[haiku] Re: Haiku Inc: Proposed Annual Budget

Hi,

2009/11/24 Axel Dörfler <axeld@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
> Niels Reedijk <niels.reedijk@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Honestly, I dislike the idea that Haiku Inc. would fund developers. I
>> find it disrespectful for the developers that put in countless man
>> hours to work for free, as well as for the less sexy positions like
>> web designers, translators, documentation writers and yes, I am
>> biased, system admins who do necessary but less visible work.
>>
>> I think it is a violation of the basic principle that Haiku Inc. does
>> not interfere with the direction the project is taking. I know we
>> have
>> HCD, but I think that's different, as it has a dedicated funding
>> mechanism, so I see Haiku Inc. only as managing the money, not as
>> agents. This changes when the board has to decide how unmarked cash
>> is
>> divided over individuals that get paid for things others are doing
>> for
>> free. It is like the lottery. The acceptable alternative would be
>> earmarked funding for developers, but there is already a system for
>> that: the bounties at Haikuware.
> [...]
>> Funding for development should stay where it is now: at companies
>> sponsoring developers to do paid work on Haiku for whatever reason,
>> or
>> at community driven fund raising where Haiku Inc. should at most play
>> a money-managing role.
>
> I personally see no difference whether Haiku Inc. pays a developer to
> do a certain thing, or a company decides to pay a developer to do a
> certain thing. In each case that developer gets to work on something
> for money that other developers do for free.

I can't argue with personal vision, so I won't, instead I think there
are also practical problems with paying for development work.

1. I would really like to know from freelancers what their rates are.
And I don't mean barebones rates, but the ones that you want/have to
charge to pay your rent, utilities, live comfortably, save a little
money for things like vacations and also to put in your retirement
fund. I think the current cashflow of Haiku Inc. comes nowhere near
supporting a developer/project for a few weeks.

If the goal is to help developers dedicate more time to Haiku, you
have to be honest and acknowledge that they need to eat. Now name a
price for something like a wifi stack. I think you will be surprised
at the cost of such a project.

2. How is contract law organized in the US? Can you import services
from the EU without paying extra taxes? Also, what are the
requirements for documenting the contract. What do you need to get to
prove that you are not just paying people and evading income taxes?

These questions require a lot of time, but I guess preferably it needs
some advise from an accountant, meaning that you require an initial
investment.


Now if you take these considerations and combine them with my ethical
objections, I would much rather have Haiku Inc. support development
through funding code sprints. By funding code sprints I mean
reimbursing everything: travel costs, overnight fees, food, a bit of
frivolity, such things.

This way you can for the price of funding one developer, support a
number of them and create a productive atmosphere. And while the
developers don't get anything, at least it does not cost them anything
either. And as an added bonus you evade questions on contract law,
importing services and income taxes.

N>

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