[Qgis-psc] maintainers

[Marco Hugentobler]

Hi all

> Is that a fact or just an assumption?  I thought the maintainer were "just"
> volunteers with interest in the parts they maintain.  That's the case for
> me at least.

> I would also assume - as Vivcent already suggested - that, if any, there
> are contracts for new features only, but not actual maintenance.

Yes, they are volunteers. I think what Paolo ment with that sentence is that 
parts of the code are well maintained because they have been added contract 
based (but the maintenance after that happens voluntarily).

>We could open a call for donations or sponsorship specifically dedicated 
>to this.

I'm not sure what is best.

On one hand it might be worth a try to find some resources by donations. 
Especially for 
subsystems with a lot of users, but obviously little interest by companies  (I 
think Paolo mentioned the Grass plugin / provider or the Python 
infrastructure).

On the other hand, I understand Jürgens objection that it could be problematic 
to fund maintenance / bugfixing directly from the project. If maintainers feel 
their voluntary work devaluated by a call for donations, it would be 
counterproductive.


Regards,
Marco
 

Am Montag, 15. November 2010, um 21.01:16 schrieb Jürgen E. Fischer:
> Hi Paolo,
> 
> On Sun, 14. Nov 2010 at 13:31:12 +0100, Paolo Cavallini wrote:
> > We have areas (components) well covered by a maintainer, usually because
> > he has contracts that cover their work.
> 
> Is that a fact or just an assumption?  I thought the maintainer were "just"
> volunteers with interest in the parts they maintain.  That's the case for
> me at least.
> 
> I would also assume - as Vivcent already suggested - that, if any, there
> are contracts for new features only, but not actual maintenance.
> 
> 
> Jürgen


-- 
Dr. Marco Hugentobler
Sourcepole - Linux & Open Source Solutions
Webereistr. 66, CH-8134 Adliswil, Switzerland
marco.hugentobler at sourcepole.ch http://www.sourcepole.ch
Technical Advisor QGIS Project Steering Committee