I have thought about this before, and the only system I would be happy
with is for all money "voted" towards a bug to be sent to the kde e.v
or some kind of intermediate organisation. This money would be added
to the bugs pot of money, and every month 5% of the total would be
taken out for the e.v to keep. If any person, or group of people fix
the bug, then they would be responsible for claiming the money back of
the kde e.v or the organisation that is responsible for holding the
money. If no one ever fixes the bug, eventually all the money
"donated" will go towards KDE e.v

KDE would win either way, if the bug is fixed or not. KDE as a whole
shouldn't feel pressured into fixing these monied bugs. On the other
hand a small incentive is there for developers to fix the bugs which
offer the cash reward. Users would be more happy to "donate" in this
way as it gives them the feeling that they have a small amount of
influence (note influence, not control). KDE e.v could potentially
gain a lot of money, and developers would earn some cash too.

I got to say, from a users perspective this kind of system does sound
appealing and would probably get my interest. On the other hand is
would send out a pretty clear message that money can buy you a kind of
influence in the KDE project, maybe some developers don't like this,
but the truth is it already is the case in the way of distro
sponsorship of certain developers. The bug cash donate system I
describe above would just make the whole process a lot easier for
normal users, therefore I think it is a valid topic for discussion for
those that are interested in its possible development.
 
Evan Roberts
 
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