Gotta admit I found it pretty irritating, in the xz discussion of the last two weeks, that some people declared confidently "you can't pay maintainers". (cc @ehashman)
It isn't easy to pay maintainers, but it can be done: at Tidelift, we've been doing it for years. So I figured I'd write up how we do it and what we've learned. And yes, it's a HOWTO. Be glad I also avoided an FAQ ;)
