A volunteer-run map is missing the locations of accessible entrances to public buildings. Organizers could offer a bounty for each verified entry that meets their requirements. Instead of recruiting someone for an ongoing role, they publish a result they are willing to reward.
The crucial words are “verified” and “meets their requirements.” Vulnerability bounty programs define which findings qualify, how to report them, and how they will be assessed. A mapping bounty needs similarly clear acceptance conditions.
A reward needs an acceptance rule
In the map project, two people might submit the same entrance. One might record coordinates without a usable photograph. A building might be accessible only at certain times. Each ambiguity becomes a decision about whether the promised reward is owed.
Clear acceptance rules make the offer understandable before contributors invest effort. They also reveal work that the bounty leaves out: checking submissions, resolving duplicates, correcting errors, and maintaining the information later.
Unlike a salary, the bounty does not pay simply for time spent trying. That can attract unexpected contributors with useful local knowledge, but it transfers uncertainty to them. A program with unreliable judging can exhaust goodwill quickly, even when its public list of rewards looks generous.