Title
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Problems and Strategies in Financing Voluntary Free Software Projects


Target Audience
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Free Software developers; funders; government and public
administration; businesses interested in investing in Free Software;


Description (250 words)
------------------------

Recent Debian Project Leader's have proclaimed: "Debian will not pay
developers to write code." They claim that the problems and imbalances
that direct payment introduce will outweigh the benefits; they feel
it will radically change the nature of the project for the worse.

Their position is backed up by recent academic research into the
internal processes of voluntary organizations (not necessarily the
type that writes code) that shows -- in a general way -- that the
introduction of paid workers into voluntary organizations
significantly decreases the amount of participation from
volunteers. Why would person B work for free when person A is being
paid and will do the work anyway?

Many businesses, organizations, and governments begin funding Free
Software projects the way they have funded software in the
past. However, funding models designed in an environment of
proprietary software lead to software that looks a lot like like
propriety software under a Free Software license: little community
involvement in development and all the problems that come with
it. Projects that aim to fully harness the power of community
development need to manage -- and fund --their project in new and
innovative ways.

This topic begins by exploring some of the problems and benefits of
traditional funding in voluntary organization drawing from academic
research into organizational management and from the speakers more
than ten years of participation in Free Software communities. After
setting the stage in this way, the talk introduces a handful of
successful examples of funding models ranging from the purchase of
hardware to the organization of meetings, conference and "hacking
camps" plus much more.


Brief Description (50)
-----------------------

It's easier for a successful volunteer Free Software to get money than
it is to decide how to spend it. While paying developers is easy, it
can carry unintended negative consequences. This talk explores
problems and benefits of paying developers in volunteer projects and
surveys strategies that projects like Debian have used to successfully
finance development while maintaining their volunteer nature.


Biography (50 words)
---------------------

Benjamin Mako Hill is a Free Software consultant and intellectual
property researcher. For ten years, he has hacked on Free Software
projects including Debian. He is a two-time delegate of the Debian
Leader and handles finances and hardware for the project in addition
to sitting on the board of directors of Software in the Public
Interest. He is the author many articles, papers, and talks including
the Free Software Project Management HOWTO.