From: Dom Lachowicz (doml@appligent.com)
Date: Thu Oct 31 2002 - 21:46:15 EST
Eric has a breakdown of the AbiWord fund as of last Monday. We've
received some considerable donations since then, and the fund currently
stands at about $1420 US. That's quite a bit of money for a project
with no appreciable expenses. So Martin and I were thinking of some
ways to spend our new-found "wealth" ;-)
What we'd like to do is to reinstate a weekly "patch prize," much in
the spirit and fashion that Source Gear did all those years ago. The
prize will be distributed on a weekly basis, and will be in the amount
of $45 US *before* any applicable fees used in transferring the funds
(transfer fee, currency exchange fee, etc...). This prize will continue
until version 2.0, or when funding runs short. Assuming that there are
about 16 weeks before Martin and I would like to release 2.0, that
amounts to $720 US.
We would also like to reserve some considerable amount of money in
order to sponsor/partially subsidize some of our developers going to
GUADEC 4 this year (April, possibly in Ireland). I'm guaranteeing at
least $800 in our fund for the GUADEC 4 expenses. This means that to
cover my bet, we'll have to raise at least $100 US in the next 25 weeks
or so, which seems reasonable. I will personally cover the difference,
up to $100 US. Anything above the $800 reserved for GUADEC may or may
not be used for GUADEC 4, and will be dealt with appropriately if and
when the time/need arises.
Q) What qualifies one for the patch prize?
A) Any outstanding contribution to the AbiWord community, particularly
those things that are "above and beyond the call of duty." This is not
limited to code necessarily, though coding is one way to win the prize.
You could also do something like:
*) Write a huge amount of documentation
*) Organize a TWiki
*) Organize a successful bugday
*) Expand the website
...
A consistently well-done task, such as the AWN done by Eazen, might
qualify him. The above suggestions and bugzilla are good places to
start. Don't let them limit your horizons, however. Be creative, be
sneaky, but above all else, be useful and be consistent.
Q) Who determines the patch prize winner?
A) Martin and I have sole discretion in choosing the winner. Both of us
must be in agreement on the winner. We guarantee that will never be a
tie, or lack of a resolution. I cannot vote for myself; Martin cannot
vote for himself. However, each of us has 2 "trumps" over the next
16-or-so week period. If Martin does something like "Commit: We now
support footnotes" it's within my right to trump him, and he wins that
week. Likewise, he has the same power over me. Likewise, in some sort
of extreme circumstance, one of us could trump the other's decision for
weekly winner.
Q) How does one receive the funds?
A) We'd like to transfer the funds via some electronic medium. Paypal
seems to at least respond now when we poke them, so this might be an
ideal mechanism.
Q) When is the first patch prize?
A) The patch prize will be announced starting Sunday November 2, and
every following Sunday thereafter. The winner will be mentioned in the
AWN, which is normally released on Mondays. The prize money will be
distributed at my and the winner's earliest convenience.
Q) I won before. Can I win again?
A) Yes, but it will be more difficult to win again, perhaps
considerably so. How much more difficult will depend on the case at
hand, how Martin and I feel on the particular day in question, etc...
Q) Can two people win in one week?
A) No.
Q) Are the weekly contribution dates set in stone? i.e. I do something
on a Friday and don't get the prize that Sunday. Will I be eligible for
next week's prize on a past week's contributions?
A) The dates are kind-of set in mud. It depends on how busy the week in
question is, how great of a thing you just did, what side of the bed I
woke up on, etc...
Q) Is there whining, or a rebuttal/complaint process?
A) No. All decisions are final. No whining, no complaining. This is a
gift. Be humble and polite.
Q) And if, for some reason, the money for that week goes unclaimed for
more than 2 weeks?
A) The money gets recycled back into the fund. There will be no
monetary prize awarded for that week; the money will be used toward
another week's prize, GUADEC, or other.
To those who have helped make the AbiWord fund what it currently is, we
thank you, and hope to get you a leaner, meaner AbiWord in the near
future. To all you hopefuls out there, let the gauntlet begin!
Cheers,
Dom and Martin
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