On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 12:00 AM, Louis Suárez-Potts <lui...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > On 13-02-21, at 20:58 , Rob Weir <robw...@apache.org> wrote: > >> http://www.techdrivein.com/2012/12/top-5-kickstarter-crowdfunding-alternatives-opensource-software.html >> >> It would be interesting to consider to what degree a service like this >> can be used by the broader AOO community. >> >> Maybe one way to think of it is this: >> >> -- We are currently comfortable have a webpage listing consults who >> offer services to users related to OpenOffice. We don't endorse them, >> and all transactions are between the consultants and their customers. >> The ASF is not involved. >> >> -- It would be analogous to offer a similar link to a crowd-funding >> website, with no endorsement, but as a service to the ecosystem. >> Also, all transactions are between the developers and the users. The >> ASF is not involved. >> >> Thoughts? Does anyone have experience with services like these? >> >> -Rob > > Two responses. > > 1. Early in OOo I had the idea of listing developers as you describe. This > was about 2002 or so, and the market was fairly young, but there was > definitely potential. The issue was that our extensions market was very > undeveloped then. It has grown a lot since. But at the time, little was done > in this way, though I set up several avenues with then-current dev. sites. > > Why are extensions useful, as a means of community expansion and ecosystem > development? Because as we have long known, working on extensions is likely > easier for most than other elements of the code; extensions, one can > speculate, probably demand less mentoring than so-called core development. As > we've long known, expanding the community via extensions/add-ons is a quick > and efficient way to do it—and it's a pattern that several other large > projects follow. > > In terms of the actual mechanisms… I can point to several but within Apache? > Or outside? And I can query directly on the Foss lists. (/louis waves at all > those who may read this who are also subscribed to those lists I refer to.) > > > 2. I hesitate to once again introduce the discussion about establishing a > marketing effort outside of Apache (or not) that could also be funded by the > kindness of crowds, if not strangers. Briefly, I think being as local as one > can be offers a solution, so that all that a "central" Apache OO would > provide would be the consensual message of our value as a project within > Apache and the value of the application. >
Looking at how these sites are actually being used, it looks more like: 1) Users offering monetary rewards to fix specific bugs or make specific enhancements. The rewards are on the order of 10-100 USD, not large enough to actually fund a developer's time (at prevailing rates) but more of a token reward, a way of drawing attention to the bug, giving recognition to the developer. 2) Developers describing more significant features that they would develop for a given amount is pledged. These are more significant amounts, 7000 USD I saw in one case. The interesting aspect of it is that the funds do not need to come from one user. Typically several (many) users pledge a small amount, and if the total amount reaches the target then the developer promises to develop the feature. IMHO this is good for users and developers. We already have the means for customers with heavy needs to buy the support they need. They either employ an engineer directly, or hire a consultant. But this is out of reach for individual users, or many small businesses who might just need something small done, but can't do it themselves. -Rob > louis
