Does this or has this existed?

A site where users can post a bounty for a bug fix on something and others can contribute. If the bug is fixed, an arbitrator determines if the solution meets all of the parameters and rewards the programmer with the pooled funds.

Beyond bug fixes, it could be used to fund entire applications or even specific feature requests.

Companies or software packages could have their own official pages, with separate sections for bug fixes, feature requests, or even future versions.

Contributors can pledge an amount with a lifespan attached. If the bug or feature isn’t materialized within that window it refunds their account. Otherwise the money is held in escrow until paid out.

  • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1·
    9 minutes ago

    GitCoin exists and has been pretty successful in the past.

    Though I suspect it’s not what you’re looking for. I don’t see bounties on their site anymore and their focus has been mostly in three crypto space.

  • ReginaPhalange@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    58 minutes ago

    Any bug bounty program that isn’t part of the source control repo website (GitHub/Lab…) Will not enjoy the deserved exposure for such a program, but, the day that GitHub realize this - they will want a cut of that deal

  • swicano@programming.devEnglish
    2·
    1 hour ago

    There’s a couple online if you look around, but they’re all pretty small: Opire.dev oss.issuehunt.io/issues Boss.dev/issues/open And probably dozens more

    And as a cautionary tale, look what happened to bountysource