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Comment on Ask HN: Would issue “bounties” make contributing to open source more appealing?

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I think about this kind of thing a lot, but I haven't put much of it down in writing yet.

One thing I think is often overlooked is the value of writing a good description. I genuinely believe an issue in the form of a user story can require as much work defining the task as it does implementing it. Some contributions question, clarify, articulate, or integrate an issue so that the implementation becomes straightforward. If you can find a way to pay for that, then I think everything else becomes easy.

Another thing is that sometimes the best solution takes some exploration to find, but if you only pay for the final solution then the cost of finding it is not aligned with the price and the system cannot stabilize. I think this is similar to the problem that Science is facing where funding sources prioritize positive, novel results over the bare truth. I think if you find a way to reward experimentation even if it fails you will have solved a big problem. I think the key might be to realize (in both senses) the value in a failed experiment.

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