Charging for MU* Code?

[faraday]

@griatch said in Charging for MU* Code?:

I can tell this is not unusual outside of software projects either; I've had more complex art/design commissions go down similar routes. With art you usually specify how many 'revisions' your contract allows, just for this reason. Without that, the client would nitpick details forever.

Absolutely. Each industry has its particular challenges. I don’t pretend to know all the challenges with art (or jewelry as @surreality mentioned) but I do know with writing that the revisions are usually a known quantity. If the original article was estimated to be 2 hours of work, a revision is probably not going to be more than 2 hours of work. You can estimate sensibly.

Not so with software. Not only is the original estimate notoriously hard, a revision like “oh but can you also make it do X” can be orders of magnitude more than the original work.

[Ganymede]

@surreality

I love you very much, but this is me laughing so hard at your misfortunate with dogs that I fell out of my chair and am preparing a workers' comp claim.

[Arkandel]

@faraday Hell, we saw a recent example right here on MSB. Without any changes to the configuration or upgrades, and in fact because there were no such changes, the templates all over MSB broke and the site became basically unusable.

The fix was trivial but it could have gone wrong, and it could have taken me considerably more than my lunch hour if the upgrade script somehow blew things up. That's a pretty typical case - not all code that breaks is your own.

If you do such work for hire and you're called in by a panicking employer months after the fact when you're already busy doing completely different things, you have to know how to respond. Not having worked that out ahead of time is the worst possible outcome for both parties. Just because it's not your fault it doesn't mean it won't fall on you to do something about it.

[surreality]

@ganymede I will cheerfully admit, I just lied to the crazy lady: “I’m sorry, but I’m lethally allergic to dogs. You will have to retrieve the beads yourself before I can give you an estimate on replacement parts, if I can get them.” (We use a lot of one of a kind components you can’t replace if someone stupids them to rubble, and say so loud and clear.)

She did not call back.

(We don’t, and never have, offered free repairs for rough handling of pieces, but people assume it anyway and push. For some of our long term customers, sure. Dog Poop Lady? BWAHAHAHAHAHA hells no. )

Dog Poop Lady was truly epic. I wish her on precisely no one else ever, even her poor wee adorbs yappy purse flurf-of-many-poops.

[Thenomain]

@faraday said in Charging for MU* Code?:

@thenomain said in Charging for MU* Code?:

Just for those who are suggesting it: Patreon does not have a "tip jar". I really wish it did. A whole lot of people wish it did.

Really? Wow that's incredibly dumb. Well you can still set up a PayPal tip jar.

No kidding. There has been talk about it, but so far just talk. Patreon also changed their charging method (who gets charged for credit card transactions) and almost lost a substantial chunk of their user base. They reversed it, but clearly need a more permanent solution in order to stay viable.

I agree with anyone who says PayPal is about the only solid answer right now, though I kind of hate turning real money into PayPal money, and I have a quiet prejudice against trusting E-Bay for anything financial anymore.

[Taika]

@Thenomain - That's why I suggested google wallet. Not just that they don't charge a percentage or fee, but that PayPal is known, but now there are other options :3 It's easy to set up and painless to use. It all runs off one of your emails, so you send to someone using their email addy, much like Paypal does.

[Arkandel]

@thenomain Also PayPal is supposedly terrible sometimes if you depend on it to get your money. They can discontinue or suspend your account (and have), at which point your options are damn limited.

I use it all the time but only to pay, not to receive funds.

[Thenomain]

@taika said in Charging for MU* Code?:

google wallet

Sorry, I skimmed and missed this. Thanks.

--

UPDATE

My Google Wallet is now set up. Suffice it to say, it's: thenomain@gmail.com

This is not a beg for money. This is for those who've asked me multiple times what they can do.

I have updated the original post.

Thanks. To all of you.

[Highfalutin]

Is this still a thing you're willing/able to do for random folks, @thenomain?

I'm pretty desperately seeking somebody to help me get the Mu--Support-Systems stuff I installed (and not entirely successfully - apparently I can't even copy-paste code correctly) working, not to mention my endless headbutting with Anomaly Jobs.

Suffice to say I'd be more than happy to compensate a coder for their time to get the above things sorted out. If you are still open to this kind of thing, let me know?

[Thenomain]

@highfalutin said in Charging for MU* Code?:

Is this still a thing you're willing/able to do for random folks, @thenomain?

Yes, but I have two games already who've been waiting for me to brain. Now that The Season is over, I really need to focus on them.

[Selerik]

Frankly I wish more coders were properly compensated. I've seen a bounty system used by some MUD developers, that is pretty neat. I wonder what it might look like with mainstream development support and people making a paycheck on the hobby in, say, three or five years.