In march of 2005 -- 10 years ago this month -- I set up the DonationCoder.com website and forum -- without much expectation that it would survive the year. Mainly I was interested in being able to share the software I had written, and in seeing if anyone would donate to support it. In the year before I had released a program and asked casually for donations and postcards -- and though the response was minimal -- the pleasure of meeting and having contact with a stranger who enjoyed the software was undeniable. That was really the simple idea behind this site -- nothing very ambitious, just a way to connect programmer and user.
Fast forward 10 years.. The large numbers of downloads of our software, and the high traffic of our forum mean that our hosting costs are substantial -- currently $367/month just for server costs -- paid for entirely by small, optional donations from regular users like you.
The last time we had a fundraiser was in 3 years ago, in 2011 -- when we raised $14,239 from about 600 individuals. For our 10th anniversary, I've set the goal at $10,000 -- a fairly modest amount I hope -- enough to pay for the next two and a half years of web hosting.
I set the fundraiser goal to less than what we raised in 2011 in recognition of the changing software landscape.. In the 10 years since we started. Mobile and web apps are becoming ubiquitous, and the notion of free software has become almost dominant -- with consequences good and bad (constant advertisements and crapware). But if you like what we do -- our software, our forum, our special projects -- it's really more important than ever that we have your financial support. It's humbling to have to ask, but that's part of what this site is about -- being willing to ask for your financial support.
Having said that -- one thing I made clear when I wrote
my article on the first year of DonationCoder.com, is that this website, the software and the forum, will not be going anywhere -- regardless of the money raised. We're in it for the long haul and our software will always be maintained and free for home users without adware or unwanted junk. But your donations help keep this site vibrant and active, make it more rewarding to improve, and I think help us to be an example to others.
In the coming weeks I will be writing more of my thoughts on the website -- both where I think we could have done better over the last 10 years, and some possible future ideas we might pursue together -- and I'll be asking for your feedback.
And lastly -- for today at least -- thank you all for 10 amazing years so far! Here's to many more!
-jesse
March 23, 2015
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