Even if you don't know of COIN-OR, there is a decent chance you have used something that depends on it. Libraries distributed by COIN-OR are widely used and embedded in many applications. Just like many open source projects, we are struggling to find a sustainable path forward. The question of how to ensure the continued health of valued open-source software that is maintained by volunteer effort is one that seems to be gaining traction and we would be happy to hear any feedback from the HN community on this issue.
I don't think this is a productive narrative to be pushing. Many projects currently rely critically on COIN-OR software, and will continue to do so simply because inertia is often what drives project dependency management. Open source funding is not a zero-sum game, and COIN-OR getting financial support will only strengthen the ecosystem of open-source solvers.
The type of developer(s) that the COIN-OR foundation needs are highly specialized. This person will likely have a PhD in mathematical optimization. Also, some percentage of that funding will need to be used for administration (e.g. hiring said developer, sending receipts to donors, etc).
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[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 23.8 ms ] threadI don't think this is a productive narrative to be pushing. Many projects currently rely critically on COIN-OR software, and will continue to do so simply because inertia is often what drives project dependency management. Open source funding is not a zero-sum game, and COIN-OR getting financial support will only strengthen the ecosystem of open-source solvers.
Eg the perl foundation pays about 50k for a single dev.