By contributing to gittip, I am saying I trust that developer to manage their time appropriately. I don't expect a specific amount of work every week; I expect a professional, long-term commitment to the project.
So is the donation with regards to the developer or a particular project? The developer doesn't get the donation with any regards to whether it is aimed at them or the project. Is the developer free to work on a different project? Does the person who donates even know? It just seems like it can lead to disappointment and frustration.
I believe I've seen some developers outright reject no-strings attached donations for this reason. What is expected of them? Should they feel beholden to those who give, and even if they shouldn't does psychology inevitably lead to that?
That's why I feel like it has to be hard goals. This is expected for this, and not a donation which has too many unintended consequences.
I don't mean to be overly argumentative.
https://github.com/whit537/www.gittip.com/issues/27#issuecom...
Hard goals to me implies management, and I for one don't want to be a manager. ;^)
I get some of these issues. I ran a middle school chess team for about five years. Sometimes I was paid, sometimes it was volunteer. There are different freedoms and pressures in each model. I think there is definitely a place for gittip in the OSS world.
Still, donating to an individual for their contributions, rather than to a project with the implied nudge that comes with a donation like that is, imo, the best approach.