I’m not sure about the implementation details. I would have to work with the developers managing the web store to see how feasible this is. I will say, however, that Purism has heard the outcry for improved transparency and development accountability, and is working toward making this happen in current/future crowdfunding efforts.
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I think I emailed purism support a week ago and never saw a reply on a fairly mundane question where the best/easiest answer is for them to tell me I shouldn’t worry about my question, and that there is not any new information about my order statuses. But rather than to tell me that like I would have expected, I did not see a reply for the past week.
Does subscribing to the expert software in any way influence likelihood of purism support replying to my emails, or are those two just totally disconnected as can be? (Such as where getting a reply from support is totally dependent on when some human guy gets around to it)
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There is also the Fund Your App campaign. Where you can donate for specific applications. I think that it would be motivating to subscribe/donate if there were some concrete goals that are worked towards from the subscriptions. For example some top requested applications:
Or milestones of the roadmap:
- Pushing PureOS to the Cutting Edge (Crimson)
- Improve Librem 5 Battery Life
- Improving Bluetooth and GPS
- Making the Camera Point and Shoot
- PureOS to Feature Firefox as Default Web Browser
- New Improvements to End to End Encryption for Calls and Chat
Personally, my top priorities woud be:
- Upgrade to Crimson for the Librem 5
- Stability and robustness of the core (kernel, firmware, drivers, data connections, gps) of the Librem 5
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That is something I would like to know.
If you put a subscription in the shopping cart it mentions renewal after a year. Is one year the minimum commitment? Does that mean you have to renew manually or does it happen automatically?
I want to know the terms before I subscribe.
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Or milestones of the roadmap :
Those are all worthwhile targets. I’d put “Keep up with the changing world around you” on the very top though. Activities like that are low profile but important (and would resolve a large amount of complains raised in the forums and elsewhere). I’d use these priorities:
- keep up with kernel releases (which means going from 6.6. to 6.10) and then keep up (to be able to leverage advancements there)
- keep up with Debian releases (which means going from Bullseye to Bookworm and have a working / installable suite tracking Trixie to not fall behind as this matures to have a variant available once Trixie releases thus lowering the backporting burden and benefiting from what Debian already ships
- keep up with Upstream software releases (GNOME, Phosh, Pipewire, libcamera, …)) backporting important components affecting mobile again benefiting from what improved and improves there.
All of these fit a subscription model nicely as it’s continuous maintenance work. It would also make the PureOS distribution become a more attractive target for Linux Mobile development thus opening the possibilities to attract more contributors.
Next up would be
- Mainline remaining kernel bits so 1. becomes simpler
Once you can go with the flow tackling the roadmap will become so much easier as you have an up to date environment and can leverage what is there easily. Having worked on all of the above in the past I’d say that this requires a fair amount of continuous subscriptions but it would do wonders for users and developers.
EDIT: I certainly hope i vastly underestimate the amount of subscriptions and there will be enough to tackle everything at once 
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I just subscribed at the Premium level because I realize that FOSS only progresses at a certain pace, based on the goodwill, spare time and motivation of those who create those OS versions or applications. If I want progress to happen at a faster pace, I should be willing to help fund the resources that can be expected to devote their time and energy to effect rapid changes and new innovation.
When I see the surveillance-state software being applied to the mainstream hardware devices from Apple, Microsoft and Google, I am more encouraged than ever to support the development of alternative operating systems and applications the goals for which are not the monetization of every interaction I have with the rest of humanity.
I urge other to join me.
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I chose a Purism product because it advances my freedom. I would be more comfortable having Linux-libre for the kernel, no systemd, and Guix as the only package manager. I have not found yet how to achieve that on a Librem 5. I use PureOS instead. However, this brings me closer to what I prefer, not further away.
PureOS must be polished to be attractive to Purism customers and maintain an opportunity for the free software community to grow. Funding such an opportunity is ethical.
Considering that, it is reasonable to pay for PureOS development and maintenance while using it. Would you agree?
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Looks like you are a Gnuine user like me. Thanks. 
