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Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

blog.polar.sh

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Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#81

Post by harlanji »

yoavm wrote: post #30

I'm sorry, but I would never give money to an open-source project through a VC-backed company that takes a 10% commission. I could maybe live with it if it was 0.5%, but heck I'll just find the maintainer and wire them the money somehow. Github Sponsorship takes 0% from private accounts. I could very much be wrong about this, but the whole thing feels like it's coming from the perspective of someone thinking "I've he…

Patreon seems like the next best thing that has peoples' cards and their cut is 10%.

Credit card fees alone were universally 2.9% + some cents last I checked.

It's interesting that GitHub takes 0%, but that's clearly subsidized by something and I'd like to know what before I sign up to that ("clearly," because of transaction fees they're paying).

10% is a reasonable cut if they can help maintainers get from $0 to $1 and beyond.

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#82

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

https://ondsel.com/blog/software-bounties-are-a-dumb-idea/

Conclusion:

> Bounties are a lousy foundation for sustainable development of large projects like FreeCAD. They typically represent a gross underestimation of real work required to solve a problem, commonly miss a bigger picture, and encourage worst software development practices.

Growing larger is fun but also really overwhelming. Most ambitious projects that aim to stay afloat will have to experiment with different approaches to getting funded on a regular basis and come up with their own mix of solutions. It’s that or perish.

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#83

Post by yoavm »

harlanji wrote: post #81
yoavm wrote: post #30

I'm sorry, but I would never give money to an open-source project through a VC-backed company that takes a 10% commission. I could maybe live with it if it was 0.5%, but heck I'll just find the maintainer and wire them the money somehow. Github Sponsorship takes 0% from private accounts. I could very much be wrong about this, but the whole thing feels like it's coming from the perspective of someone thinking "I've he…

Patreon seems like the next best thing that has peoples' cards and their cut is 10%. Credit card fees alone were universally 2.9% + some cents last I checked. It's interesting that GitHub takes 0%, but that's clearly subsidized by something and I'd like to know what before I sign up to that ("clearly," because of transaction fees they're paying). 10% is a reasonable cut if they can help maintainers get from $0 to $1…

So every time I'm sponsoring someone on Github, Microsoft loses some money? That's even better!

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#84

Post by some_furry »

yoavm wrote: post #83
harlanji wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Patreon seems like the next best thing that has peoples' cards and their cut is 10%. Credit card fees alone were universally 2.9% + some cents last I checked. It's interesting that GitHub takes 0%, but that's clearly subsidized by something and I'd like to know what before I sign up to that ("clearly," because of transaction fees they're paying). 10% is a reasonable cut if they can help maintainers get from $0 to $1…

So every time I'm sponsoring someone on Github, Microsoft loses some money? That's even better!

Suddenly I want to support a lot of small projects so they eat more transaction fees.

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#85

Post by biscuitech »

skrebbel wrote: post #80
yoavm wrote: post #30

I'm sorry, but I would never give money to an open-source project through a VC-backed company that takes a 10% commission. I could maybe live with it if it was 0.5%, but heck I'll just find the maintainer and wire them the money somehow. Github Sponsorship takes 0% from private accounts. I could very much be wrong about this, but the whole thing feels like it's coming from the perspective of someone thinking "I've he…

It’s not about giving money, it’s about buying features, services and support from the maintainers.

Doesn't open collective already do this though? You can fund specific goals iirc.

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#87

Post by birk »

bogwog wrote: post #58

This is interesting and I genuinely hope you succeed because OSS funding is important. I have some questions: 1. Can anybody place a bounty on any issue? That seems like it could take control away from the maintainer. Is there a way for a maintainer to reject an issue bounty, so they can keep control over the direction/architectural decisions of the project? 2. Could someone pledge money towards a milestone (e.g. the…

Fantastic questions & feedback – thank you @bogwog!

1. Yes they can, but they remain anonymous and private only for the maintainer to see and take action on. Currently, we don't have automation for explicit rejection/approval, but something we want to add. Completely agree re: maintainer control – it's a core principle of ours.

2. Not today, but I absolutely love this idea. Added it to the backlog: https://github.com/orgs/polarsource/discussions/855

3. Agree. We have a lot of plans here for the future. Definitely think this is a huge opportunity long-term.

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#88

Post by birk »

mintone wrote: post #45

Great to see more in this space. We've been working on the same problem with https://www.ringerhq.com for the past ~year and have seen great success with specific projects. We're changing our approach slightly to give contributors and maintainers more tools after receiving feedback on specific features. If I can reiterate one piece of advice: listen to the community!

Big fan of what you're building with Ringer. Would love to chat more if you're interested. You can reach me at birk [at] polar.sh

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#89

Post by spacemanspiff01 »

some_furry wrote: post #84
yoavm wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So every time I'm sponsoring someone on Github, Microsoft loses some money? That's even better!

Suddenly I want to support a lot of small projects so they eat more transaction fees.

Presumably they don't charge credit cards individually...

Re: Polar v1.0: Let’s Fix Open Source Funding

#90

Post by skrebbel »

biscuitech wrote: post #85
skrebbel wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not about giving money, it’s about buying features, services and support from the maintainers.

Doesn't open collective already do this though? You can fund specific goals iirc.

Sure but to my reading Polar has a much stronger “help maintainers become entrepreneurs” angle which seems like a novel approach to me.
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