Axmol Contributor Compensation Policy

Axmol Contributor Compensation Policy (WIP)

Axmol Engine is developed and maintained through a combination of core development, community contributions, and financial support from organizations and individuals that rely on or support the project.

This policy describes how eligible community contributors may receive financial compensation for significant contributions to Axmol.

Purpose

The purpose of this program is to recognize and financially support contributors whose work provides meaningful value to the Axmol Engine.

Eligible contributions may include, but are not limited to:

• Engine features and architectural improvements
• Platform and graphics backend maintenance
• Bug fixes and performance improvements
• Build system and tooling improvements
• Documentation and examples
• Testing and compatibility work
• Long-term maintenance of specific subsystems
• Other work that materially benefits the Axmol project

Participation in the Axmol project remains voluntary.

A merged pull request, accepted issue, or other contribution does not automatically create an entitlement to compensation.

Compensation is discretionary and depends on contribution impact, quality, complexity, maintenance value, available project funding, and other relevant factors.

Funding Model

Axmol may receive financial support through multiple channels.

These may include:

• Direct funding to Simdsoft Limited for the core development, maintenance, and long-term operation of Axmol
• GitHub Sponsors
• OpenCollective
• Other approved funding methods

These channels serve different purposes and may coexist as part of Axmol's long-term funding model.

GitHub Sponsors and OpenCollective remain open and supported sponsorship channels for individuals and organizations that wish to support Axmol.

They may continue to be used for:

• Small individual sponsorships
• Recurring community support
• Public sponsor recognition
• Community funding
• Project-related expenses
• Other forms of voluntary financial support

The continued availability of these channels is independent of Simdsoft's role in administering contributor compensation.

Administration

Administration

Axmol is led and primarily maintained by Simdsoft Limited, with founder halx99 continuing to lead the project's technical direction and core development.

The Axmol contributor compensation program is administered by Simdsoft Limited as part of its responsibility for the long-term development and operation of Axmol Engine.

Simdsoft may allocate part of the funding received in connection with Axmol to:

• Community contributor compensation
• Core development and maintenance
• Project infrastructure
• Development and testing resources
• Documentation and tooling
• Other activities that support the long-term sustainability of Axmol

The amount available for contributor compensation may vary over time and is not defined as a fixed percentage of project funding.

Contributor compensation is not required to be processed through OpenCollective, GitHub Sponsors, or any particular sponsorship platform.

Eligibility

Any contributor may be considered for compensation when their work provides significant value to Axmol.

Examples include:

• Substantial new functionality
• Important bug fixes
• Platform-specific engineering
• Graphics, rendering, audio, networking, or tooling improvements
• Significant documentation or testing work
• Ongoing maintenance responsibilities
• Contributions that reduce long-term maintenance cost
• Contributions that materially improve project stability, performance, or portability

Minor contributions may also be considered when they are part of sustained or otherwise valuable participation.

Eligibility is determined by the Axmol project leadership.

Evaluation

Contributor compensation is evaluated primarily on the overall value of the contribution rather than through a fixed point system.

Factors may include:

• Technical complexity
• Scope of the work
• Quality of implementation
• Impact on users
• Importance to the project roadmap
• Maintenance burden assumed by the contributor
• Testing and documentation quality
• Responsiveness during review
• Long-term contribution history
• Availability of project funding

The project leadership may evaluate contributions across an entire quarter rather than assigning a monetary value to every individual pull request.

There is no fixed conversion between contribution type, pull request count, issue count, or compensation amount.

Settlement Schedule

Contributor compensation is normally reviewed and settled on a quarterly basis.

At the end of each quarter, the project leadership may review eligible contributions and determine compensation amounts based on the contributor's overall contribution record during that period.

Simdsoft may adjust the settlement schedule when necessary for administrative, accounting, legal, or operational reasons.

Payment Process

Eligible contributors may be asked to provide information reasonably required for accounting, tax, compliance, and payment purposes.

Depending on the contributor's location and circumstances, this may include:

• Legal name
• Country or region of residence
• Tax residency information
• Payment account information
• Invoice, receipt, or payment request
• Confirmation of where the relevant development work was physically performed
• Other documentation reasonably required by Simdsoft or applicable law

Payments to overseas contributors may be made through Wise, bank transfer, or another supported payment method.

