This seems really strange, to me. Isn't it basically working around an arbitrary, self-imposed restriction to give code away?
As a developer, if I want to make money from one of my projects, I'll charge people to use it or to buy a copy. If I can't sell enough copies to fund development, I don't see how I would ever be able to fund development with "tips."
As a user, I don't mind paying for software, and I don't think many people do. Most people realize that it takes time and skill to create a piece of software, and that the people creating it could have spent that time doing something else.
As a developer, if I want to make money from one of my projects, I'll charge people to use it or to buy a copy. If I can't sell enough copies to fund development, I don't see how I would ever be able to fund development with "tips."
As a user, I don't mind paying for software, and I don't think many people do. Most people realize that it takes time and skill to create a piece of software, and that the people creating it could have spent that time doing something else.