Crowdfunding Open Source Software Enhancements and Bug Fixes

flok writes "It's nice when your open source pet project is popular, but sometimes the constant stream of feature requests can be intimidating. The CatInCan website aims to help prioritize a project owner's efforts while letting them make some money on the side. Think of it as a Kickstarter-variant where people can raise funds to get functionality in software realized, or maybe to get that long-ignored bug fixed."

Comments

Re:Not so sure about this.

[hairyfeet]

This is why I've said that FOSS really only works if you have a business plan that uses what I call "The blessed three" which is 1.-Sell support/services, 2.-Sell hardware, 3.-The tin cup, which of course this is the third of the three, because the traditional methods of making money off the software just doesn't work thanks to the GPL redistribution clause.

Is this a bad thing? No, in fact if you build around the blessed three you can make a LOT of money, just ask Red Hat, but what that means is you are gonna have a hard time keeping that email client funded if you can't figure out a way to use the blessed three because in FOSS the software is free in every sense of the word so traditional methods just don't work. This is why you've never seen a FOSS game with the depth and quality of a Bioshock despite all the free engines, this is why you've never seen a desktop with the level of polish of OSX or Windows, its because these things are VERY difficult to fit into the blessed three model.

So I wish you luck but its probably gonna be rough going unless you can figure out a way to fit into the blessed three, because desktop software like the desktop itself just isn't an easy fit into that model. Servers fit because there is always companies wanting this or that feature or this or that bug fixed and having direct access to the devs is a useful thing to have in that space, it works in embedded because its the hardware itself that brings the value, it can be a solid and lucrative business but like all business models you really have to conform to it, it can't conform to you.

Crowd funding no funding

[raymorris]

Most OSS projects get basically no funding. I work on code if and only if my need for it is more than the work it requires. If it would take $100 worth of time, but I only get $50 worth of benefit, I won't do it. On the other hand, if I get $50 worth of benefit AND I collect a $70 bounty, I'd do the work.

But the big problem is this: how do you get continuous enough funding to have a staff, an office, health plans, etc. when you're doing individual bounties? The funding seems like it wouldn't be stable enough to support the company.

I'd guess that less than 1% of OSS projects have an office and a health plan. For the 99%.that include people doing it in their spare time, being able to make a little extra money contributing to OSS would sure encourage me to do more.