[mythtv-users] Per Card Volume Control Bounty started

[Stuart Morgan]

On Thursday 07 September 2006 21:12, Brian Wood wrote:
> > I don't think the goal of this proposed bounty system is to try to
> > pay the devs
> > what they would make on the open market for their work.  They are
> > all doing the
> > work for free right now and $500 is a lot more than $0 so it seems
> > like a good
> > idea to me.
>
> What you say is true, and I think it proves my point that the
> developers are not motivated by dollars.

What a bounty system does is to potentially change the current relationship 
between developer and user. As Isaac alluded to in his example, right now the 
devs see themselves as users and other users are our friends/equals - the 
moment you pay us for our work that changes. We no longer work with you but 
for you and unless you offer to pay us a fair rate for our work we'd rather 
do it for free.

There is also the question of expectations. Though you may insist that you 
wouldn't expect more of us if you paid us, we all know that won't last. 
Requests for support would start carrying arguments like "I paid for this 
feature ...".

I wouldn't mind the extra money earned from bounties, but the work involved is 
more than just the wording in the contract when you are dealing with 
individuals. Companies are different, they accept that once the contract is 
met that the relationship ends (or costs more) but individuals don't seem to 
grasp it.
-- 
Stuart Morgan