You get at the core of the issue here, which is that we can save developers a huge amount of time with the right mix of pre-built components and dedicated developer support.
All of our paid options surround the idea that developers can go faster and better leverage their time with time-sensitive help. We've all become used to Stackoverflow saving the day, but if the answer doesn't magically pop up in Google, we can waste many hours chasing it needlessly.
I hope the future is full of paid open source options.
Same here. The mixture of support contracts, straight up donations and the Varnish Moral License that varnish offers is, I think, a taste of things to come. Mixing support and patronage is, I think, the answer - patronage is a means to ensure the software is better, support contracts a hedge against it sucking - but if you combine the two so money spent is never perceived by the customer as wasted, the result is really quite interesting.
All of our paid options surround the idea that developers can go faster and better leverage their time with time-sensitive help. We've all become used to Stackoverflow saving the day, but if the answer doesn't magically pop up in Google, we can waste many hours chasing it needlessly.
I hope the future is full of paid open source options.