[OSM-dev] X-Prizes

[Gervase Markham]

SteveC wrote:
> Anselm suggested that it might be good for us to sponsor X-Prize[1]  
> type things within OSM. Some example might be a prize for getting  
> routing working on the main site, getting name finder up again, making  
> potlatch use the main API and so on. Anyone have any thoughts on  
> whether it would fly? Any things you would want to see set as a prize?

Paying bounties or other rewards within a volunteer project is a large 
can of worms. Some projects manage it, others go down in flames. Apache 
has refused to pay _anyone_ for years for this reason, although I think 
now they are getting around to employing a sysadmin (who won't code). It 
depends hugely on the dynamics of your project.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do this, but I'm saying that it requires 
far, far more thought than "So-and-so thought this would be a good 
idea". It's definitely not an easy shortcut to fix the "this needs doing 
and no-one is doing it right now" problem.

Gerv