Topic: BountySource: a better way to run bounties (Read 682 times)

I just saw this on slashdot:

https://www.bountysource.com/

Despite the name of the website, they support both bounties as have been used in the Bitcoin world and more importantly kickstarter-style fundraisers (assurance contracts). They are specifically designed for open source development.

I've been saying for a long time now that the right way to fund development of fully decentralised infrastructure is via assurance contracts. Well specced fundraisers done by people with credibility and a history of delivering results can deliver a shot in the arm for Bitcoin. But Kickstarter itself isn't a great platform for such projects, and creating such a platform is a lot of work (you can make a decentralised one, but then ... how do you fund development of it? catch 22).

So it's great that BountySource has come along.

Just to make it clear - don't actually create bounties!. Bounties cause duplication of effort, a "race to the finish" and because you have no control over who competes for it, they result in pressure on maintainers to accept poor quality work merely because it was done for profit.

An assurance contract/fundraiser is entirely different - you know who you're paying and with a solid spec, you have a good idea of what exactly you'll get. There is no race to the bottom, quality wise. There is no duplication of effort. Many people can club together to fund a large project, although I think it's better to fund a series of smaller projects so there's less money at risk. It's generally just a better model.