D : Not for me anymore

[Mike Parker]

Sean Kelly wrote:
> Mike Parker wrote:
>> Walter Bright wrote:
>>>
>>> I've thought about cash prizes and contests. I just had the nagging 
>>> feeling that the result would be a circus rather than serious 
>>> development.
>>
>> What about bounties? We come up with a list of libraries we need/want 
>> and assign a $$ value to each item. They don't have to be big numbers. 
>> Anyone is free to submit an implementation of any item for your 
>> approval. If you accept the submission, you pay out the submitter and 
>> strike the item off of the list.
> 
> Personally, I don't see the point of cash rewards for contributions. 
> People contribute because they want to, not because they desperately 
> need twenty dollars.  And frankly, I'm not sure that the code quality of 
> a submission purely for the money would be particularly high anyway.
> 

I've seen a bounty system used successfully elsewhere. GarageGames used 
such a system to enhance the second generation of their Torque Game 
Engine. Community members were always willing to contribute code, and a 
very few did and do post small code snippets from time to time, but 
small cash rewards gave some of them the extra kick to really put 
together some complex systems rather than just think about it. It's not 
about desperately needing twenty dollars, but just a motivational 
factor. GG got several quality submissions, including the most 
impressive implementation of a real-time lightning effect I've ever seen.

So based on witnessing that, I think it can be an effective system. It's 
a bit like subcontracting without the risk. If a submission doesn't pass 
muster, it doesn't get accepted and the bounty isn't paid. People who 
might not otherwise have contributed something may very well come out of 
the woodwork with some useful, well-written code.