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Pomelo Bounties Wiki

Catherine Haggerty edited this page Jan 5, 2024 · 25 revisions

Pomelo Bounties is a freelance marketplace where bounty funders find the skills and expertise they need to reach their project milestones faster, and bounty hunters get paid for their talents while building their reputations.

Bounties can help you make connections and achieve your professional goals.

Follow Pomelo Bounties on X at @PomeloBounties and on our Medium blog.

Overview

What is a bounty?

A bounty is a reward for a completed piece of work or task.

Pomelo Bounties is a central place where bounty funders and hunters can collaborate. A funder posts the work that they need done, along with the reward for the work, and hunters browse and apply to bounties they're interested in.

How do I join Pomelo Bounties?

All you need is a GitHub account.

Go to https://bounties.pomelo.io/ and click Join Pomelo. You will sign in to Pomelo Bounties with your GitHub account. That’s all you need to explore the platform.

How are bounties created?

Anyone can create a bounty. You need a GitHub issue in a public repository and some funds (USDT).

Click Fund Bounty and follow the steps to create and fund your bounty.

A bounty is funded by connecting a wallet or depositing manually. The bounty can be funded and paid in USDT on EOS EVM or EOS Native. Additional chains may be added in future.

There is a 20% service fee. During bounty creation, the fee is added on top of the reward amount.

What are the different roles?

  • Bounty Funder: Creates and funds a bounty.
    • Discovers talent, saves time, and makes progress on their projects.
  • Bounty Hunter: Applies for bounties and if approved, completes the work.
    • Works on exciting projects, gets paid, and develops their skills and reputation along the way.

How do bounties work?

Pomelo Bounties is a freelance marketplace where project owners can outsource tasks and independent professionals can find work that interests them and suits their qualifications.

A bounty provides a summary of the task with the level of experience and skills required. The funder can select from frontend, backend, design, or other.

A bounty must have an open GitHub issue associated with it. Use the GitHub issue to:

  • Describe the task in detail.
  • List all the requirements.
  • Provide any background information.
  • Communicate with the hunter while the work is in progress.
  • Share the completed work with the funder.

We recommend the task be something that makes sense to outsource, a task that someone outside your team can complete without too much context and background.

Funders and hunters can view each other’s GitHub profiles to get a sense of their reputation. Hunters can be confident they will be paid for completed work when a funder approves them.

Bounties workflow:

  1. Funder creates or finds a GitHub issue.
  2. Funder creates a bounty using the GitHub issue URL and funds it.
  3. Hunter explores bounties and applies to complete one by describing their solution.
  4. Funder receives applications and approves a hunter.
  5. Any other hunters who applied are automatically declined.
  6. Hunter completes the work and submits it.
  7. Funder reviews the work and accepts it or returns it for revisions:
    • Funder accepts the work, which releases the reward.
    • Funder returns the work to the hunter for revisions.
  8. Funds are automatically released to the hunter 72 hours after completion of work if no action is taken by the funder.

Alternate flow: completed work

Another flow on Bounties is for the funder to request the completed task up front. Hunters submit the completed work when they apply for the bounty, and the funder approves and rewards the best work.

  1. Funder creates a bounty and specifies that it’s a completed work bounty in the description.
  2. Hunters build a solution and submit the completed work when they apply for the bounty.
  3. The Funder selects the solution they prefer and approves the hunter to work on the bounty.
    • The funder can now release the funds at any point. If the submission looks good, the funder can release funds immediately.
    • If the submission needs a bit more work, the funder can approve the hunter for work and proceed from there.

Bounty information section

At the bottom of the bounty, there is a handy reference section that includes Activity, Applications, and Discussions.

  • Activity lists the date and description of important milestones in the bounty’s lifecycle, like when it was created and funded, who has applied, etc.
  • Applications lists the hunters who have applied for the bounty and their proposed solution.
  • Discussions shows comments from the GitHub issue.

What are the different states of a bounty?

  • Pending payment: Bounty is created but not funded or published.
  • Open for applications: Bounty is published and available for applications.
  • Work started: Bounty has an approved hunter working on it.
  • Work to review: Task is complete and needs review by the funder within 72 hours.
  • Completed work: Work is accepted and funds are released.
  • Claimed: Bounty funds have been claimed.
  • Cancelled: Bounty has been closed.

Bounty features

  • Profile Bio: List your professional experience, skills, and expertise to help others get to know you.
  • My Bookmarks: Bookmark a bounty to add it to the My Bookmarks section.

Terms and Conditions

Review the full Pomelo Bounties Terms and Conditions before participating.

Tips and Benefits

Tips for success

Funders:

  • Clearly identify and define the issue:
    • Define acceptance criteria (what exactly are you looking for?).
    • Provide supporting documentation if relevant (e.g., supporting wireframes, architecture diagrams, links to documentation).
    • Anticipate and be ready to remove blockers.
    • Communicate effectively.
  • Be fair in how much you fund.
  • Select your hunter carefully.
  • Respond to questions quickly.

Hunters:

  • Communicate with the funder to agree on a date for completion.
  • Complete the work within the agreed upon time frame.
  • Do work that is low on technical debt.
  • Ask questions and clarify work with the funder.

What are the benefits of Pomelo Bounties?

Bounties provide opportunities for independent professionals to collaborate and build their reputations.

For Funders:

  • Get work done and achieve your project milestones.
  • Discover qualified talent in the community and test them out.
  • Talent isn't limited to developer skills–can include testing, design, video, writing.
  • Save time and get more done by outsourcing tasks.
  • Avoid hiring a new full-time employee for skills you only need short term.

For Hunters:

  • Gain valuable experience.
  • Make money.
  • Build your reputation and expand your community.
  • Form professional relationships with funders.
  • Network with potential employers.
  • May lead to additional funding or support.

Bounties FAQs

What do I need to fund a bounty?

Connect your wallet or deposit funds manually to fund your bounty with USDT on EOS Native or EOS EVM.

How much should I offer as a reward?

For some helpful guidelines, check out this tutorial by Gitcoin (our inspiration for Pomelo Bounties) that has tips on how to price work on its platform.

How long does it take after work is completed for the reward to be released?

After the hunter submits the work, there is a 72-hour review period. If no action is taken by the funder to accept or reject the work within 72 hours, the reward is automatically released.

What if the funder rejects the work?

If the funder rejects the work, they will describe the revisions that are needed for acceptance and the hunter will perform the work and resubmit.

Can a funder cancel a bounty after they've approved a hunter to work on it?

If a funder isn't satisfied with a hunter's progress and wants to try another hunter, the funder could ask the hunter to forfeit the bounty. There is no guarantee the hunter will do so.

Can a hunter forfeit a bounty after they've been approved to work on it?

Yes. If a hunter has been approved to complete a bounty, but something comes up, they can withdraw their application.

Can a funder update their bounty with more information?

Yes, a bounty funder can edit their bounty after it's been posted. Updates can also be added to the GitHub issue.

What happens if no one applies for my bounty?

Consider if the bounty needs clearer specifications. The funder can cancel a bounty if no one applies for it.

Can more than one person work on a bounty?

No. Pomelo Bounties doesn't support multiple hunters at this time. However, you can create multiple bounties for the same issue if you want multiple people to do the same task.