Definitely with all those features you mentioned Librem 5 would be more Security, Libre, Attractive and Unique. But that will never happen with all the Opensource/OSIs employees at Purism. things are even getting worse with the acceptance of blobs in the Gnu System, like the Sparklan module, and this could only be the beginning of PureOS Misfortune. For my part i am fighting alone with the bunch of opensource minded users on this forum. One Opensource Purism Programmer ‘dos’ make waydroid available for Gnu System to push user/newbie to infection with the apk malware and etc, i dont see this as ethical.
Yes Yes definitely and thanks for saying so.
I like Purism and i wish it stays together and Solid with Free Software Fundation ever and together build the best Gnu Mobile System for Librem 5.
I fully agree.
Thanks you.
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I think this is harsh.
The reality for some people is that either their employer or their government or both (for me it’s both) require certain apps to be used and those apps are of course only made available for iOS and Android.
“Expecting” me to resign my job and break the law in the name of purity goes beyond what is reasonable, in my opinion. So out of the three choices (resign/break the law; use Waydroid; keep obsolete dedicated SIM-less iPhones to run dodgy apps), I have chosen the third, with a longer term plan to move to the second.
So I am happy that someone is giving me the second choice - but the open source world is not forcing me to go with the second choice. If you have a problem with something, it is with employers / governments, not the developer who makes the open source alternative available.
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Ok it fine for you because you are OpenSource user however PureOS it is NOT OpenSource but Free Software verified which programmers it need Enforcement FSF Rules. Please do not mixing Open Source with Free Software things.
I do not like Open Source things so thats why i not using Mobian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Postmarket, Whatever OSes and you will never seen me on this opensources oses forums. So why opensource user like messing/hindering/unrespect Free Software OS? i mean why opesource user all time Opensourcing Free Software OSes? i mean Mobian it there and it is Open Source for Open Sources minds
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I’ve decided to subscribe to the Expert tier. I wish Purism success here. 
Edit: For those that only want to provide a one-time donation (or offer more money), there is still the Donate item in the shop.
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Please review for correctness.
| Standard | Premium | Expert | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment per month | $5.99 | $9.99 | $19.99 |
| Helping maintain releases and bug fixes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Helping push code to other projects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Helping new developments of existing applications | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Helping advance commonly requested features | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Helping innovations and new development | ✓ | ||
| Helping with growth | ✓ | ||
| Helping enumerate features to get added to PureOS | ✓ |
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When I payed for Purism hardware products I had to pay extra money for the transatlantic payment itself. I don’t want that for a monthly subscription to happen. I’d like these things to be clarified.
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Generally I think the regular payment is the direction to go because both subscription and it it’s payment is now an ongoing process like the software development process itself so both go along together now and this is hopefully a sustainable construction.
On the other side Purism must have planned to spend part of the income from it’s hardware products sales to go into software development.
So here is a proposal I would like to hear opinions about:
Give everyone that subscribes to the PureOS subscription for a certain period (e.g. 24 months or so) a discount coupon for Purism’s shop. The downside would be that while the income increases by the subscription it decreases by discounting product prices. So if this should work it must be well balanced.
The possible upsides would be:
- Increased hardware sales, because of the reduced price
- Increased subscriptions, because you need it to get the reduced price and get better software
- Longer subscriptions, because people that bought Purism hardware have an interest in ongoing software development
To get a picture, subscription income for 24 months would be
- $143.76 for Standard
- $239.76 for Premium
- $479.76 for Expert
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Another improvement could be a priority in the support queue for the subscribers.
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So basically the FSF associate membership approach:
Associate Member Benefits — Free Software Foundation — Working together for free software
I am fine with the idea, as long as the discount also equally applies to the Purism x SLNT collaboration products, and that there is also a lump-sum option for the store-wide discount.
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Also subscribed to the Expert tier. I can only hope I’m one of many 
I have to admit, it would be more rewarding if I could somehow pick a target for the money, like a specific bug or nuisance to be fixed.
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You can donate to specific developers instead if you prefer. Otherwise there is also Fund Your App, although it is no longer maintained at this point.