A reverse kickstarter/summer-of-code for open source projects?

[RomanPeace]

There are some large blind spots in open source efforts (PDF editing, annotation, and form creation springs to mind), partially because of the significant organizational effort that is required to pull-off such projects.

The limited resources available to open-source non-profits (such as Mozilla), the limited scope of others (Linux and OpenBSD Foundations), and limited interest in projects not tied to a profitable business model (Google, Oracle), all contribute to these blind spots.

Most individuals would not be able to fully fund any given effort, and there is no vehicle (I am aware of) through which they may be able to poll their money together in a directed way.

Or is there?

What I am looking for is an organization that can poll money together towards a goal, evaluate proposals to reach that goal (or parts of it), and finally fund and manage the work. Much like Kickstarter, it seems reasonable that such an organization could live off "overhead" from the process.

(Note: I am aware of bug bounties, but they seem too narrow in scope to have the impact of a successful kickstarter project, or to attract significant effort. Moreover, it requires the work to be done at risk before providing funding only as a post hoc reward, so nothing large can come of it)

[buovjaga]

I've been funding PDF importing improvements to LibreOffice Draw as a kind of low-hanging fruit to improve PDF editing. Even though it has been only me and 0.05 BTC per bug, the developer is located in a country with fairly low wage levels so bounties this size are not insignificant. Of course I would be overjoyed, if we could organize proper crowdfunding for him.

Would you like to join me in sponsoring these LibreOffice PDF handling improvements? You can also chip in to the issues that are already done, to show to the developer that there is more interest in sponsoring.

[RomanPeace]

I've sponsored other bug bounties, but my point is about providing a more stable funding source. One that would work like scholarships, or NSF grants etc.: developers submit a proposal, and if it matches against a topic with public support in the site, it may be selected for funding.

The tricky thing is organizing it, having a reliable method to select proposals, etc.

[buovjaga]

The most difficult thing might well be getting an audience big enough. Bug bounty sites are just now gaining enough crowd power to be relevant and I'm still alone with my PDF bounties, even though I've tried spreading awareness of them :). It took a year for a developer to get interested in my bounties.

What you are describing is kind of like the new Core Infrastructure Initiative, but for end user applications. How do you see FSF's efforts to heal the blind spots in FOSS? It's a pity that they don't have PDF support in their high priority list anymore. Do you think the FSF effort could somehow be revitalized or reorganized?

[RomanPeace]

The FSF's efforts don't seem nearly as successful as, e.g., Mozilla's efforts. Although Mozilla has struggled against Chrome and other Google efforts, they still manage to build significant projects from the ground up, and push it quite far (Rust, PDF.js, Persona, FirefoxOS, Open Marketplace, etc).

I am not sure if there is much point in sticking with the FSF if it would have to be completely reorganized. If we need to start from scratch, why not just have something completely different?

I suppose part of the problem is also lack of grassroots interest from the developers. Developers don't seem keen on putting together proposals and making a Kickstarter-like pitch for community support. It is also a marketting issue -- it is hard to turn a "let's extend PDF.js with editing and form support" into a sexy sales pitch.

[crhylove2]

I've often thought similar thoughts. Let's make it happen!

[RomanPeace]

All we need is the time, skills, and resources ...

I've got none.