FAQ: General Site Help and Information

FAQ Sections:

Become a Supporting Member

There are many benefits to becoming a donating member, including a permanent non-expiring license key for all of our programs, early access to beta releases and new reviews, discounts on popular shareware, and much more.

Still Have Questions?

You know the drill -- the first order of business is to search our site or forum for answers to your questions.

But don't hesitate to contact us directly with questions. We don't have secretaries - you'll get a reply right away from the same people who designed the website and coded the software here. Or post your questions on our public forum for a community response.

Live Chat

If you prefer, you can join our text chat channel on irc and speak to other DC members and administrators 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

May we recommend..

Gizmo's Freeware / Tech Support Alert

No site does as good a job of helping you choose a freeware tool for a specific task than Gizmo's Freeware (otherwise known by us old-timers as Tech Support Alert). The site is simply unrivaled in terms of recommendations for freeware, and if you ever find yourself asking what the best free windows utility is for a given task, it's *the* site to visit. In each well-organized category, top alternatives are reviewed, rated, and ranked, and then discussed by all -- and reviews are frequently revisited and updated, which is a rarity. In addition, Gizmo Richards himself has also long been a friend to freeware authors, helping to shine the light on new freeware tools, and a friend to us from the early days, helping to tell people about DonationCoder and our software -- and I am extremely honored to have had some of my tools recommended on the site. I can't think of a better site to receive the first entry in our list of our Favorite Websites.

FAQ - General Site Help and Information

This page lists some common questions and answers about the site.

What is DonationCoder.com all about?

DonationCoder was started in 2005 as a way to share software we created and ask people to donate to support their continued development. Over time we have somewhat broadened our focus, and our discussion forums cover a wide range of technology topics.

Are you interested in the philosophy and motivation behind this site? You can read all about our history and philosophy on our About Us page

I'm having trouble signing up for or being recognized by the forum

What Are The Software Reviews and Mini-Reviews?

Our members like to share their opinions about software.

When we say that DonationCoder.com is "for software connoisseurs" we mean it. The people who hang out on our forum love talking about new software discoveries and debating about what the best software is for any given task. In addition to casual conversation on our forum, we encourage members to occasionally write up little "Mini Reviews" about programs they have tried. Some of the Mini-Reviews can be quite long, and can put a traditional computer magazine review to shame.

Now.. If you really want to see what a serious hardcore software review looks like, then you need to check out our comprehensive "Shootout Reviews" where we spend weeks comparing the top programs in a given category and tell you which ones we think are the best. Our shootout reviews are some of the most thorough software reviews you will find anywhere on the planet.

We are always looking for new Software Reviewers to put things under the microscope and publish their findings on our website! If you think you fit the bill, then please let us know via the Contact Us page!

What are 'Coding Snacks'?

A "Coding Snack" is what we call a small program written in response to a request on our forum.

The idea of this section is for users to try to come up with ideas for simple freeware programs that can be coded in a few hours or a few days at most, and have these ideas implemented by coders. Ideas can be silly, useless, whatever, as long as they are interesting in some way and won't take more than a few hours to code.

You can browse the collection of past Coding Snacks.

If you have an idea for a new tiny app, here's the rules you should follow to make a request:

Please post it on its own thread in the "Coding Snacks: Post New Requests Here" section, where others can help you clarify and refine it.

Start your thread Subject with "IDEA:", and please be as specific as possible, with links to similar programs that already exist (if they exist) and how what you want is different. Hopefully, our coders will be able to fulfill your request or our software experts will help you find an existing program that can help you solve your problem. If a coder does a nice job you might want to make a donation to them, but it's up to you.

Do companies pay donationcoder.com to be reviewed or mentioned or to have their product discounts listed?

No. We absolutely, positively, without exception, forbid any payment from a company in return for writing about them on our site or forum.

We also believe in a policy of strict disclosure. Anyone posting about a program on our forum needs to specify any relationship they may have with the company being discussed.

We love talking about software on our site, and we all have our own opinions about the best tools for any given job. We encourage people to share their opinions and post about their favorite software, but we take very seriously the responsibility to be transparent about our views and we will deal severely with any situation where someone is found to be promoting a company they have a financial stake in.

What are some of the benefits of donating?

What's the best way to keep up to date on DonationCoder releases, news, events, etc.

You have some choices

The discussion forum is the heart of DonationCoder, and everything gets announced there first. But there are others ways to keep up to date with site news.

If you use an RSS reader, you can monitor a variety of forum feeds for announcements; see this forum post for more information.

Perhaps the best way is to sign up for our newsletter, which goes out once every couple of months and highlights the most interesting developments and discussions on the site.