WordPress Help

Mark has posted a suggestion of sorts for people having problems with WordPress over at WebLogToolsCollection. In a nutshell – pay for individual help on individual issues. So… given that I help out there a lot, will it work from my pov ?

Yes and No. (Sometimes the fence is the best place 🙂 )

In the initial aftermath of the release of 1.5 (whenever that is) I’m sure people would take up such an option. Show the dosh, get a quick fix, and if you’ve not got the dosh, wait ……
There are people around who could do such a job and their names spring readily to mind – my name did not spring to my mind when I read it though.

I have not the slightest clue why Matt, Rboren, Kitten and other develop the code, and likewise I think people like drdave deserve huge praise for their anti-spam work not the crap that they seem to garner sometimes, but I do it for my own reasons.
I do it because I could not donate to the project, because I have the time, because I have the ability – it’s got nothing to do with money. If I wanted a financial reward, I would have got some ads all over my guides seeing as they have passed 100,000 visitors. I also do it because I like doing it – and that ‘like’ only keeps happening by people being nice in the forums. Nice request, nice answer. Impatient, sniping, demanding insistent wants = no answer (the pay for it stuff would work for them I guess).

The way it would work is the same way it can work now – buy the full package. I’ve done it before, I’m sure others have:
– agree full list of requirements
– make sure you agree
– I do it
– You remunerate me
– I give you code
Easy. I don’t deliver, I get no reward. All the hassle is mine.

If there was a paid-for forum of sorts, I would be reluctant to help anyone at all involved (who was being paid to answer) in that. There is a huge difference spending an evening helping someone construct a blog who is sitting in their house all frustrated but grateful for your help (and then when it all goes right you just know they are sitting there grinning like a loon !), and someone else who just wants to skim your brains for their pocket. I wouldn’t do the latter.

As much as I’m going to say that if I’ve helped you then you should hop over to my Amazon Wishlist, I don’t do it for the money, I don’t do it for the kudos, or a CV, or anything else I can think of really.

Look at the tagline. If you remember that when you post to the forums, I’l keep it in mind when I answer. Not too difficult eh ?

(It’s late, I’m really tired, and I bet I want to edit this tomorrow)

Published by Mark

3 thoughts on “WordPress Help”

  1. Mark, I hear you. I don’t personally beleive there is anything wrong with people seeking professional paid-for help, which is the way with many open-source products. It would be good if the ones making a profit out of it can give back to the project. The spirit of the project remains the same.

    You have tirelessly addressed support problems for a long time now. We both started at the forums at around the same time (Jan 12th and Jan 16th), and it has been a year since then, though it doesn’t seem so. If some of the more difficult problems were to be addressed by other individuals, I do think it would take quite some load off of you.

    Another benefit would be if the bug-fixers contributed more patches, as and when they fix problems for people.

    In any case, I think we are thinking about a non-problem, and I hope the forums remain the way they are right now 🙂

  2. Mark,
    Here is the comment I posted to the article on WLT. I’m pissed right off, mate.

    Well, I just wrote a reply rant, and it was lost immediately after I hit the POST button.
    I’m really tired of people who play with BETA versions and then crap all over WordPress and the VOLUNTEERS who do their best to help everyone.
    When they claim that “this is the problem with Open Source� they really show their ignorance. When they state that if BETAs are so unstable, why does WordPress allow access to them, they show their ignorance.
    Mark, I’m surprised and angered that you would even give that rant the courtesy of a link. It’s not related to support issues with WordPress. Many people get help. More often than not, people get their questions answered, but not always quickly. To read how WordPress support has failed is a kick in my stomach. Mark and I, along with many other people, DONATE a lot of time and energy doing everything we can to help WordPress users, and this is how we are recognized for that effort. Why should we or anyone else to continue helping out then? I guess that you are asking or implying that the only good support is paid support.

  3. One of the things that made WordPress attractive to me was the community that surrounds it. I’ve tried a few content management systems and looked at a few blogging systems. WordPress stands out as the one with a solid backbone of support.

    I needed a bit of help to get started and you helped me out and yes I did sit there grinning like a loon. I was thrilled to get it all up and running and at that point I was able to express my appreciation in a small way.

    Since then have had a it more help from you and from a couple of other people. My site is still in need of a bit of work, but for me it’s not just about getting it done, it’s about learning about how it works. I have thought about paying for commercial support but then I wouldn’t learn anything.

    I operate a very small business doing all sorts of tech support for schools and for home users. I charge an hourly rate and I work very hard for my money. I don’t mind helping people out but I do get a bit upset when people believe that having a passionate interest in something equates to running a charity.

    I say by all means point people to an Amazon/ThinkGeek/Whatever wishlist. 🙂

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