Announcing FreeBSD Bounties!

[Matt Olander]

On Mar 5, 2009, at 12:19 PM, Nicole wrote:

>
> --- On Thu, 3/5/09, Matt Olander <matt at ixsystems.com> wrote:
>> From: Matt Olander <matt at ixsystems.com>
>> Subject: Re: Announcing FreeBSD Bounties!
>> To: "Hywel Mallett" <hywel at hmallett.co.uk>
>> Cc: "FreeBSD Chat" <freebsd-chat at freebsd.org>, melanie at pcbsd.org
>> Date: Thursday, March 5, 2009, 10:10 AM
>> On Mar 5, 2009, at 6:39 AM, Hywel Mallett wrote:
>>
>>> A few times in the past some people (notably the guys
>> from rsync.net) have offered bounties to encourage FreeBSD
>> development. These have usually been announced on the
>> mailing lists, and if others want to offer their support,
>> then they can, but maybe it's not as easy to collate all
>> the information as it could be.
>>>
>>> Some research reveals that there is unlikely to be any
>> official list of bounties, due to the legal status of
>> FreeBSD.
>>>
>>> As a result, I decided to create a site where people
>> can offer bounties, others can lend their support, and
>> developers can be sign up to claim the bounties.
>>>
>>> At the moment it's still in the early stages, but
>> hopefully it'll grow and prove to be a valuable resource
>> for the FreeBSD community.
>>>
>>> Check it out at http://www.freebsdbounties.info
>>>
>>> All feedback is appreciated.
>>>
>>> Hywel
>>
>> Hello Hywel!
>>
>> Awesome! The interesting thing is that I was just typing an
>> email last night to ask for contributions and volunteers on
>> a similar idea and site but I fell asleep! Perhaps we're
>> destined to combine forces ;-)
>>
>> We've got a site in development called
>> www.SponsorBSD.org where sponsors can post a project, and
>> other people can contribute financially towards the bounty.
>> Multiple developers can then sign up for that project and
>> contribute code that is viewable by all via web cvs or that
>> remains private in case of closed bounties. A founding
>> sponsor, team leader, or admin can then divvy the bounty up
>> to the contributors based on effort or selected solution.
>>
>> All it needs is perhaps a little design love, some minimal
>> PHP programming, and a bit of testing.
>>
>> Mail isn't setup yet but it will still allow
>> registrations. We'll get the mail setup this weekend.
>> I've cc'd Melanie, from the PC-BSD Project, as
>> she's volunteered to help get the word out and
>> coordinate volunteers. If you're interested in
>> contributing, please send Melanie an email.
>>
>> Hywel, I'll contact you off list about potentially
>> teaming up!
>>
>> best,
>> -matt
>>
>
> Hello Matt
>
> A suggestion I would like to toss out to possible add to the site,  
> is to expand and make easier to find, the pages that lists  
> developers and their wish-list needs, plus allow for people to list  
> things other than money they may want to offer to FreeBSD  
> supporters.  (Like a volunteer sign up page with what skills or  
> items they feel comfortable offering)
>
> Also, as has been shown throughout history, causes, projects, and  
> companies have greatly been able to attract more attention and money  
> when there is a central identifying person associated with it.   
> While I appreciate the need for and the work of the FreeBSD  
> foundation, I hope that at some time, some one can step in, step up  
> or frankly be drafted to be that person for FreeBSD (much as Jordon  
> Hubbard was some years ago)  I hope that these projects can also  
> help with this faceless entity problem that FreeBSD has.
>
> For the part that it does not, I certainly nominate you, and ask  
> you, to perhaps help with this and through your efforts, perhaps  
> become more of a  face of FreeBSD! I think at least some small  
> amount of Cult Of Personality would really help pull FreeBSD more  
> into the public, or at least techie, consciousness.

Thanks Nicole! I've talked the iXsystems management team (of which I  
am a part) into acting as the escrow manager for any significant funds  
generated from the SponsorBSD site. I definitely agree that FreeBSD  
needs more marketing love and we have dedicated people on staff now to  
work towards that end.

We are now up to over 12 large trade shows in the United States (plus  
BSDCan) a year with the "official" FreeBSD booth with backdrop, CDs, t- 
shirts, and promotional materials. The latest version of PC-BSD has  
over 770k downloads, many of which are brand new users to any type of  
BSD.

We're formally launching the SpreadBSD.org site, where we'll keep the  
community abreast of our marketing plans and provide a repository of  
materials to present to new users, management, and enthusiasts.

As always, volunteers welcome!

Be well!
-matt