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A New Way To Fund Open Source Software Projects, Bug Fixes and Feature Requests

Posted by Soulskill on from the charge-10-cents-per-compile dept.

Lemeowski writes "Open source software projects are seeing some success on fundraising sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. But Warren Konkel believes open source software needs a better funding model that's more aligned with how software is built. So Konkel, who was the first hire at LivingSocial, teamed up with his friend David Rappo, a producer for games including Guitar Hero and Skylander, and founded Bountysource, a crowdfunding and bounty site specifically designed to help developers raise money for their OSS projects, bug fixes and feature requests. In this interview, Konkel talks about how he recently snagged a $1.1 million investment in Bountysource, gives developers tips on launching a fundraising effort for their OSS project, and more."

14 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Tighter integration? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It would be cool to have bounty collection integrated with issue tracking, where after creating a new issue or finding that one that I need implemented I could put my money on having a resolution with just a couple of keystrokes.

    1. Re:Tighter integration? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Github, are you reading this? Go for it!

      issue tracking, where after creating a new issue or finding that one that I need implemented I could put my money on having a resolution with just a couple of keystrokes.

      It would also make it legal to fund projects in Finland, where donations are illegal (without cumbersome permits etc). One can't give money without compensation like work, or product or service. But giving money for fixing issue would be legal.

  2. Javascript needed by Captain+Hook · · Score: 3, Informative

    Can't see anything on the bountysource homepage without Javascript enabled.

    Inspirational webdesign makes me want to donate money.

    --
    These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
    1. Re:Javascript needed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      You could put out a bounty for making the web site viewable without JavaScript. :-)

    2. Re:Javascript needed by kajsocc · · Score: 5, Funny

      You could put out a bounty for making the web site viewable without JavaScript. :-)

      No he can't. He doesn't have JavaScript enabled.

    3. Re:Javascript needed by Ardyvee · · Score: 2

      Could you enlighten the rest of us with what was it that turned you away from enabling javascript?

      --
      I don't care if I'm wrong. I only care about everyone obtaining something from the discussion.
    4. Re:Javascript needed by HyperQuantum · · Score: 4, Funny

      You could put out a bounty for making the web site viewable without JavaScript. :-)

      No he can't. He doesn't have JavaScript enabled.

      And obviously, he cannot enable it for that single website because that would be a crime against humanity.

      --
      I am not really here right now.
  3. Absolutely nothing new about this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Bounties have been tried over and over again with open source software. They don't work. You end up getting like five people chipping in $10 to try to solve some problem that would take a team of engineers a week to solve. And who in their right mind is going to do that, when they could get paid to do something else?

    OSS definitely needs to find a better way to get users to part with their cash to fix the bugs that actually take work to fix (instead of it just being "fun", like most less-mature OSS projects). But bounties have proven themselves as not being that solution.

    1. Re:Absolutely nothing new about this by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Informative

      Fortunately, despite the name, it seems BountySource also supports fundraisers aka Kickstarter-style schemes aka "assurance contracts". We know from Kickstarter that this model can scale to very large investments, when the project leaders are credible and there are lots of people who want something done. Unfortunately Kickstarter has a very narrow focus, so it's really great to see someone step up and create a competitor focused on the open source world. If I didn't already have a job I'd definitely consider experimenting with funding myself this way.

    2. Re:Absolutely nothing new about this by pspahn · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Bounties have been tried over and over again with open source software. They don't work.

      If this is the case, do you think that maybe it's simply a matter of visibility? How many people do you know (ie how many fecebook friends do you have) that would even be aware that some form of bounty-open source kit exists? Are the bounties something they will perceive as valuable? I'm guessing not.

      You've got to make it attractive to aunt Suzy, and that's where the problem lies. Suzy doesn't really care about this stuff and so it never gets put under her nose. Do a promotional live cd as a reward. Have it play a promo video that's simple and mimics Google's ad motif while also touting the benefit of open source in general. Maybe offer some form of outstanding support as a reward.

      If you're too specific with bounties, there's no greater incentive for someone to donate. Bundle your fixes up and try and fund it as a leap from 0.95 to 1.0. With all the version creep going on today, people might be inclined to see something go 1.0 (however arbitrary the version scheme actually is).

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    3. Re:Absolutely nothing new about this by Joining+Yet+Again · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And who in their right mind is going to do that, when they could get paid to do something else?

      This, pretty much. People who only do things for money will want as much money as they can get.

      People who are doing it for love don't really care about the money.

      This is just another bunch of leechy entrepreneurs wanting something they can collect an eternal cut from.

  4. Bounty Source is over 7 Years Old by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Looking at my e-mail archives, I've had an account on BountySource since September 2006. It isn't new.

    1. Re:Bounty Source is over 7 Years Old by Njovich · · Score: 2

      They quit in 2008, and restarted recently.

  5. Reminds me of an old Dilbert strip by oleg_stormforge · · Score: 3, Funny

    "I'm going to write me a new minivan this afternoon!" http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-11-13/