Thank a developer?

[Skirge01]

PLUCKYHD mentioned something in passing that really hit home for me. Anyone who works for a living knows full well how little praise we receive at our jobs and, often, even at home! We also know how nice it feels on those rare occasions that we do actually get an "attaboy" (probably a US term) or a pat on the back.

How many times do we read a post on here where someone's complaining about an import, with absolutely no regard to the fact that the import is FREE and was not written just for them, yet the person feels the need to belittle the person, their work, or their QA process, with completely unwarranted, snide remarks? I'm still fairly new here, but I've seen it enough to have it get under my skin already. The developers deserve more respect than that and I've got no problem saying it FOR them!

My personal feeling when it comes to these imports, the work the developers have done, and any issues which arise is thus:

Who the hell do I think I am to complain about this import or bother the developer with my problems getting it working? I didn't buy this program. It was free! If I've got a problem with it, I should write my own*!

* Which I can't do, so I guess I need to keep my mouth shut!

Obviously, users need to let the developers know when there's an issue, but it's the way that issue is presented that can cause a problem. The thing to remember is that the people who come to the boards are the ones with the problems. Those who have no issues tend to stay away and don't let the developer know how much they appreciate their work, let alone that it did work just fine. As a result, the developer will generally hear 95% complaining and, if they're lucky enough, 5% praise. I guarantee you that 95% will do exponentially more harm than the 5% of praise will do good.

Now, all that said, I've got a proposal for every developer on here. Set up a wishlist of some sort (Amazon, Newegg, etc.) in your profile and put a little note on the import's download page pointing to it and saying something simple like, "If you like this import and would like to show your appreciation, check out my wishlist." Some people will be quicker to send a simple, anonymous gift than to post a "thank you" on the forums.

What do people think about this?

[Brent]

I agree.

I've said this a few times before - for instance in the SageMC Feature Requests Thread I proposed this:

A way to donate to the developers. I'm all for free and I love free. Still, I'd like to send beer money to those who toil over the awesome add-ons that I use daily that enhance SageTV beyond it's standard self. It doesn't need to be a overly prominent thing, but I'd just like to give my thanks.

I've heard from several of the developers that they would rather not make them paid apps as its a hobby for them and definitely done out of love for the "hobby" rather than a source of income. But, it would be nice to be able to send our thanks even if its a small amount.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by Brent

I agree.

I've said this a few times before - for instance in the SageMC Feature Requests Thread I proposed this:


I've heard from several of the developers that they would rather not make them paid apps as its a hobby for them and definitely done out of love for the "hobby" rather than a source of income. But, it would be nice to be able to send our thanks even if its a small amount.

To me it was " I don't like this interface as much what can I do to make it better, then that turned into " Why not share with everyone and get their opinions."

It is kind of one of those things you don't realize what it takes until you try/do it yourself and I am as guilty on not thanking as much as I should.

But money is not the goal for me (or any stv import adder I think..) Thanks goes along way. I know there is a flaming sometimes that is not necessary but there is also allot of people helping people when they didn't make the app which is great.

But either way I appreciate you taking reconignition of what I said.

[jaminben]

I think some sort of ranking system would be a good way of showing user appreciation. I'm sure people would rather click on a "How do you rate this import" button than type a thank you message.

As a beginner developer I wouldn't accept any donations or rewards as I do my imports purely for fun. Its so much more entertaining than actually watching or using my Sage system.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by jaminben

IAs a beginner developer I wouldn't accept any donations or rewards as I do my imports purely for fun. Its so much more entertaining than actually watching or using my Sage system.

Yeah I agree as another beginner to studio. It is fun until your wife yells at your for being on the computer to much

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by jaminben

I think some sort of ranking system would be a good way of showing user appreciation. I'm sure people would rather click on a "How do you rate this import" button than type a thank you message.

There used to be a star rating for imports, but a single disgruntled user went through and marked every single one with zero stars and screwed the whole thing up. Rather than try to fix the damage, the decision was made to scrap the ratings altogether since they weren't really very useful anyway.

Aloha,
Mike

[jaminben]

Originally Posted by MeInMaui

There used to be a star rating for imports, but a single disgruntled user went through and marked every single one with zero stars and screwed the whole thing up. Rather than try to fix the damage, the decision was made to scrap the ratings altogether since they weren't really very useful anyway.

Aloha,
Mike

Heh, I suppose it was fun for him/her for all of 10 mins but spoiled it for the rest of us forever.

[GKusnick]

My position on donations and thank-you gifts has always been that people who can afford this kind of hobby and have decent programming skills to boot can probably look after themselves. In these tough times, the folks who need help are the ones without jobs or even homes. So don't send your beer money to me; find a local food bank or homeless shelter and give it to them instead. They need it a lot worse than I do.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

My position on donations and thank-you gifts has always been that people who can afford this kind of hobby and have decent programming skills to boot can probably look after themselves. In these tough times, the folks who need help are the ones without jobs or even homes. So don't send your beer money to me; find a local food bank or homeless shelter and give it to them instead. They need it a lot worse than I do.

Amen on that.

