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Recent Posts

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14326
Screenshot Captor / Re: Changing inches to centimeters
« Last post by mouser on February 15, 2011, 05:25 AM »
let me take a look and report back.
14327
Skwire Empire / Re: Skwire Empire - Software Launching Pad
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 10:46 PM »
Beautiful  :-*
14328
Site/Forum Features / Re: DC Forum Mods Thread
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 05:40 PM »
prev+next mod -- installed.
go direct to moved topic mod -- installed.
14329
Official Announcements / Re: March 2011 DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Celebration -- Ideas for Special Events?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 02:12 PM »
What about a special event for the fundraiser called "Stump the Cranioscopical".

For a 6 hour period, donors are invited to challenge Chris to come up with puns on demand to random concepts. If he fails you get your money back, if he succeeds you have to double your donation ;D
14330
Site/Forum Features / Re: DC Forum Mods Thread
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 12:24 PM »
If anyone finds any mods they think would be really useful on the simplemachines site, let me know which ones:
14331
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 12:02 PM »
Actually that's where the "mini" reviews are.
The larger reviews are here:
Screenshot - 2_14_2011 , 12_00_51 PM.png
14332
Official Announcements / Re: March 2011 DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Celebration -- Ideas for Special Events?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 09:46 AM »
Isn't that the image of everything we stand against...?

Well i thought it would be a kind of funny alternate reality mug, but perhaps it was in poor taste.  i withdraw the idea.  i didn't really see it as against spirit of the site -- it wasn't about giving treating people differently based on how much they give and giving the impression that the more you donate the better you are -- that's the real thing we want to always avoid.  It was just an idea for a special private thank you that would make financial sense only for large donors.

Regarding donating-by-buying items like cafepress mugs, etc. -- this is an idea that has always been attractive, but has real drawbacks.  One major one is that if people buy a $20 DC mug feeling like they are contributing financially to the site, and DC gets $1 of this and cafepress gets $19, its not much help :)  So the only way it works is if this kind of donation-by-purchase is done on a huge markup item, like a $200 mug.  The cafepress shop was initially set up for that purpose, but in effect we never used it for that and instead used it to give away mugs for special events rather than having people buy things directly.


As for donations between members and taking a portion of that for the site -- when the donationcredits systsm first went live -- some portion of donations always went to the site and the rest into the users account to do with as they please.

But what was found is that people so rarely get involved in giving their donations to specific people, that the far better and simpler solution is to just say that anyone who is willing to specifically donate to a specific user on the site, should just be allowed to do that purely, and no need to try to take some portion of those donations.  People who are involved enough in the site to be making donations to specific people will already donate to the site if they feel like it.
14333
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 09:22 AM »
That would be the logical thing to do, but we've never been overly bound to logic here :)

Another way would be for people to submit front page mock ups and we can pick the one we like best.
14334
Official Announcements / Re: March 2011 DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Celebration -- Ideas for Special Events?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 09:17 AM »
It would just be a mug available for purchase at that very high markup, so people who wanted to "donate" by buying it could.  Just another funny way to donate.
14335
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 09:01 AM »
Chris you really like the idea huh?  :huh:

Care to elaborate?

Is it just that the questions are not expressed in the form of puns?
14336
General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 08:57 AM »
I still think they key is being honest with your users.

There are many ways to make and share and give away (or market and sell) software or services, and lots of different motivations, and lots of different paths that people can take.

If you are up front with your users/customers/friends about what you are doing and why, so that they don't feel tricked, then you are doing fine, whatever path you take.
14337
General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 07:58 AM »
40hz's post that started with "Does anybody else see the problem here?" is one of the best things i've read in a while.   :up:

Really well put -- I think that should go up somewhere more permanent where others can read it.  I'll post it to the blog.

[The only tiny quibble i might have is the advice to stop calling software offered for a motive "freeware". There are very heated debates about the term freeware, and my general feeling is that motivation is not a good way to determine whether something is freeware or not.  My personal view is that it really comes down to whether you are offering something fully functional that can be used permanently without "punishment", financial cost, or undue annoyance, like being forced to endure ads or similar unwanted things).

[EDIT: I guess i also have a quibble with the second part of this: "If you want to get paid - say so. And require it. "
I believe strongly in the concept of encouraging voluntary payments for digital goods (e.g. Donationware).
But i do think the key is being honest and up front and letting people know what you expect and want from them, and not trying to make money off your software in ways that aren't transparent to users.]
14338
Living Room / Re: The White House Asks: What's Blocking Innovation in America? Answer: IP Laws
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 07:50 AM »
Last year I had a run-in with the fiasco that is the software patent system when someone threatened me with legal action based on software they claimed they created almost a year after mine had been made publicly and freely available.

