'Culture question' about DonationCoder - How are things done here?

[Jasong222]

Hey everyone,

Apologies if putting this here isn't the best place.  Didn't seem to fit anywhere else.


I'm new here, and had some questions about the culture here, how things are done.  I found this place, I forget where, probably Reddit.  Someone was suggesting here as a place where one can go and request programs to be made in exchange for donations.

I have several things I love to be coded.  I posted one to get started, a simple thing to select files, right click and create folder for those selected items.  It's over in the requests board.

But since then I've been wondering-

1- A couple people replied specifically to tell me that they weren't interested in coding that.  That was the whole point of their post.
2- A user did pick up my task.  He said "I'm on it" and created a github, etc. etc.

So some of this was unexpected and looking at the effiency of his posts and updates, etc.  I started to have some questions and wanted to just clarify some things.

Why would someone post just to tell me only that they're not interested in taking the project.  Probably it's nothing, just 'how he is', which is fine and cool, but I wanted just to check on that to see if I'm missing something.  Also- with the donations and expectations.  What's expected in terms of a donation?  The word 'donation' implies 'optional'.  I'm happy to donate something, I'm not saying I want stuff done for free.  (Although, of course, that would be awesome).  But I guess I'm seeing that there's a range of potential culture (behavior) between "yeah, chip in if you found it useful" and probably "people expect a donation (and it should be within <number> and <number> based on <factors>).

So tl/dr- how are things done here in terms of 'why' people take tasks and what the expectations are in terms of donations.  I understand in advance that the answer might not be cut and dry and will depend on a lot of factors, the person coding, the difficulty of the project, the time it takes, etc. etc. etc.  Just looking to increase my understanding of the culture here.

Thanks!

[tomos]

hi Jasong,
lots of people here aren't coders. If you make a request, people will make suggestions of software that might do that already (why reinvent the wheel) and people will make suggestions of workarounds (fwiw they may or may not be coders, doesn't matter...).
In the thread you posted in, a couple of people were negative about the idea of coding something cause they felt the workaround was a better, or a good enough solution. Everyone who posted in that thread was being helpful -- naturally that doesn't mean you agree with or follow their advice.

People who code 'snacks' or apps do it if they want (and have the time) and don't if the idea doesn't interest them. Re donating: it's always nice to donate to say thank you. If you request something, you could always ask per private-message (PM) what the coder's expectations are. I reckon a lot of people donate according to their means. One could also donate to someone who has given particularly helpful advice. There's no rules about any of it though.

[KodeZwerg]

Good day.
Sorry my bad english.
My post 'not interested' plus what to do without any 3rd party tool was not meant to offend you.
Sorry if you interpreted this as such.
On this forum many talented coders/users with great knowledge are taking a request/giving hints.
- To signal others/or OP; i'd say what i say.
From point of donation: give what think is fair. 1cent or a million, it is your free will, no rule.
Mouser (the head from this forum) made a cool 'how much is fair' letter, just search a bit and you find it.
First of all, all software is availabe free, but have in mind, even coders/helpful users must eat!

Everything i write is not meant to harm, i just express myself often rough without knowing it.

Enjoy your staying!

[Jasong222]

hi Jasong,
lots of people here aren't coders. If you make a request, people will make suggestions of software that might do that already (why reinvent the wheel) and people will make suggestions of workarounds (fwiw they may or may not be coders, doesn't matter...).
In the thread you posted in, a couple of people were negative about the idea of coding something cause they felt the workaround was a better, or a good enough solution. Everyone who posted in that thread was being helpful -- naturally that doesn't mean you agree with or follow their advice.

People who code 'snacks' or apps do it if they want (and have the time) and don't if the idea doesn't interest them. Re donating: it's always nice to donate to say thank you. If you request something, you could always ask per private-message (PM) what the coder's expectations are. I reckon a lot of people donate according to their means. One could also donate to someone who has given particularly helpful advice. There's no rules about any of it though.

-tomos (April 30, 2021, 11:42 AM)

Ok, thanks, noted.  I recall one person, who commented in this thread also and to whom I'm about to reply to, posted they weren't interested and I thought nothing else.  On reread I see they did actually suggest one thing.  The other thing was just using regular system functions, or at least that's how I read it.

And then on the coding- noted.  I guess I'm looking to orient myself if this is like a place where hobbiests hang out and help people out when they want, or is this more like a place where people come to earn income. Like r/slavelabour, on Reddit.  And places can have customs or conventions/expectations that are unspoken, and if there were any, I'd want to know as a guy is about to finish my request.

Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated!