Contributors are generally responsible for their own tax obligations in their country or region of residence, except where Simdsoft is legally required to withhold, report, or remit taxes.

Payment methods and required documentation may change over time in response to legal, banking, accounting, or platform requirements.

Contribution Records

GitHub activity may be used as evidence of completed work, including:

• Pull requests
• Commits
• Issues
• Code reviews
• Documentation changes
• Testing records
• Platform maintenance
• Release-related work
• Other project activity

Simdsoft may request a short quarterly contribution summary where appropriate.

Contributors do not normally need to submit a separate compensation request for every individual pull request.

Expenses and Reimbursements

Contributor compensation and expense reimbursement are treated separately.

Compensation is intended for development, maintenance, testing, documentation, or other work performed for the benefit of Axmol.

Expense reimbursement may be used for approved project-related costs such as:

• Testing hardware
• Software licenses
• Infrastructure
• Hosting or cloud services
• Travel related to approved project activities
• Other pre-approved project expenses

Reimbursement requests may require receipts, invoices, or other supporting documents.

A development or maintenance payment should not be treated as an expense reimbursement merely because it is paid to an individual contributor.

Open Source Status

Receiving compensation does not change the open-source nature of Axmol.

Contributions remain subject to the applicable Axmol project license and contribution terms.

Financial compensation does not grant a contributor ownership, governance authority, or special control over the project beyond any role separately granted by the Axmol project.

Similarly, project sponsors and commercial supporters do not obtain ownership or governance rights solely through financial support.

Axmol remains an independent open-source project.

Sponsorship and Commercial Support

Axmol may receive both voluntary sponsorship and commercial support.

These are related but distinct forms of project funding.

Voluntary sponsorship may be provided through channels such as GitHub Sponsors or OpenCollective.

Commercial support may be provided directly to Simdsoft for activities such as:

• Core engine research and development
• Long-term maintenance
• Technical support
• Platform support
• Performance and compatibility work
• Other professional services related to Axmol

The existence of commercial support does not prevent individuals or organizations from continuing to sponsor Axmol through public community channels.

Transparency

Axmol may periodically publish aggregate information about project funding and community contributor support.

Such reporting may include:

• Total contributor compensation
• Number of compensated contributors
• General categories of funded work
• Project infrastructure and community expenses
• Major organizations supporting the project
• Aggregate project funding information where appropriate

Individual compensation details may be disclosed only where appropriate and consistent with applicable agreements, privacy considerations, and contributor consent.

Simdsoft's internal corporate financial statements, payroll information, tax records, banking records, and other non-project business information are not part of Axmol's public financial reporting.

Public project transparency reporting, where provided, is intended to explain how Axmol is supported without requiring disclosure of Simdsoft's complete corporate accounts.

Relationship to the Previous Reward Program

This policy replaces the previous Axmol Contribution Reward Guide as the primary framework for determining and administering contributor compensation.

The previous guide was created when contributor rewards were administered primarily through OpenCollective and used a point-based reward model.

Under the current framework, contributor compensation may be administered directly by Simdsoft Limited based on quarterly contribution reviews and available project resources.

This change does not mean that Axmol is discontinuing OpenCollective or GitHub Sponsors.

OpenCollective and GitHub Sponsors remain open and supported funding channels for the Axmol community.

The main changes introduced by this policy are:

• Contributor compensation is no longer required to be processed through OpenCollective
• The previous point-based reward model is no longer used as the primary compensation method
• Compensation may be reviewed on a quarterly basis using broader contribution impact and project value
• Simdsoft may directly administer contributor payments
• Community sponsorship channels remain available independently of the compensation process

The previous Axmol Contribution Reward Guide may remain available as historical documentation but should no longer be used for new compensation decisions after the effective date of this policy.

No Automatic Entitlement

Participation in Axmol is voluntary.

Nothing in this policy guarantees compensation for any contribution.

A merged pull request, accepted issue, review, discussion, documentation update, or other contribution does not by itself create a contractual right to payment.

Any compensation is subject to project evaluation, available funding, administrative requirements, and applicable law.

Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated as the Axmol project, its funding structure, community needs, or applicable legal and accounting requirements evolve.

Material changes will be reflected in the Axmol project documentation.

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Effective date: To be determined

Administered by: Simdsoft Limited

Project: Axmol Engine