Why is this going to work where every other open source bounty site has failed?
We're geared toward normal people funding the software projects. Normal people don't want to compile sourcecode; we provide developers incentives for distributing binaries. Normal people don't use wiki markup to describe what they want; we let them use a WSIWYG editor.
Normal people also use different platforms (mostly Windows and Mac). Making binaries work across platforms (12 people want Windows, 5 people want Mac, 3 only care about the source...) and giving the developer the tools to field those platforms (Is there demand for a Mac port? Is it worth my time?) is something that hasn't been solved yet by any bounty system I've seen.
However... "It's rare to see non-coders visit an OSS bounty site and create a bounty." There's a good reason for that: normal people are going to look for something that does what they want, now, not go through all the hassle of bounties and other things only to possibly see some code who knows when.
Maybe the site can be 'salvaged' by doing some creative tweaking to make it into something else that is a little bit more likely to make money? Good luck in any case!
We're trying to mitigate that where we can; for instance a pledge is a 30-day commitment (rather than a perpetual one). If nothing satisfactory is released in that time, the money can be easily withdrawn.
Regardless of what we do, there's going to be less "normal people" contributing to projects than the number of normal people actually using the stuff after it's gone through the process. Our hope here is that our search and drilldown options (and some other stuff in the works) will help the normal people find what they're looking for after it's released. We think "finding-the-right-software-for-X" is a big open problem, and we'd like to take a crack at it.
That might make for a good site. Help connect people with open source software, and consultants who can assist them with it. For values of people where people == 'small businesses'.
I don't think anybody is going to do this, Drew.
I still don't see how this site is any better than any of the 100 freelance job sites out there now.
I'm having a hard time imagining exactly who you're targeting.
How is this different than microPledge?
* My mom, who wants a free alternative to MS Word that works well on Windows and is less intimidating than OO (and more powerful than Google Docs)
* People who saw an OSS tool running on their friend's Linux and want a port to their platform
* People who run existing closed-source software that they want to add a feature to, but can't
* People like me who code, but are too busy to learn to hack Platform X just to get Feature Y
I was a long-time mp user. Unfortunately they are no longer operating. As I understand it, their model was more focused on funding (mostly closed) software in an open way. Of course, it's difficult to convince closed-source people that community funding is a good idea, and I think that was one of several challenges they faced before shutting down.
Our focus is completely different. We want to connect people with OSS. A large part of that is money (because money is a strong attractive force). We talk about it a lot, because people start listening when you tell them they're going to get paid. But there are other problems too--search (how do people find OSS projects?), developer time (I have a week--what do I work on?). These problems are far out of bounds of micropledge or other bounty or funding systems.
College kids who want a good, free game to play at a LAN party
College students pirate software. If they want a free game then who is supposed to fund the idea on your site? I don't think people want cheesy open-source games. They want quality graphics and good gameplay. You can't achieve that with a shoestring budget and without a team.
My mom, who wants a free alternative to MS Word that works well on Windows and is less intimidating than OO (and more powerful than Google Docs)
Does your mother really know that she needs someone to write an alternative to MS Word? She knows enough to seek out a developer and is willing to invest in software that no one else has used? I don't see people trusting their documents to an untested word processor and I don't think they would pledge money for it. OOo and Google Docs are good, free, alternatives.
Most open-source software projects are started as some hacker's pet project. If I'm going to get paid to write an MS Paint clone for the Mac then I'll keep it closed and sell it myself since normal people don't understand or care about OSS.