1. How much do they make?

Hardly any money. Enough for server upkeep ; we may print some SRL/Simba cups sometime soon.

2. Are these people incredibly smart?

Relatively, maybe. Lots of people have been involved in the creation of SRL and Simba.

3. Where do they get the money to hire lawyers and what not?

We have never been sued or threatened, despite being one of the largest and definitely the most long-living botting community in the entire Runescape history.

The big difference is that we as a community do not ask any money for our services; the big upside is that we are also not bound to any support and we can show the world that we have nothing to hide. Everything we do is open source.

4. what type of qualifications do you think some of these people have?

Programming; dislike of certain rules (thou shalt not automate our super boring game).

5. where do some of these people live?

Netherlands, everywhere else over the world.

6. Why do they risk making bots despite the actions that Jagex can take against them?

For fun and education! We've educated so many people to the art of programming. And I doubt we're in any real risk, we're clever enough.

7. Is working on the bot client a full time job?

Yes, this can be a full time job. It however doesn't even pay close to a full time job. Most of Simba and SRL was written during High school (with lots of other people) and a few years into University. Now that Simba is quite finished (SRL is where the maintenance is at), it is not a full time job anymore. But still at least 5-8 hours a week.

- Wizzup, from villavu.com