Posted Mar 8, 2010, 6:04 PM UTC
Just a suggestion for your new model, perhaps include a monthly donation option. I know some sites that run this. You basically select an option to have X dollars donated from a certain card each month. This way people who might be inclined to donate each month are able to and don't forget. Its easy to forget that sort of thing when it isn't a bill. Or allow people to sign up for an automated monthly email reminded people to donate (again sign up, not forced). If I got a message every month, I might go: hey I've used this service quite a bit this month and I have some spare change floating around, I might as well throw a $20. In months Im not doing so well financially I could throw a lower amount, or pass if things were really bad.
I don't think I'm articulating very well today, but my overall point was that sometimes donations aren't happening simply because donating did not occur to them or they forgot. Allowing people to be reminded as often as they want to be might encourage donations while minimizing the pressure to donate (since they can choose how often you bug them).
Hopefully this made sense. I must be getting sick. Anyway, just a thought.
It made sense to me, and I think its a great idea.
This. Please give us an easy option to make recurring monthly donations, I think there are many of us that would like to help you in that way still.
I second this.
Yes, please do this. It may sound stupid, but I really looked forward to signing up for $9/month to reward you for your efforts.
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41sted.
Carl, I know I contacted you a long time ago as a teacher in Taiwan who wanted to get involved with more programming. I kind of fell off the wagon with your tutorials, but it definitely whetted my interest and I'll now be attending graduate school for information technology. I want to say I think you've handled this with real integrity and an awesome level of dedication to your art and this community.
Carl, I had a job interview recently and they asked me a very tricky question involving pointers. I answered perfectly. They were very impressed and I got the job. So thanks to you, I'm employed now. Thanks Carl. Btw I'll gladly donate, just say when and where.
Really? That is awesome. How is it going so far?
Holy crap, what was your reasoning behind this. I was just in your previous thread (the one stating that you would be charging) and it seemed like everyone was fine with you charging a fee (cheering you on even).
I am sure that there are enough people willing to pay monthly to make either option viable, but if I charge there will either be people left out because they cannot afford it, OR I am forced to play favorites by letting some in.
I do want this to be free for everyone, so I want to try that first. If everyone here helps me out, I think we can do that.
Also, I do not want those who pay to feel like they are being held hostage.
You sir are indeed a scholar and a gentlemen. I shall pay you to subscribe to your newsletter.
If I was a female I would yearn for you with my genitals, but alas I am male and will simply pat you on the back. Thank you sir.
I hear offering products that u can touch is a good motivator... maybe you can make a cheat-sheet poster or something and get one of these reddit self-serve ads to promote it? Id sell my left foot for a CSS cheat-sheet right now. I fucking hate it.
http://www.zazzle.com/css_cheat_sheet_poster-228106660166402864
The cost is 15 dollars. However, PM me and we can make arranagements for you to ship your left foot to me and I'll gladly pay the 15 dollars.
Edit I was wrong, it is 19.95, if your shoe size is over a size 11 I think we can make this work.
Can I make you an offer on the big toe or do you already have plans for it ?
Now I'm back to being happy and spending $5 / mo. :)
I think this was the best move for everyone. Ultimately when people can use your service for free, they'll see the quality and dedication of your work and be far more likely to donate, rather than be shut away from it completely by forcing them to pay.
So I say to you, congrats and thanks on this consideration. I know I'll be sending some money your way, and I know many others will too :)
Sweet, best of luck.
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. When I can afford it, you'll definitely be receiving donations from me.
I don't think I won when you offered it entirely for free, I think I won when you started offering it at all. You will have your $9 per month, sir, and you will take it and you will use it for the forces of good.
I'm wondering, will there be a process for people to volunteer as teachers or assistants? I don't think you're going to have to pay everyone (though some paid staff would be great too), at the same time you obviously don't want everyone volunteering either. I think there could be a big motivating factor potentially in learning material well enough that you could help others as well. Possibly once you pass a test X levels above certain material you could be a lower end volunteer, with the potential to be a higher ranked volunteer if you get enough votes??
Would a smart chat widget be difficult to incorporate? If students had the option of interacting with each other it would likely lessen the amount of volunteers necessary (something like peer-discussion-as-first-level-tech-support). If that didn't work, someone could "raise their hand", which would trigger a notification to another user who has indicated their willingness to assist and demonstrated the skill necessary to do so (Level N+5 passed plus a check in the "I'm willing to assist" box on their profile), giving them a show window to jump in to help before passing it off to another volunteer.
People of equal knowledge tend to simply confuse their peers on technical matters. There is a high percentage of bullshitting among people who are just learning a topic.
Edit: I think being able to view prior students questions and the answers would answer 90% of questions.
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People of equal knowledge tend to simply confuse their peers on technical matters. There is a high percentage of bullshitting among people who are just learning a topic.
Possibly, though I think you're being too harsh. In an ungraded environment where each student is self-motivated I think 90% of your bullshitting disappears.
Edit: I think being able to view prior students questions and the answers would answer 90% of questions.
Yes, I thought the same thing -- why I didn't mention it I have no idea. I must be tired.
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You found an investor didn't you?
No, but I wouldn't mind one :)
I heard that ycombinator helped some guys start a social bookmarking website once but I totally forgot the name.
"reddit", presumably as a play on "read it". they even wrote it in lisp and all.
Why not have a one-time fee, ala Something Awful? Everyone gets the same free lessons, but perhaps those who pay a one-time fee ($10?) get something extra.
Just sayin'.
Make that $6, IF he's going to do it like that, that's all I got at the moment. If he makes it donation I will reward him with a little bit more.
You're the best, CarlH!
Here's another money-making idea that could be implemented without losing credibility. You could have something similar to the "bounties" that people offer in free software projects.
For example, if someone needed a crash course on concurrency or something, they might offer up $50 as an incentive to write about it sooner rather than later. If you choose not to write about it in a reasonable amount of time, they don't pay.
This would only work once you've covered most of the basics of programming in general, and sequential lessons no longer make as much sense. Something to think about though.
I will be taking requests for lessons in general, and I plan to run multiple courses simultaneously.
May I suggest Project Wonderful for the ads.
Thank you. I will check into that.
Why do I see so many redditers suggest project wonderful for advertising? No seriously, I really want to know.
I will give you my firstborn! Or, you know, money or whatever you prefer.
awesome!
Thank you, Carl. I can't really get on board with another monthly payment but I can donate sporadically throughout the year when finances allow.
Awesome! I didn't know if I would be committed enough to merit a paid subscription, as I am in full-time college/part-time work, but I'll definitely participate now and donate when I can. Good work and thanks for everything you've done so far!
Glad to hear that, I hope you will be able to use some of my suggestions on your site.
Cheers!
I'll be donating at least $10 just because all of the work you've put into it is just staggering. I gave up after the tenth day because I am lazy, but I'll pick it back up some day.
Let us know when and where to start donating.
seriously. i'll gladly throw in at least $40 bucks just for all the help you've given me.
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I also have donation-worthy dollars sitting in my PayPal account just for you. If you need anything from design help to beer, tell me!