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diff --git a/billing-faq.md b/billing-faq.md index fc99286..0dee392 100644 --- a/billing-faq.md +++ b/billing-faq.md @@ -2,87 +2,138 @@ title: Billing FAQ --- -I'm Drew DeVault, and I maintain sr.ht and wrote this FAQ. You can reach me any -time for any reason via [sir@cmpwn.com](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com). I usually respond -within a few hours if I'm awake. I'm also generally available for chat on IRC: -join [#sr.ht on irc.freenode.net][irc]. Let me know if you have any questions. +I am Drew DeVault, and I maintain sr.ht. You can reach me at any time, for any +reason, via [sir@cmpwn.com](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com). If you have any questions +about billing on sr.ht, please reach out. -[irc]: https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23sr.ht&uio=d4 +# Who has to pay for an account? -## Why do I have to pay for sr.ht when GitHub, GitLab, etc are free? +In short, everyone who can afford to. -Providing high-quality services for the free and open-source community cannot be -done for free. There are lots of ways services like sr.ht can be funded. Most -are funded through venture capital, which is why you see them in the news after -raising millions of dollars to support their growth. These services are -incentivized to create a return for their investors, and can be expected to -optimize towards that end. +SourceHut is currently under development, and during this phase, payment is +optional. It helps to support the project, but we understand that you may have +reservations about paying for an incomplete service. However, once the beta +begins, payment will become mandatory for all maintainers. -On the other hand, sr.ht is funded entirely by its users. This creates a much -healthier relationship between you and the service. I am only accountable to -you, and my only concern is with making the service as useful as possible for -you. sr.ht's business model is designed explicitly to prioritize user needs over -investor needs. +*Note: due to its high risk for abuse, submitting CI jobs will be limited to +paid accounts in the near future. See [builds.sr.ht billing change +planning](/ops/builds.sr.ht-migraiton.md) for details.* -Your subscription fee stays in open-source: sr.ht is 100% free software, mostly -licensed under the GNU Affero General Public license (aka AGPL 3.0). I integrate -patches from the community and we work together to build the best open-source -service we can. Your fee pays for the cost of operations and to keep someone -online to maintain the site, develop features, and provide support for a -reliable site. +Note the difference between *maintainers* and *contributors*. Only the former +is required to pay. In other words, if you host your project with us, you will +be expected to have a paid account. -## What are the differences in the plans? Which should I pick? +**You will have to pay to**: -There are no differences between the plans, all of them have equal access to -sr.ht's services. You should choose the plan which best matches your financial -needs and investment in sr.ht. +- Set up bug trackers +- Set up mailing lists +- Host git or hg repositories +- List your project on the hub +- Submit CI builds -## What are the limitations on free accounts? +And so on. However, we will **not** ask *contributors* to pay. You will always +be able to register for a sr.ht account and participate in projects hosted with +us without having to pay for your account. In fact, many of our features work +without registering for an account at all. -During the alpha, free accounts are not limited in any way. After the alpha, -free accounts will not be allowed to own resources, including git repositories, -bug trackers, mailing lists, etc, nor submit builds on builds.sr.ht. They will, -however, be able to contribute to projects maintained by paying users. +**You will NOT have to pay to**: -## I can't afford an account. Am I out of luck? +- Submit bug reports +- Send patches or questions +- Browse or download software -Just send me an email explaining your circumstances and I'll help you out. Part -of the fees from paid accounts are used to subsidize users who aren't able to -pay. +You do not have to register for an account at all to do these things; you can +submit tickets and patches and so on with an unregistered email address. -## Earning service credits for contributing to sr.ht +# I'm not sure I can afford it. -As an open source project, sr.ht accepts patches from its users. In exchange for -having nontrivial patches merged to sr.ht, free service can be issued to your -account. [Send me an email](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) to claim your account credit -after your patch is merged. +It is not our intention to price anyone out of using the service. If