Since the announcement of the "ODW w/ MorphOS", where $50 will be donated to the "General Bounty Fund" for each machine sold, I think maybe we should discuss this fund a little. Like, "what will it be used for?", "who will benefit, and how?", "who will be in charge of it?".

I think it should be possible to direct money not only to third party developers, but also to development of certain features of MorphOS itself. TCP/IP comes to mind, as well as things like 3D support for more GFX cards (there is already a bounty here for Permedia2 support for the PowerUP release of MorphOS), etc. The MorphOS team now have pay-pal buttons on their webpages (http://3d.morphos-team.net/, http://powerup.morphos-team.net/), should funds be channaled there? Who decides?

Will anyone from the MorphOS team be inside "the panel of decision"? I think maybe that would be a good idea, or?

When I though about it, the first think it come to mind was share holders... how about virtual credits for each who have donated either to a common bounty or trough OWD w/Morphos, maybe even those who donated to other bounties (less credited though) ... then after a popular consulting (so that one could have a bigger picture overall), an internal pool should be made taking into account the decisions and the represented credits, in the end clear results should be given...
IMO

An interesting idea! That will perhaps also motivate people to make regular donations to the more specific bounties.

Sorry for taking so long to chime in, I've had sparatic phone/inet over the last few days (talk to Katrina about that).

The general fund is used as a place for supporting all the bounties. Sometimes the money in the general fund is used to either kick-off or as a final burst for a bounty. The money is also used to help offset the costs of sending a wire, or buying a money order to take a bounty and give it to the coder. This stuff isn't free. Most importantly, it was to allow someone to donate to a non-existant bounty with a note saying that they want a new bounty for XYZ (at least 25$).

The latest Genesi announcement by far expands the concept of what the General Fund can do. I'm already "treasurer" so to speak, but if the general fund does see an expansion--we will need a morphos team member on the panel. keep the ideas flowing, because we don't know where things could end up

How about saving some for "Program / game / skin / game porter / whatever of the year" competitions?

@Jupp3

I have absolutely no problem with this. I do not think anyone else will either. We can put things to the vote, and if AmiNetRadio pulls off another win -- Gelb will manage to get something other than just a web-graphic

However, I believe it is my duty to defer such a large decision to each of you. Does everyone want a vote for the best X to recieve some amount of prize money? The next problem would be to determine some amount, I would highly suggest if this happens that the panel set a minimum and maximum amount then have the users vote on what amount the prize should be... Anyway, it's a great discussion toppic!