[Jasong222]

Good day.
Sorry my bad english.
My post 'not interested' plus what to do without any 3rd party tool was not meant to offend you.
Sorry if you interpreted this as such.
On this forum many talented coders/users with great knowledge are taking a request/giving hints.
- To signal others/or OP; i'd say what i say.
From point of donation: give what think is fair. 1cent or a million, it is your free will, no rule.
Mouser (the head from this forum) made a cool 'how much is fair' letter, just search a bit and you find it.
First of all, all software is availabe free, but have in mind, even coders/helpful users must eat!

Everything i write is not meant to harm, i just express myself often rough without knowing it.

Enjoy your staying!

-KodeZwerg (April 30, 2021, 12:40 PM)

Hey man,

No, not offended at all!  It was just unusual to me to see that.  And not just from you but from some other people as well.  In recalling your message, I didn't remember you making alternative suggestions, I thought your suggestions were just regular system functions  ('create folder'-->select-->move.)  I see now there was another suggestion as well.  That's my bad.

I do have to say though, not your post, but many that came later- I mean, a user already picked up my project.  And a couple weeks have gone by and people are still making suggestions.  Good for any future searcher, but.... the guy's already started. Even if someone posted something that was close to what I was looking for, I'm not comfortable going to the guy and saying "Hey- forget all that work you already did, I found something else, never mind."  That would be rude and disrespectful, lol... imo.   Plus, of course, I'm very particular about what I want, lol... and most of the suggestions, while close, aren't exactly what I'm looking for.

And thank you for the comments about donating.  I'm just trying to avoid a situation where -   "Oh, around here donations are expected and usually start at <unexpected amount>".   

 
Thanks for your message, I'm glad to get that clarified, and I'll see you on the forum!

[KynloStephen66515]

hi Jasong,
lots of people here aren't coders. If you make a request, people will make suggestions of software that might do that already (why reinvent the wheel) and people will make suggestions of workarounds (fwiw they may or may not be coders, doesn't matter...).
In the thread you posted in, a couple of people were negative about the idea of coding something cause they felt the workaround was a better, or a good enough solution. Everyone who posted in that thread was being helpful -- naturally that doesn't mean you agree with or follow their advice.

People who code 'snacks' or apps do it if they want (and have the time) and don't if the idea doesn't interest them. Re donating: it's always nice to donate to say thank you. If you request something, you could always ask per private-message (PM) what the coder's expectations are. I reckon a lot of people donate according to their means. One could also donate to someone who has given particularly helpful advice. There's no rules about any of it though.

-tomos (April 30, 2021, 11:42 AM)

Ok, thanks, noted.  I recall one person, who commented in this thread also and to whom I'm about to reply to, posted they weren't interested and I thought nothing else.  On reread I see they did actually suggest one thing.  The other thing was just using regular system functions, or at least that's how I read it.

And then on the coding- noted.  I guess I'm looking to orient myself if this is like a place where hobbiests hang out and help people out when they want, or is this more like a place where people come to earn income. Like r/slavelabour, on Reddit.  And places can have customs or conventions/expectations that are unspoken, and if there were any, I'd want to know as a guy is about to finish my request.

Thanks for your thoughts, appreciated!

-Jasong222 (April 30, 2021, 05:50 PM)

This is definitely more of a place aimed towards "make whatever sounds like fun" and not somewhere to try and make an income (although, if you can....then do it!).

As for "customs" - just be friendly.  We try not to moderate when it isn't needed (and honestly, it's VERY rare for moderation to happen for anything other than spam, or just to split off a post into it's own topic so the main thread doesn't get derailed).  I wouldn't say this is an "anything goes" place, but the users here basically self-moderate for the most part.

As for your software suggestion, I haven't seen it personally, but it is well established that any suggestion of any single thing on this forum can be expected to have alternatives suggested in its place haha.  Coding Snacks aren't always picked up quickly, and the userbase generally understands this so attempts to give other options for people to use until somebody codes the custom solution

If you have any more questions, then feel free to drop them, or you can also drop by our Discord to chat with us and mouser!

-Stephen

[Jasong222]

This is definitely more of a place aimed towards "make whatever sounds like fun" and not somewhere to try and make an income (although, if you can....then do it!).

As for "customs" - just be friendly.  We try not to moderate when it isn't needed (and honestly, it's VERY rare for moderation to happen for anything other than spam, or just to split off a post into it's own topic so the main thread doesn't get derailed).  I wouldn't say this is an "anything goes" place, but the users here basically self-moderate for the most part.

As for your software suggestion, I haven't seen it personally, but it is well established that any suggestion of any single thing on this forum can be expected to have alternatives suggested in its place haha.  Coding Snacks aren't always picked up quickly, and the userbase generally understands this so attempts to give other options for people to use until somebody codes the custom solution

If you have any more questions, then feel free to drop them, or you can also drop by our Discord to chat with us and mouser!

