Gnucash Foundation

Linas Vepstas linas@linas.org
Mon, 9 Dec 2002 21:44:40 -0600


On Sat, Dec 07, 2002 at 12:54:28AM +0100, Christian Stimming was heard to remark:
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> On Freitag, 6. Dezember 2002 21:11, Linas Vepstas wrote:
> > I'll probably set up a c2it.com donation jar.

Ughh, after that other email exchange, I sure feel funny going on
with this.  But no matter.

> > With e.g. cstim's help, could we set up a tip jar in Germany, for
> > European donors?
> 
> If requested, I can open a specific bank account (EUR 4 monthly fee though). A 
> German bank account then can receive money from inside Germany for virtually 
> zero transaction fee.

OK, lets hold off on this for now.

> BUT: What is going to happen with that tip jar? Who's going to do the 
> accounting, and with which software (joking). What is the money going to be 
> used for? 

As hinted in the earlier email, I suggest sending it out as a 
reward/prize/gift to one or more "important contributors"  (I want
to include translators and email-list-question-answer-ers as
possible recipients, and not just developers).

> Who decides this?

I was envisioning an informal, semi-public, semi-private process of
soliciting for nominations, and picking recipients by some rough
consensus.  Of course, I was also envisioning that the kitty is
small, under $500 or so.  If its significantly bigger than that,
then, of course, the whole affair is much more serious, and we will
need a more formal process.

For what its worth, I have in the past turned down a significant
donation (from a famous slashdotter) because I felt that there
was no way to deal with it failry (at that time).  Iregret this, and
I'd rather not have to do that again; I'd rather get the beginings 
of a mechanism in place now, and deal with the 'how to distriubute' 
question when it arises.

As I'm the one setting this up, I guess I have to ask you to trust me
to do the right thing.  If you don't think you can grant this trust,
now is the time to say so.  Offhand, I don't see a better way that
doesn't involve considerable extra overhead, which isn't worth it if
the number of donations are (embarassingly) low.


> > > Anyway. In cbbrowne's proposed Gift exchange registry
> > > http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/fssp.html this would already be
> >
> > Although I like the 'christmas card' idea,  I have already had one
> 
> Street address http://info.cstim.de

Right now, yours is the *only* reply I've gotten to this; I will
scotch this idea if I don't see a reasonable fraction of the core
developers signing up for this.

To all lead developers and contributors: you know who you are, and
this means you.  If I do *not* get at least a half-dozen street
addresses by email real soon now, I will *not* be putting up a
Christmas-card web page on www.gnucash.org.  (I will mention
the idea in generality, so donors can still email you directly, if
they wish.)

--linas


-- 
pub  1024D/01045933 2001-02-01 Linas Vepstas (Labas!) <linas@linas.org>
PGP Key fingerprint = 8305 2521 6000 0B5E 8984  3F54 64A9 9A82 0104 5933