the minimum +fees are too high for your financial needs, then you can simply [send us an +email](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) explaining your situation, and you will be issued +free service, no questions asked. sr.ht users from many walks of life have been +granted free service: students, users with issues using their currency of +choice, people between jobs, and so on. + +Users can also earn free service credits by contributing to sr.ht itself. +SourceHut is a free and open source project itself, and each non-trivial patch +you land in sr.ht earns you one month of free service. [Read more about contributing to sr.ht here](/installation.md). -## Can I cancel or change my plan? +# What are the differences between each plan? + +There is no difference between any of the plans: they all have access to the +same level of service, and the same service limits. You should choose whichever +plan best represents your financial ability and your level of investment in +sr.ht. It's a kind of honor system: pay what you think the service is worth to +you. + +# Why should I pay when GitHub, GitLab, etc, are free? + +Hosting these services is not free, or even cheap. The money has to come from +somewhere. + +Each of these companies is financially supported by venture capital, in the form +of large investments from a small number of people. If you use their services +for free, or even if you pay the modest fees for their paid plans, they are not +incentivized to serve you. They are bidden to their investors, and at their +behest, they may implement changes you don't like: invasive tracking, selling +your data, and so on. + +SourceHut has not accepted, and will never accept, any outside investments. Our +sole source of revenue is from sr.ht users making their account payments. This +incentivizes us to only consider your needs, and not to use you as a resource to +be exploited. The financial relationship is much more responsible for both +parties. + +Unlike GitHub and GitLab, your sr.ht subscription fee stays in open-source. +sr.ht is 100% free software, mostly licensed under the GNU Affero General Public +license (aka AGPL 3.0). We incorporate changes from the community and work +together to build the best service possible. Your payment provides for the cost +of operations, keeping someone online to maintain teh site, developing new +features, and providing reliable service. We promise to only invest our profits +in free software or free culture efforts, and we already sponsor many such +projects. + +# Can I cancel or change my plan? Yes, you can cancel or modify your plan at any time. Visit the [billing -page](https://meta.sr.ht/billing) to make changes. Your current billing period -will be completed and the changes will take place at the start of the next one. +page](https://meta.sr.ht/billing) to make changes. You will not be charged until +the service period you've already paid for expires. -## Can I get an invoice? +# What will happen when I stop paying? -You can download invoices from the [billing page](https://meta.sr.ht/billing). +During the alpha, there are no consequences for non-payment. + +After the alpha: + +Your data will not disappear overnight. + +The delinquency process is as follows: -## How much money does sr.ht have/spend/make? +- An email reminder will be sent to inform you that your account is past due +- After two weeks, your resources may become read only (e.g. you can `git clone` + but not `git push`). +- After eight weeks, your case will be manually reviewed. We may choose to + provide you with a complete export of your data and close your account. Note + that this data export can be re-imported into sr.ht again should you choose to + register for another account, or can be taken to a third-party instance, with + little to no information loss. -We publish quarterly financial reports on the sr.ht-discuss mailing list - you can -read them here: +# Will pricing change after the alpha? -[Financial -reports](https://lists.sr.ht/~sircmpwn/sr.ht-discuss?search=financial+report) +Yes. The exact numbers have not been decided upon. There will be a generous +period of consultation with the community and advance warning before any pricing +changes take effect. + +# Can I get an invoice? + +You can download invoices from the [billing page](https://meta.sr.ht/billing). -## Can I deploy sr.ht on my own infrastructure instead of paying for an account? +# Can I deploy sr.ht on my own infrastructure instead of paying for an account? Yep! [Here are instructions](https://man.sr.ht/installation.md). -## Do you offer paid support plans? +# Do you offer paid support plans? -Yep! Paid support is available for both users of the hosted service and users -who deploy sr.ht to their own infrastructure. [Send me an -email](mailto:sir@cmpwn.com) summarizing your needs. +No, not at the moment. |