When I started out in open source software and contributing to ASF and Linux projects there were no rewards at all. Everybody contributed because they were passionate about developing and open source. The quality of software was a lot higher because of the type of developers it attracted and also because they were more likely to collaborate on something than compete against each other. I wouldn't mind if SDF just stopped the SBC entirely. The money is a distraction, attracts the wrong people, and discourages collaboration. I won a pretty prize last SBC and that is great, but I would have created my app regardless. I'll probably be moving on soon because I'm not happy with what drives this community at all.

    sheba The distribution is always adjusted to the current Lumen price. If it takes an epoch it takes an epoch, nothing really changes.

    In retrospect it always looks like a huge prize. For example in the forum category (removed now):

    • 1st challenge in 2016 rewarded 5.5 million XLM
      Price in USD before the challenge: Under $10 000
      Price in USD today: Over $2 million

    • Last challenge in 2017 rewarded 150 000 XLM
      Price in USD before the challenge: Under $10 000
      Price in USD today: Over $70 000

    The prize in USD before the challenge didn't change much, but because of XLM's exponential growth it looks like it's shrinking. Still, I don't know of any other competition giving such big prizes to developers every 3 months.

        bkolobara Unfortunately, the potential for growth is decreasing. People were motivated to build on the Stellar network because they saw that potential for exponential growth. Now, with Stellar nearing a realistic market cap, that potential for growth is greatly diminished. Realistically, we aren't going to see any more 40x jumps in the value of XLM. As such, the prize does not scale accurately with the XLM value.

        Don't get me wrong, I'm sure developers with continue to develop and the quarterly prize is great (I also don't know of any other coins giving such a large prize). it's just with such a large number of outstanding XLM yet to be distributed, I think a few more could be spared for the SBC.

          dupe I would hate to see you leave. The discussions now may be centred around price speculation, but I believe that we can change it by setting the right tone.

            Prizes seem like a great way to get people share their project(s) that would otherwise keep them closed.

            I'm looking forward to all the submissions ?

            I don't think anyone's would argue that crypto currency valuation are at a historic bubble. How about instead of setting the prize pool value in today's valuation, set it when it's about to be awarded, to buffer against crazy swings in lumen prices, both up and down.

            Regarding the prize pool size, I'm assuming that the goal is to grow the adoption of Stellar as a platform. So what's the rationale behind keeping the prize pool constant? The same number of lumens 3 months ago can now buy you 10X as many developers. Isn't that a good thing? Why artificially lower it by 10X to cap growth? The cost is little, and you may not get this good of an opportunity in 3 more months, once Asian countries start banning exchanges. I think it should be obvious that with a bigger prize pool, you'll get more participants and higher quality projects.

            If they change the size depending on price (which seems to be the case), it would be better to set the pool closer to awards. Lumen may easily drop ~80% in price over the next two months (just as it has risen ~80% over the past two).

            Has anyone shared the amount of Stellar they were awarded? I would be interested in what types of applications are considered valuable to Stellar.

            Can anyone advise what this line means on the build challenge page? 'Entries must be announced on Galactic Talk by March 1st, 2018' I am not certain if have read this correctly. To me it means that applicants must announce their application here before March 1st. If this is the case, which channel and what format?

              dupe Please know that many here are actual investors for ethical reasons. I personally bought bitcoin in 2011 as a means of support for the community, more so than an investment.
              I now own Lumens and my story remains the same.

                20 days later

                OrbitLens thanks very much for your help. I have now announced Tucr.io on SBC.

                  17 days later

                  I submitted my project last month but wasn't aware I need to announce on galactic talk. Been working 70 hours per week on this thing, am I still eligible? I also have alot more work done since I submitted so I will update my screenshots. This is a really cool project imho... rly rly rly cool ?