Bug fix bounties?

Discussion
#1

Faced with dif/2 incorrect · Issue #105 · SWI-Prolog/issues · GitHub, I was wondering whether we can start some bug fix bounty service? There must be smart students who have a great deal figuring out what is going wrong at a price I or someone else is happy to pay for. A bit of searching revealed

I’ve started some work getting issuehunt connected. It should now be available for at SWI-Prolog/issues (Raised $0.00) - Issuehunt.

Opinions?

4 Likes
#2

Issuehunt seems practically dead. Bountysource is older and a bit more alive. I have no clue whether people would be willing to put a bounty on an issue and maybe more importantly, whether people are interested in getting paid to resolve issues. Let me try the poll feature I just discovered :slight_smile:

  • I think paid bounties for resolving issues in SWI-Prolog is good
  • I think paid bounties for resolving issues in SWI-Prolog is a bad idea

0 voters

I’m interested in putting a bounty for the following amount on issues I rely on or deem important for the project.

  • Nothing
  • $10
  • $50
  • $100
  • $250
  • More

0 voters

I’m interested in working on an issue if

  • I’m a user. Let others resolve the issues
  • The problem interests me, money doesn’t add anything to that
  • This issue should be resolved. money doesn’t add anything to that
  • I get credits in the GitHub commits and release ChangeLog
  • I think I can earn $10/hour on it
  • I think I can earn $25/hour on it
  • I think I can earn $50/hour on it

0 voters

#3

I didn’t vote on the first question because I am indifferent to the paid bounty system. I don’t see them as bad and don’t see them as being needed. Since that was not an option I did not vote. :grinning:

#5

Seems about right, although there appears to have been a recent bump . However, it’s also true that some of the most complex software (compilers, operating systems, etc.) isn’t valued nearly as much by the market as much simpler stuff (payroll, social media, etc.) It’s one of the paradoxes of the software world … to quote the inimitable JWZ: “But in 1999 I took my leave of that whole sick, navel-gazing mess we called the software industry. Now I’m in a more honest line of work: now I sell beer.”

Anyway, if I cared about getting money for writing software, I wouldn’t be fiddling around with Prolog. :wink:
(I’m able to support my addictions/hobbies from other sources)

3 Likes
#7

I would like to give it a go when I have the time, and a bit more experience under my belt.

Paying money out for bountied issues might get problems solved… but it also might get more people involved in the project, fresh blood, that sort of thing?

Personally, I love logic programming, but never get the chance to do anything serious with it. An itty bitty bounty might be the “hook” that draws me into a more serious project.

#8

Getting people involved is my primary motivation to start this discussion. It shouldn’t be a big issue to raise some funds that allows some students to spent a couple of hours or a day fixing something and get a little money in return. Of course fixes also come from people solving a problem they, their company or their university stumbled onto. We have people who simply like doing some of this stuff “for the good cause”, for fun or whatever reason.

1 Like