Re: bounties?

["Kevin Kubasik" <kevin kubasik net>]

On Nov 8, 2007 6:38 AM, Dr. Michael J. Chudobiak <mjc avtechpulse com> wrote:
> > I'm sure alot of us myself included would like to spend more time working on
> > free software if we could only afford it...
Always a hearty second to that :)
>
> I guess my original suggestion for a more formal bounty system would be
> doomed to fail (too complicated, not in the free spirit) - but perhaps
> there could be an lgo page listing companies and individuals who are
> happy to do gnome work for money / DVDs / beer / food / whatever ...
> would anyone actually list themselves there, though? Would you, Tristan?
I dunno about people actually listing themselves there, but as to the
system, I would say that things like this already happen (to some
extent) More often a developer for a project is contacted directly,
but I think a communal place for these isn't a horrible idea, the
issue is implementation. What happens if you post a beer for bug #7 in
2007. It goes unclaimed, and in 3 years you get an e-mail that you owe
someone a beer. ;) While a beer isn't the end of the world, if people
start posing monetary incentives, this could get sticky fast.

I'm not objecting, just saying we need to take note of these issues
and address them before they become a problem =/

I wouldn't object to a list like that which is backed purely by the
goodwill of the poster, I think word would spread pretty fast if you
offer a bounty and back out, and maybe just the social dynamic alone
will regulate itself. Moreover, it leans itself to a social system
between fellow developers more than big companies. Posting 'a beer at
next Guadec for whoever fixes bug #7' is informal enough that I think
we avoid the main issue which is the alienation of volunteers,
however, it doesn't really address the big issue which is how can
users donate and drive development of a feature they desire?
>
> I've seen projects like Plone do that... it's clearly an open source
> project, but they list quite a few companies that can provide for-pay
> support.
>
>
> - Mike
>
>
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-- 
Cheers,
Kevin Kubasik
http://kubasik.net/blog