[MeInMaui]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

My position on donations and thank-you gifts has always been that people who can afford this kind of hobby and have decent programming skills to boot can probably look after themselves. In these tough times, the folks who need help are the ones without jobs or even homes. So don't send your beer money to me; find a local food bank or homeless shelter and give it to them instead. They need it a lot worse than I do.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Skirge01]

I can certainly agree with and understand that. If you guys (the devs) really feel that strongly about such a thing, how about this: Pick a charity for yourself and set something up. My mother was a big proponent and frequent donator to the St. Jude Children's Hospital, so when she passed away this past Christmas, we had St. Jude set up a memorial fund that people could donate to. In return, my father and I received cards from St. Jude simply telling us that the person had made a donation (no amount listed) in her name. It was quite touching. 4 months later, we still get a card every so often and brings a smile to our faces.

[toricred]

There simply has to be a way to give a big thanks to the developers. Most of the imports I would never have thought about if somebody else hadn't developed it. At this point I couldn't live without SageMC (my wife and kids are examples of its importance every time I clean up old STV files and forget to update their extenders). Most recently I would have never thought that fanart would be all that useful, but now it gives such an incredibly polished look to Sage I can't wait to show it off to others. I'm just not sure how to express my thanks to flachbar, MeInMaui, EvilPenguin, and all the others I'm sure I'm forgetting. If we figure out a way to give back to them please count me in big time.

[Peter_h]

Ditto to that.

I'd be more than willing to donate to any of the developers.

So many of the add-ins I could not live without and I know how much work it must take to develop and maintain them. All of this is done in their free time and without pay.

I feel bad even asking for feature requests.

Thanks to Meinmaui, EP, Stuckless, slugger, jaminben, neilm and whomever else I've missed.

[MacDaddy]

I'll add my gratitude to the growing list of people as well. While it may seem like a hobby to some, I can tell you that it seems more like passion to my better half when her shows are disturbed

If none of the devs will accept a beer money donation, then maybe we can just send them some good karma http://worldofkarma.com/. Maybe someone could even make it a plugin and we could send good karma as we watch our Sage systems....

[stuckless]

I agree with greg's sentiments as well.

I appreciate the positive and contructive feedback on the stuff that I work on, but I don't require (or want) anything in return. I am fortunate that most people (if not all) realize that this is hobby, and as a result, when things don't work, people take it in stride. And like it or not, any of you use that a tool/api that i've wrote, is already giving back. As much as I try to test, I can't test everything, so you are the QA team

The biggest objection that I have about receiving a gift or money is that taking money/gift would make me feel overcommited, since now I'd expect that I "need" spend more time on something that I'm already spending too much time on anyways There are times that i don't touch this stuff for weeks at a time... but if donations were piling up, then I'd feel obligated to work on stuff, which would take the fun out why I did it in the first place. I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I enjoy doing this, and I enjoy the fact that this doesn't feel like a job

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by stuckless

The biggest objection that I have about receiving a gift or money is that taking money/gift would make me feel overcommited, since now I'd expect that I "need" spend more time on something that I'm already spending too much time on anyways There are times that i don't touch this stuff for weeks at a time... but if donations were piling up, then I'd feel obligated to work on stuff, which would take the fun out why I did it in the first place. I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I enjoy doing this, and I enjoy the fact that this doesn't feel like a job

I got that feeling as the devs started chiming in and that's why I suggested running with the idea of donating to a charity. I actually thought that was an awesome idea, too. This way, you guys shouldn't feel like it's now a job, which none of us want it to be perceived as! We know you do this as a hobby and could depart at any given moment. But, you'll know your efforts are going to a good cause, not just the joy we users get from it. The other thing to remember is that the "thank you" is for the work you already did, not future work.

[Polypro]

I usually thank them in the thread for their import.

P

[shadeblue.com]

Originally Posted by stuckless

I agree with greg's sentiments as well.

I appreciate the positive and contructive feedback on the stuff that I work on, but I don't require (or want) anything in return. I am fortunate that most people (if not all) realize that this is hobby, and as a result, when things don't work, people take it in stride. And like it or not, any of you use that a tool/api that i've wrote, is already giving back. As much as I try to test, I can't test everything, so you are the QA team

The biggest objection that I have about receiving a gift or money is that taking money/gift would make me feel overcommited, since now I'd expect that I "need" spend more time on something that I'm already spending too much time on anyways There are times that i don't touch this stuff for weeks at a time... but if donations were piling up, then I'd feel obligated to work on stuff, which would take the fun out why I did it in the first place. I can't speak for everyone, but for me, I enjoy doing this, and I enjoy the fact that this doesn't feel like a job

I fully agree with Sean. This is a hobby and any commitment would make it feel like work :-)

Posting a Thank You and perhaps a short blurb about how you are using the import/utility/STV in the plugin's thread expresses gratitude to the developer and help lets the developer know how the plugin is being used in the real world.

Thank You,
SB

[lovingHDTV]

I frequent a plant aquarium forum and over there we have started adopting classrooms in need projects found here:

http://www.donorschoose.org/homepage/main.html?zone=321

Basically school teachers can propose projects and people can fund them with donations and the company will get the supplies and ship them to the teachers.

If the developers chose a project they liked, people could donate to a school project instead of the developer.

Just an idea,
dave