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