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Fairware: an interesting experiment in getting paid for Open Source

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Paul Keith:
Which brings me back to an idea i had a couple of years ago, which would be to make simple but distinct paths for users..


* So imagine a software page where it had a fixed price on it: $29.95 which you click to buy like normal software purchase.
* But also a button saying: Show me alternatives to paying this.
* If they click on that button they have choices like: I want to choose how much to donate; I cannot afford to pay anything now; I am not willing to pay anything but I would still like to use the software; etc.
-mouser (September 13, 2011, 09:46 AM)
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That reminds me a lot of that payment form where you choose to take a deal instead of paying cash for the project (I can't remember what the name of it is now).  I wonder how different their conversion rates are because of that option... though this is a bit different, it still falls into that pattern of "I have to click something else to get the other options, so maybe I don't want to" trap.

I think that perhaps the humble indie bundle way might work better, i.e. show all of the options up front, but show the average donation, and one of the options is the average in addition to the set price.
-wraith808 (September 13, 2011, 10:22 AM)
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Have to agree with wraith here although I think trekking down the road of people who do not care is a dangerous idea.

After all, even in real life business, the ones with money are often those who don't care either which is what leads to things like sales pitches and fundraising.

Really things like credibility profiles are pretty much a shortcut to that. If someone can know exactly that a place or person has not only the most people donating to it but also has one of the most credible active developers there is of a specific niche, then inherently it builds a herd behaviour to those with money to not only start donating but donating more for that cause.

I think Donationcoder is also a proof of that. At least judging by the recent fundraising. People both want to keep Donationcoder.com running and they also know that as a forum, it's the site not just the community that keeps it active. The result would be more donations heading to the site. On the other hand, people who have no guarantee how much their donations might impact a smaller NANY project or an older less used AHK program would more likely be less urged to donate to that specific developer unless the program gains a radical overhaul or it's via a bundle and a regular donator just happened to catch up on the thread that introduced all these.

mahesh2k:
It would be nice to find an alternative approach that wasn't so annoying to people but still achieved the goal of having some way to make people not choose the path of least resistance of not donating.
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Humble Indie bundle is one good promotion theme that is running these days to raise the funds for developers. I don't know what will happen to this promotion method if it gets saturated.

Paul Keith:
I think software is already over-saturated which is why many people are trying to have an android or iphone/ipad version on offer. Often times the ones who ask about an older program are those who jumped into a newer, flashier and emptier but more portable operating system.

40hz:
On the other hand, people who have no guarantee how much their donations might impact a smaller NANY project or an older less used AHK program would more likely be less urged to donate to that specific developer unless the program gains a radical overhaul or it's via a bundle and a regular donator just happened to catch up on the thread that introduced all these.
-Paul Keith (September 13, 2011, 11:33 AM)
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Again, what is the real goal here?

Are you looking to:

Reward/punish coders for certain behaviors?
Locate and obtain interesting software?
Get your software out where it can be found?
Raise public awareness about coders and coding?
Make some money?
Not lose money?
Just break even?
Get big?
Stay small?
Act as a springboard for a commercial software venture?
Become an adjunct of the OS or FOSS movement?
Mainly hang out and rap with like-minded people?
Provide a trusted buying point for independent coder products?

I ask because a lot of this seems to be going in many of different directions. So...how about starting the ball rolling by coming up with a position statement or manifesto that spells out the big goal or goals with the ultimate aim of coming up with a concrete (as in doable) project with a workable roadmap for how to get there?

Coders are logical, organized people. Or so I'm told. Why not treat this 'problem' the same way you would a major coding project and see where that leads?

Just thinking out loud here... 8)

Addendum: I really like the humble indie bundle. Ive bought in on more than one of those. But I think it sends the wrong message sometimes. Too much emphasis on "humble" and "indie" and "bargain" and nowhere near enough on the exceptional quality, variety, and value to be found there.

Gotta stop with the "Aw shucks!" routine and start claiming your rightful place up there with the so-called big players. Because if you're not doing something good enough to stand on it's own merits, why bother at all?

Seriously guys! You have got to stop putting yourselves down so much. You need to build a reputation that you're bright, responsive, and innovative. And that your code is as good as anything else that's out there. And 90% of that reputation can be had just by saying it's so.

Many times the only differences between a professional and an amateur is that the professional thinks of him or herself as a professional, acts accordingly - and has a business card. :Thmbsup:








 

Paul Keith:
Since I'm not a coder, my real goal as a suggestor is simply to maximize the draw of the donation aspect via sharing an idea w/ the intent of increasing these three concepts:

-Visibility (What if I want to randomly donate to a random awesome application at this moment but would be bored later on?)

-Sentimentality (What if one day I won a huge chunk of money and want to help a developer maximize their application?)

-Packaging donationware to the image of a singular identity (What if I, a donator, am seeing several awesome app and can only donate to one of them? Which area can I best help in? Which area is the most urgent? Which area seems like it won't develop as many clones?)

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