It is an absolute travesty what is going on with software patents.
14339
Official Announcements / Re: March 2011 DonationCoder.com Fundraiser Celebration -- Ideas for Special Events?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 07:34 AM »
Perhaps for the fundraiser we could have a special mug or tshirt for those lucky and generous enough to be able to afford a large donation, that shows Cody's banker-looking Uncle (never before seen on a DC mug) sitting on top of a huge pile of his gold coins, thumbing through his bank book.

Cody's Uncle:
14340
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 07:11 AM »
Ok as an alternative, what if the homepage was more like a really clean simple white page which was like a FAQ list, or maybe like an interactive "wizard" with just the questions listed in big text -- and when you click on one it expands to show the "answer" for that item.

And maybe present the list from the standpoint of the visitor.

So the list might be things like:

  • "I came here looking for info on a specific DonationCoder.com program -- can you help me locate it?"
  • "I came here to get a license key for a DonationCoder.com application"
  • "I want to browse,search, or participate in your discussion forum"
  • "I want to learn about how to request new freeware applications"
  • "I want to browse the newest freeware utilities released by coders on the site"
  • "I want to read about what kind of special events happen on DonationCoder.com"
  • "I want to add an RSS feed from this site"
  • "I want to sign up for the monthly mailing list"
  • "I want to learn how to make a donation"
  • "I want to read some software reviews"
  • "I want to see the latest updates on the site"
  • "I want to learn more about the history of the site"
  • "I heard you have a daily blog -- I'd like to read that"
  • "I want to make a suggestion/complaint about the site"
  • etc.

Each choice would expand dynamically on the page with a paragraph or two answer, and then links to appropriate areas on the site/forum.

The downside would be that it would have to be a fairly long list -- the upside would be that there would be very little else on the page to distract you, so it shouldn't be too overwhelming to look through the list of questions.  There would only ever be one answer visible at any given time -- the answer to the item you select to expand.

Maybe the items could be grouped into sections that would make it a little less overwhelming.
14341
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 07:07 AM »
Ok as so often happens with such things, my view is shifting dramatically from the idea of a front page with lots of dynamic content, tables of recent blog posts, software updates, etc., to the opposite side of the spectrum suggested by some people on this thread of having it be a simple clear starting point.

So it got me thinking, perhaps the first thing to really decide is, WHO is the home page for?

Is it for first time new visitors? Or is it for regular readers trying to find out what's new.

It seems to me one of the current problems with the home page is it's trying to be both.

  • I suggest that we make a decision that the home page is for NEW visitors.
  • And say that the forum is for regular visitors.
  • And maybe have a dedicated "what's new" page that people can monitor who dont read the forum but want to keep occasional tabs on what's new

Ok so *if* we decide to go with that idea, that front page is for new visitors, and if we accept that DC is hard to explain because we do a bunch of things, what if we make the home page sort of like a gentle place we can teach people what DC is?

This is kind of unusual, and just an idea, but follow me here...

What about a super minimalist clean page, with like a big question on it: "What is DonationCoder.com?"

And then have it act kind of like a slide show where it shows one statement with maybe a quote and some links, and then a button for "another" slide.  So it would always be showing one random "item" of information like..

  • "What is DonationCoder.com?  A place where people come to talk about software" (and then a link to forum section on general software)
  • "What is DonationCoder.com? A place where people can request new freeware software utilities coded while you wait" (and then a link to coding snacks list)
  • etc.

The problem I see with this is that it would be hard to tell "at a glance" all the things we do.. you'd have to "step through" the "slide show" one item at a time.

So maybe that's a non-starter.
14342
General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 04:56 AM »
I start getting nervous whenever I start hearing people talk about freeware-as-marketing strategy, and "monetizing" freeware..

Most freeware and open source software is created and released because, first and foremost, the programmers want to share what they have created with others, and enjoy the act of sharing.  We need to remember that.

If you're not writing free software in order to make money.. well then all you have to do is provide some happiness to one person with your software and it has been a "success" worth celebrating.
14343
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 14, 2011, 04:32 AM »
Ok so another option instead of having the front page show dynamic content like latest coding snacks and blog entries and news, would be for it to be simple more minimalist front page.

