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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Allow money donations for precise bugs
From:       Maurizio Colucci <seguso.forever () tin ! it>
Date:       2005-03-12 7:37:03
Message-ID: 42329C1F.6010105 () tin ! it
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Dear friends,

I apologize in advance for the cross-post but it seems adequate here, as this 
proposal involves users and developers.


IN BRIEF
--------

Currently, in bugs.kde.org, I can *vote* for some bugs or new features. My 
idea is to allow KDE users and fans to put their *money* in place of abstract 
"votes".

I mean, allowing users to donate money for implementing a *precise* feature 
or fixing a *precise* bug.


IN DETAIL
---------

The idea is that

1. everyone can donate freely for any feature separately (or not donate at all).

2. when, and if, the *overall* donation for a given feature reaches a certain 
threshold, that feature is *guaranteed* to be implemented.

I am still not sure who should define the threshold and, once the threshold 
is reached, who would decide which programmer is to take care of the task.

But first, please let me discuss the important reasons behind this proposal.

THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THIS
--------------------------

Why am I proposing this? The recent article from Eugenia about Gnome ignoring 
their users (http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9933) made me think it's 
the right time to propose what I've been thinking for a while.

In the article, Eugenia correctly points out that OSS projects tend to ignore 
the needs of *ordinary* users: currently the OSS model tends to favour the 
needs of *corporate* customers (because corporations such as IBM or Novell 
put the money for those features), and those of *power* users (because they 
program the features they themselves). But the needs of *ordinary* home users 
are not respected as much. They often tend to be ignored (although KDE is 
surely better than Gnome in this respect).

So Eugenia is right here. But, IMHO, her error is to assume that this lack of 
respect for the need of ordinary users _is the developers' fault_. Instead, I 
think it is the *users* fault; I think users are still not as _responsible_ 
and self-aware to get together and *directly* finance the features they want.

Consumers are not yet a responsible community and they have no awareness of 
themeselves as a big power. This is exactly why the world today is dominated 
by corporations.

Just for an example, I would pay quite a lot to have a sidebar with recent 
folders added to konqueror. I am sure many of us have a small amount money, 
but no time to contribute code. Some of us love KDE so much that we would 
happily donate some, *provided*  we are guaranteed the feature to be 
implemented if the threshold is reached.

IMPROVEMENTS AND THINGS TO CLARIFY
----------------------------------

As an incentive to donating, you could give an additional guarantee:
The guarantee that, if the threshold is *not* reached within X days, his 
money will be given back to the donator, or at least it will be reusable to 
sponsor another wish.

----

I would like to hear many opinions about that. I am posting a similar 
proposal in Gnome's list.

My best wishes to you all,

Maurizio Colucci
 
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