Hi Martin,
open source is great: in times when things go well, many contribute (and things go even better). But the truth is that in the long haul (and the nitty-gritty of tedious work is required), someone must be paid to do the work. Let us look to Linux and Android. Linux is mostly still run on a voluntary basis, but with important commercial partners/off springs like Suse, RedHat and Mandrake, that all have helped advance Linux. For Android it is even more clear - Android had not been where it currently is without the vast resources put in by Google. The Android business model is a bit different from that of Linux -- the "economics" of Android is based on making other software (like Chrome) more palatable, and by lowering costs to consumers for buying Android devices, which in turn increases traffic, including the use of Google's services.
eCS is in a different situation. There are probably less than 100 K private eCS users left in the world. Open source routes, like those of Linux or Android, are unlikely to create the revenues needed to fund the boring polishing work (I assume many computer interested people enjoy working (and succeeding) on the fun parts, like cracking problems like ACPI etc.), but documenting and making stuff available for other hardware than one's own, is not fun. And to undertake "not fun" tasks (or tasks that are not rewarding in other ways), people usually require some pay. This is where licensing is important.
Licensing is also the same business model applied by academic societies (where I am member of many, and have been president of one): membership fees cover for costs. To keep the membership base (and preferably to increase it), the expected benefits of the membership must exceed members' costs.
This is where eCS (Xeu/Mensys) currently struggles. Too little progress, uncertain deliveries etc. make users doubt the future. For me, and many other eCS users, it would be a loss if eCS were to vanish. Therefore, we gamble (hoping sufficiently many others also gamble) by paying the modest license fee to create revenues that cover the costs of keeping eCS operational, and by being a good platform, attract new users.
I wish I were wrong, and that it would be possible to keep eCS for free. But I doubt it. Somewhere, there must be some revenues to cover for the boring, but necessary part of making software run on hardware different from ones own.
Have a thoughtful day
Eirik