And then in recognition of the fact that our #1 "problem" is that we have a lot of different eclectic things going on, the front page could be more like a very friendly and non-overwhelming start page that would have links like:

"I am interested in seeing the latest new small utilities (Coding Snacks).."
"I am interested in participating in your online discussion forum.."
"I am interested in getting a license for one of your larger applications.."
"I am interested in learning more about the site.."
"I am a programmer interested in sharing my software.."

etc.
14344
Site/Forum Features / DC Forum Mods Thread
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 07:42 PM »
I am going to start listing some of the forum mods we add to the site and tweak to give credit where credit is due.

  • 12/9/11 - Improved custom code to report forum errors and alerts to automatically throttle emails in case of high volume (like forum server errors)
  • 12/9/11 - Added a bunch of code to detect spam-like activity, require first-posters to prove humanness; now AUTOBANS users if they are clearly trying to spam their first post
  • 2/27/11 - Added Countdown bbc mod by Hunter
  • 2/14/11 - Added Previous and Next Links mod by gigitravels

Others
  • change all subjects
  • custom ban code
  • batch export of mailing list data
  • batch reseting users newsletter preferences
  • register for newsletter at signup
  • Improved list items
14345
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 05:59 PM »
I think the idea of the front page as a set of "top 10" tables pointing to content on the site is appealing.  Like a table of 10 most recent coding snacks, 10 most recent mini reviews, 10 most recent big software updates, 10 most recent blog entries, 10 hottest forum topics, 10 most recent forum posts, etc.

The only concern is that it would be too chaotic..
14346
Living Room / Re: Newspaper Article: The Dirty Little Secrets of Search
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 05:50 PM »
Search engines provide us with an absolutely amazing ability to location information quickly, and the positive impacts of this are almost too large to contemplate.  Easily one of the most important things that have happened in my lifetime.

My concern is simply that most of us now unconsciously treat the results returned by search engines as the "objective" simple results of "searching" for what we have asked.  When the reality is so much more complicated, and made worse by the fact that we have adopted a single company (google) as a synonym for search, as if this one company provides us with a complete and objective answer to every search.

There is no perfect answer to this problem of people accepting the top 5 search results for any search as being the definitive answer to every question.

The ramifications of there being such an astronomical (financial, political, cultural) advantage for showing up at the top of the (one true?) search engine has been largely unexplored.  Even if everyone was trying their best to prevent the manipulation by bad actors, my concern is the inherent distorting nature of such a system.

We have to remind ourselves that there is so much more to life and the internet than the pages that come up at the top of google search results.

Much as watching tv/cable news can give us a very convincing but fundamentally distorted and myopic view of the world, so does depending on one search engines and one set of scoring rules give us a distorted and manipulated view of the world wide web.

In fact one wonders about the possibility of an eventual revolt against these "top of the page" high ranked results.  With all of the financial incentive to get yourself to the top of the search results, I wonder if we won't eventually see alternative search engines whose entire purpose in life is to return results that explicitly exclude these seo-optimized top performers, and instead let us live in a calmer reality of a less aggressively seo'd web.
14347
Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Free Radmin for people with disabilities
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 05:42 PM »
nice  :up:
14348
General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 05:08 PM »
I guess there are people out there trying to "make money" by writing freeware -- much in the same way that some businesses are trying to get rich developing Open Source software.

While that does seem to be possible -- to my simple mind, that way lies madness.

If you want to make lots of money, do things that make money.

If you want to create free software and have a rewarding experience interacting with your users -- freeware/donationware/opensource are the way to go.
14349
General Software Discussion / Re: What does it mean when I say "successful freeware"?
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 03:52 PM »
Regarding donations, I think it's been really well established that:

  • It is very hard to get people to donate for software in even the best of circumstances.
  • If you want donations you have to make a very big effort to let people know that they are important to you -- a simple button will not do it -- you have to really make clear that they are a critical part of your work.
  • I hope these things change as we move forward -- I think that they will once we get some big players addressing the obstacles to micro donations.

My points are not meant to discourage anyone from asking for donations -- in fact quite the contrary -- I think we are all better off if we team up and champion the idea of donating to support free software.  Just be prepared for a long hard slog if you are trying to raise money through donations for your software, and most importantly, don't get discouraged if people don't donate -- it's not that they don't love your software it's just that the culture hasn't yet caught up to the idea that people should contribute financially if they aren't forced to.
14350
Living Room / Re: DC Front Page
« Last post by mouser on February 13, 2011, 02:09 PM »
Yeah i'm kind of thinking that way too.. though i think we want to try to avoid it being too cluttered.
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