Slashdot Mirror
OSS Funding through Fundable
John Pratt writes "FredCK, developer of the popular FCKEditor, recently raised $600 from supporters through Fundable to port his open source HTML editor to Safari. Fundable is a new site that lets groups of people pool money for specific purposes, like software features. Unlike generic donation dropboxes (such as PayPal buttons), if a group's targeted collection isn't reached after 2 or 4 weeks, everyone gets a complete refund." Newsforge has a piece discussing the site as well.
So it's like Linux Fund except that the users get to donate money directly to projects?
It's actually kind of neat how various funding options have begun appearing. Writing OSS software is a thankless job that takes hundreds (sometimes thousands) of man-hours. I'm curious if there's a possibility in the future of software developers being employed full time on user funded projects.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Didn't the guy who wrote SASSER get arrested for running over at least one of the listed OSes?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
Uhm, no.
It is a donation system that happens to also have a method to return the donation in case the developer completely fails.
It's not "your software". You're donating to a group, helping them reach their goal. In the event they cannot reach their goal (by their definition, since it's their software), they can kindly refund the money.
What you're looking for is to hire a software developer (or company) to write software for you. That's not what this is. So move along.
But don't worry, you're modded up, so you have a great point.
twitter.com/gravitronic
Why did past projects fail? I think the main reasons are usability, lack of collaboration and the dot-com-crash. Wiki-like functionality is essential to allow specifications to evolve, and there needs to be a very simple and obvious process of pooling funds and finding projects to donate to.
A brief look suggests that Fundable, while simple and slick, is not yet optimal for the purposes of funding open source projects -- it appears to lack collaboration on specifications, milestones, a process for applying to implement someone else's suggestions, fine grained categorization and sorting, etc. (correct me if I'm wrong on any of this) That it succeeds for some projects regardless shows that there is a vacuum for a portal like this -- not just in open source development. It would give those who cannot contribute code a way to nevertheless help to "scratch their itches" in the open source software world.
Although I don't know the details of Fundable, the idea is great. One person contributing a little money towards a project usually doesn't help the developer much. It's the sum of many people that helps. However, there's a problem -- if not enough people donate, then your donation may have gone to waste. With this method, you can donate and feel safe that either 1) Enough people wil donate to make a difference or 2) You get your money back.
This kinda reminds me of another website whose name eludes me at the moment, but they have a similiar system applied to signatures, and agreeing to do something e.g. confront an organization about an issue.
"No one likes working in a hamster wheel, and your shop smells of cedar shavings from here." - TaleSpinner
The concept, while unique, is quite simple. Anyone who has a product or service to sell, or needs monetary support for a charitable cause, or who wants to organize a group purchase, posts their requirement on Fundable.org. They specify the number of contributors needed and the amount of money required from each. They also specify a deadline by which to raise the needed capital. Fundable.org holds all contributions until the total amount requested is received, or the deadline is reached. If, by the deadline, the amount contributed is less than the required amount, the project is scrapped and the contributors receive a full refund.
So, all they do is collect money (and earn interest on said money) and watch a date. They don't care that the software is actually delivered and/or works (which is somewhat smart because they collect interest up until the deadline regardless and they aren't responsible for the quality or even the delivery of said product). I think we finally found that #2!
1. Collect money for someone
2. Collect interest on said money up until a deadline and either give the money back or give it to the person who set up the fund depending on amount.
3. Profit!!!
After implementing the interface, my project compiles fine, but the money is just not coming it when I run it.
Any thoughts?
Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.