-Stephen

-Stephen66515 (April 30, 2021, 06:00 PM)

Ok, cool.  (I was thinking more about if it's a place where the coders come to make an income or just to hang out and code fun stuff.  Again, back to my example of r/slavelabour on Reddit.)

And I guess I got lucky with my request, it was picked up right away.  Which probably also effected my read on what kind of culture this place had.  I honestly was expecting to have to wait a bit.

I think I'll be fine here.  Probably, lol.  I did have one comment misread a bit (not the one with CodeZwerg), but while I'm wysiwyg and can be direct, I'm not a hater, ha, I can say that.

Thanks!

[KynloStephen66515]

This is definitely more of a place aimed towards "make whatever sounds like fun" and not somewhere to try and make an income (although, if you can....then do it!).

As for "customs" - just be friendly.  We try not to moderate when it isn't needed (and honestly, it's VERY rare for moderation to happen for anything other than spam, or just to split off a post into it's own topic so the main thread doesn't get derailed).  I wouldn't say this is an "anything goes" place, but the users here basically self-moderate for the most part.

As for your software suggestion, I haven't seen it personally, but it is well established that any suggestion of any single thing on this forum can be expected to have alternatives suggested in its place haha.  Coding Snacks aren't always picked up quickly, and the userbase generally understands this so attempts to give other options for people to use until somebody codes the custom solution

If you have any more questions, then feel free to drop them, or you can also drop by our Discord to chat with us and mouser!

-Stephen

-Stephen66515 (April 30, 2021, 06:00 PM)

Ok, cool.  (I was thinking more about if it's a place where the coders come to make an income or just to hang out and code fun stuff.  Again, back to my example of r/slavelabour on Reddit.)

And I guess I got lucky with my request, it was picked up right away.  Which probably also effected my read on what kind of culture this place had.  I honestly was expecting to have to wait a bit.

I think I'll be fine here.  Probably, lol.  I did have one comment misread a bit (not the one with CodeZwerg), but while I'm wysiwyg and can be direct, I'm not a hater, ha, I can say that.

Thanks!

-Jasong222 (April 30, 2021, 06:09 PM)

Honestly, some snacks can be picked up within minutes, others can go unanswered for weeks.  It's 100% "luck of the draw" and there's no real logic to it haha.

As for "what should I donate" - donate whatever you feel is appropriate for the work done.  Nobody here really EXPECTS a donation, so when we do get one, it's a nice surprise!

-Stephen

[KodeZwerg]

Suggestion to have it work like you expect it (...to have less uninformative replies for you...)

Make your request like 'i only want to have my wish coded and not interested in alternatives or other information'
Ofc better written but that it is meaning of my 'text'.

If it is urgent, you may tell that a bonus reward will be made. And add 'PM me for details' within your request.

That would reduce reply amount alot = you are not confused/more satisfied.

I do not know about your slave stuff, sound bad to me.

Join discord is always a good choice.

Enjoy your staying!

(No sarcasm)

[Jasong222]

Suggestion to have it work like you expect it (...to have less uninformative replies for you...)

Enjoy your staying!

(No sarcasm)

-KodeZwerg (April 30, 2021, 06:34 PM)

Thanks for the tips!

(And r/slavelabour is just a forum where people go to have tasks done for low rates.  Internet searches, artistic work, culinary recipe help, anything that people can do they can offer as work, and anything that people need done they can post as a task.  It's a neat place.  But yes, it does have an unfortunate name.  The amounts offered and asked are pretty low.  But- no one has to do anything they don't want to, of course!  www.reddit.com/r/slavelabour  if anyone's interested.)

[publicdomain]

Hey! I find community coding rewarding since it is made for the benefit of the entire internet community (and mankind!-when you come to think about it )

I go by the "no-sweat support" rule: Any amount you can afford to contribute without making you sweat is OK -even $1. You can find your personal "no-sweat point" by going backwards: I'd be happy to support $100, $50, $20, $10, $5, $3, $1... when you hit the point that doesn't make you sweat, that's it

The golden rule being all support is opt-in, makes you happy to engage & leaves a warm gooey feeling in your heart since you know you're doing the right thing by supporting caring programmers & our free software community

Cheers from a happy & grateful,

Vic

[Jasong222]

Hey! I find community coding rewarding since it is made for the benefit of the entire internet community (and mankind!-when you come to think about it [ Invalid Attachment ] )

Vic

-publicdomain (May 03, 2021, 04:33 PM)

Haha... Ok, I think I got it.  Thank you, everyone, for the input.  I got the 'donate what you can/feel is right' part down.  I was more just clarifying if there were any expectations around it.  Like with tipping in the US.  It's 'optional', but anything below 15% and people will think either there was something wrong or you're a jerk.  Also didn't want to piss off the first guy to pick up my first project.

And I have my answer, and I got it now.  Thanks everyone-