living on these sponsorships.
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I'm neither a [YandereDev](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/yanderedev) nor some [Alex Medvednikov](https://vlang.io/).
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The sponsorship opportunity is in effect exclusively during the pre-alpha stage.
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Once the Foundation is established, you'll be guided to put your money there instead, in the form of donations.
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This implies tax exemption and voting rights.
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[Fancy Software LLC](https://fancysoft.xyz) is a for-profit company and I as no other else want Onyx to be complete, so I can start working on my premium packages, self-hosted, gaming and AI products.
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No Patreon sponsorship or non-profit salary can buy me a house.
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![Unless I am a Mozilla Foundation manager](../../../public/img/posts/2020-08-27-sponsoring-onyx/think-about-it-meme.jpg "A 'think about it' meme" =100%x)
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----
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Until then, I want to be able to pay my bills and maybe purchase a newer graphics card.
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In return, you get a chance to be immortalized as a visioner invested in a better future.
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Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/vladfaust) and [GitHub](https://github.com/vladfaust), and also follow [NXSF](https://nxsf.org/) and [FancySoft](https://fancysoft.xyz/) to stay updated about the progress made.
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Oh yes, there is also an official (i.e. NXSF-governed) standard planned on the language's mascot.
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It will be a [panther-girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catgirl) named Onyx-chan. Nya! 🐾
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