Project Registry (was Ransomware)

[SimPLsol at aol.com]

Dan,
Wow is the word! This has so much potential it is hard to underestimate it.

I think the escrow idea is essential (for all but the smallest projects). 
People who donate money (especially large contributions) should know that they 
will get it back if the project is not commenced or completed. Developers should 
know there is real money in the kitty before beginning work. I've 
incorporated the idea of "pledges" to give an idea of support for the request before any 
money at all is committed. A developer might begin work on pledges alone if 
there were enough from enough reputable people - but long projects require real 
money. For smaller projects the moderator can manage the escrow account, for 
larger projects there should be a third party escrow. Even with the original 
idea, the money must be stored somewhere.

There are countless other details to be resolved (for instance, what happens 
if contributions exceed expenses; everyone gets back a percentage of the 
excess?) but we can begin with a registry (or better name/description if you've got 
one).
Paul Looney