Hi all,
Thanks for the clarifications Guus. I did wonder if the high fiscal
hosting fees was the main issue or merely the trigger for a broader
discussion that was going to happen anyway.
I've stated what I wanted to, so I suppose we can revisit the discussion
whenever we do start thinking about alternate ways to support projects.
I suppose this will happen after the existing Open Collective hosted
projects are migrated. (By the way, I appreciate that this is happening
gradually and making sure the projects have enough time to set up a
stable alternative).
The points about early-stage projects and the value of having an
option ready are noted and will be kept on record. They can inform any
future discussion of lighter-weight alternatives, such as improving
visibility for vetted projects seeking funding.
One low-hanging fruit could be to list such projects on the XMPP
Newsletter (in place of the XMPP fiscal hosting projects that used to be
listed). This actually has the added advantage that we can support all
XMPP projects looking for funding and are not restricted to only the
ones we are fiscally hosting. People are sometimes hesitant to donate on
"unknown platforms" (which could include "details on project website")
so having the donation page listed by the XSF would help increase trust.
We would have to work out a vetting process first, of course.
Best,
Badri
