Link: Computerworld | Debian experiments with funding group to release ‘etch’ on time
“Basically, Dunc is an experimental project to try out ways of funding Debian development. Not paying for servers or bandwidth, or reimbursing expenses and flight costs, but actually paying people to sit down and do useful Debian work rather than some other day job.“
From Computer World:
“The brainchild of Debian project leader, Brisbane, Australia-based Anthony Towns, Dunc-Tank is an experimental project that seeks to find ways of funding Debian development. That money will then go into paying people to sit down and do “useful” Debian work rather than relying on a core of dedicated volunteers to contribute code outside of their regular day jobs.”
This is yet another example of Peer to Peer funding, this time in an otherwise mostly all-volunteer project. I’ll be following this project/experiment, to see what lessons can be learned from it. There is definitely the potential for a useful model in here for open source software projects.