On 26.07.2004 15:03:52 +0100, Timwi wrote:
Frithjof Engel wrote:
I think this will lead to worse software, because it shifts the focus from "writing good software" to "making money/win the game". There have been several studies in the past on this topic:
This is well-known study, but it has a week point.
They state, "Creativity and intrinsic interest diminish if task is done for gain" but actually the only things they can compare are
- people doing open software for fun and entertainment; and
- people who are employees and have to develop the uninteresting parts
of software as part of their job.
They compare groups of people doing exactly the same work.
The study does not take into account the possibility of "paid volunteers", because there have been few such systems in the past.
The reason for that is that it would not work. You either work because of the money you earn or because of the fun you have. There is no middle-way IMHO. Imagine you want to do something for a specific project, you look at the TODO-list and evaluate each task by considering different aspects like the time you want to invest, your interest in that topic, your skills, etc. When TODO list suddenly start to offer money for a specific task, people would change the priorities regarding the task, see the following:
Ordinary TODO list: * Fix bug that the app cannot handle filenames longer than 255 chars * Fix memory leaks when editing file * Implement an export feature
Reward-driven TODO list: * 1$ For fixing bug that the app cannot handle filenames longer than 255 chars * 2$ Fix memory leaks when editing file * Implement an export feature
Don't you immediately start to evaluate the tasks based on the money you can make? Your interest for developing shifts automagically.
If someone wants to do uninteresting programming for money, they can get a better pay at a real job.
ACK
A Bazaar-like system like the one I'm proposing is different: payment provides motivation to get involved, but developers would still be working on the things they personally find interesting.
As hard as it sounds, but I think bringing in payments would corrupt the whole development process.
Hence, I believe, "creativity and intrinsic interest" will be preserved.
I don't :)
Frithjof