A while ago, I got a request from Kentaro Hayashi on the project I use to manage funding requests addressed to Freexian. He was keen to see some improvements on the way reimbursement requests are handled in Debian. In my opinion, the idea is certainly good but he’s not part of the treasurer team and was not willing to implement the project either, so it was not really ready to be submitted to us.
To be able to fund a useful project, we need either someone that is willing to do the work and try to push it further in Debian, or we need a Debian team interested in the result of the project (and in that case, we can try to find someone willing to implement the project). In this case, it’s a bit sad that the treasurer team didn’t comment at all… but in general, what should we do with those suggestions ?
It would still be interesting to have a list of such suggestions and have Debian developers be able to advocate (+1) those suggestions. It’s in this spirit that Kentaro created the “Grow your ideas” project on salsa.debian.org. Browse the list of issues, submit your own and click on 👍 (+1) to bump the suggestions that you find interesting. And click on the “Watch” button on the homepage to receive notifications when others submit suggestions so that you can evaluate those suggestions and possibly improve them through your comments.
In the end, this can only help those that are looking for ways to contribute to Debian: maybe some of them will formalize a concrete action plan and request funding for it! We have a pile of money sitting unused that’s clearly targeted to pay contributors to improve our infrastructure. And we have endless lists of (wishlist) bugs on all our infrastructure projects (dak, distro-tracker, …). What are you waiting ?
This is the first time I hear of this reimbursement requests proposal. And it is not much of a proposal either.
My personal opinion is that funds are not the issue but the human resource to manage implementers / contractors. You pay that for LTS / Freexian. I don’t think micro-projects will work without such stewardship. Esp. not with the admin overhead you envision to even get access to those (small) funds.
Yes, clearly some stewardship is needed, that’s why I’m looking for a “project manager” that can fill this gap. See https://raphaelhertzog.com/2021/04/01/challenging-times-for-freexian-3/
We are ready to use part of the funds to pay someone assuming that role. Unfortunately I haven’t identified someone willing to take this challenge yet. Even if paid, it’s just a part time work and likely requires some broad Debian knowledge to be able to make informed decisions.
Also if you have suggestions to lower the “admin overhead” while still making sure that the funds are well spent, I’m happy to hear them. This is an experiment and we can change the rules if they are problematic.