I'll just say a few words.
First, I really don't mind these posts -- anyone who wants to come back every 8 months or so and write a considered discussion about the nature of our software is welcome to, even if it criticizes the choices we make.
Second, I very much hope you will go read the
one-year report article i wrote and referenced above in my original reply. I only want to call your attention to the fact that the reality is, from my own personal past experience and the experience of every programmer i've seen put a donate link on their page, that with a very rare exception, people will simply not donate (contribute money) for a program unless you make a very very active effort to convince them to do so.
Now that doesn't mean you have to make such an effort, but it does mean that if you expect to raise any money at all, whethe you are writing software or running a public television network, you are going to have to go to some more elaborate work if you hope to be funded with voluntary user-chosen amounts.
(Personally I'd rather just code all day, and never deal with asking for money. I'm not particularly fond of capitalism and the whole money-dominated nature of society, and the way it's often used as a proxy for status in this world, and the way we seem to increasingly be dividing this planet into the hyper rich who bathe in gold and the normal people who work all day to scratch out a daily living without healthcare, etc..).
It embarasses me to have to ask for money, and to do so so blatantly on the pages here. If it didn't have to be done I wouldn't be doing it. I'm not trying to (or going to) get rich -- no one at donationcoder is going to get rich from this stuff. We're just trying to carve out a little path in this world where we can survive on the money received from people that pay what they think is reasonable, no more and no less, even if that amount is 0.
Third,
As app103 says, whatever you want to call our software, the defining characteristic has been that the user can choose to pay what they want for the full version, as little as 1 penny. They can also choose not to pay anything and still have the full program with only the most minor of inconveniences (signing up at our forum and download a license key three time over a one year period).
We try very very hard to figure out a way to do stuff here that will make the software free and a pleasant experience for everyone who absolutely is against (or incapable of) paying anything. We don't always succeed, and we are trying to improve this, but we are trying, and trying to improve this and simplify.
Fourth,
When you see an abandonware project, or some free software that never gets updated and never had a help file written, etc. you might consider like i do, that there are some real benefits to users when a software author is compensated financially for their work. It means they can afford to spend time doing some of the less fun parts of the job, and can afford to spend more of their time improving their software.
The donations I've received on this site have made all the difference in the world in terms of being able to spend the time improving my programs and adding site features, etc. Without the donations of the people you see around you here, none of that would have been possible. So it is with great appreciation that I receive donations -- a deep feeling of gratefullness for everyone who donates, no matter the amount. They are what enable me to keep programming here.
I respect those who view our process as overly burdensome, and I really do welcome all suggestions for ways to improve it.
-Jesse (mouser)
--
ps. As you point out, in a few months you will have be signed up for over a year which will entitled you to a full non-expiring lifetime license key for all of our software.
Recent Posts
