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.
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