On Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 09:37:01PM +0000, J J wrote:
>    Hi all,
> 
>    As you have probably seen, I see a lot of things I want to see done in
>    Smalltalk, but I don't have time to do any of it.  My "eyes are bigger
>    then my stomach" as it were.  So it occurred to me today that a possible
>    solution to this problem would be to simply pay to have some of the work
>    done.
> 
>    So to that end, I would like anyone who would be interested to let me
>    know.  I will set up a mailing list for any people would want to be take
>    (or give) projects.  I will suggest my project on the list, you can answer
>    me privately (or publicly) with your bids.  I will select someone, and
>    publicly announce that it has been filled.  After that it depends; we can
>    talk publicly over the list, or use an intermediate like rentacoder [1] to
>    ensure that both sides are safe.  That is, I don't want to pay if I can't
>    use the finished product, nor do I want the person doing the work to fear
>    that they may get nothing for it.

Sounds good. I wouldn't be able to accept any projects, but I
would like to see what people are up to with various
mini-projects. I like mailing lists for their convenience, but a
third-party would probably be safer, as you pointed out. The
election team used the same strategy, as you may recall.

>    We can negotiate the different things, time frames, price, features.  I
>    mostly only be doing smallish projects.  The payouts would probably be on
>    the order of $50 - $100 USD but the projects should be small (and often)
>    as well.  And if this catches on, there could be much bigger projects or
>    people may chip in to sweeten some of the more interesting pots.
> 
>    Some people have expressed concerns about bounties in the past that people
>    might have their feelings hurt if they don't get picked.  So I would just
>    like to point out, this has nothing to do with the board or anything
>    else.  This is just something I wanted to do.  I will choose the person
>    the same way any worker is chosen for a given, i.e. the best
>    fit/price/availability/reputation.

Sounds awesome. Good luck.

>    The payout will work in the same way it's done on rentacoder:  We have a
>    bid off for who will do the job, negotiate the parameters and pick the
>    best overall fit, then you do the work, then when it's finished if I
>    accept you are paid.  If I don't accept you can try to bring it up to
>    spec, decide to give up, or ask for an arbitration if you think you have
>    met requirements.  In the case of the rentacoder site, the payment money
>    is deposited as soon as I accept a bidder so no one can "take their ball
>    and go home".
> 
>    I'm a big experimenter so many of the projects may be that you get paid
>    and then never hear anything more (because I decide I don't want to go
>    that way after all).  But hopefully the money can soften that blow a
>    little. :)
> 
>    And lastly, I know Squeak is largely a gift community, and I don't want to
>    upset that.  I think it is good that people give things to the community
>    (and I will most likely release everything I pay for).  I don't want to
>    create a situation where everyone expects to be paid for everything.  This
>    is simply a case that I have not managed to get anyone interested in my
>    ideas by talking, I can't realize them myself (this decade anyway), so my
>    last option is to pay.

Seems reasonable. I don't think this is disruptive; similar
things have been done in the past, for example:
http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/2653

-- 
Matthew Fulmer -- http://mtfulmer.wordpress.com/
Help improve Squeak Documentation: http://wiki.squeak.org/squeak/808