Hi Eric I can't be (haven't been) as generous (or consistent for that matter) as I'd like to be, however I have contributed to the jar today with $55,40 USD (only my second over the years - I'm afraid...) - and that's what I can afford on this side of christmas..
Would it be possible/appropriate - to show a statistic of the amount of contributions and their sizes (anonymous is fine) - to get an indication if ones contributions matters at all ?? Two indicators - one showing what is needed "to make a difference overall" (might be a constant..) and another one showing status of todays/this week - whatever.. I think like this: I'd like to be able to make consistent contributions (private) of say $28 USD pr month in 2012 (it's approximately the price of a mobile subscription in Denmark, and one of my kids will pay for his own phone subscription next year) - If I or other aspiring contributors can watch "the pile grow" and see that a small amount of money is what is needed to create a balance at the end of a month - that indication might inspire "privateers" (like myself) - to join the party - add to the pile :-) I sincerely hope this community is big enough - that people will be able to make a difference with small contributions in this time of economical crisis, which seems to affect small companies, private economies, non-profit organizations first.... Let's show that we care about this community and all things "Open" and help ourselves continue FREE labor on a FREE(open source) product. Thanks for giving us the oppertunity to "pay back" and keep a focused moderator - and not giving up!! Just my 2 cents - Cheers Måns Mårtensson On 7 Nov., 23:43, Eric Shulman <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear TiddlyFriends, > > Most of you know me as the author of TiddlyTools.com ("Small Tools for > Big Ideas"), where I publish and actively maintain hundreds of > original TiddlyWiki addons (plugins, scripts, themes, etc.) that I > have written. You also know me as the moderator and a "key > contributor" to the TiddlyWiki GoogleGroups, where I often post > detailed instructions, explanations and solutions in response to > questions posed by people who are using TiddlyWiki in many different > aspects of their daily lives. Some of you may also know that, > professionally, I earn my living as an independent consultant, > specializing in User Experience Design and Information Architecture, > providing software design and development services to companies and > individuals in Silicon Valley and the surrounding San Francisco Bay > Area, as well as remotely over the net. > > What most of you don't know is that, since 2006, I have been providing > ongoing TiddlyWiki consulting services to the UnaMesa Association -- > the non-profit organization that holds the copyright on the TiddlyWiki > source. In addition to earning a modest but steady income (enough to > cover my basic living expenses) from working directly on UnaMesa- > sponsored TiddlyWiki projects, the primary effect of their financial > support has been to help promote the overall health and growth of the > worldwide TiddlyWiki community by allowing me to focus most of my time > and effort on creating and publishing new addons and providing > technical assistance to the TiddlyWiki community without the constant > distraction of seeking out new clients/projects. > > Unfortunately, since the beginning of 2011, UnaMesa has been facing a > fiscal shortfall that has significantly reduced their financial > support for my TiddlyWiki activities. Although there may still be > some funds budgeted for specific UnaMesa-sponsored projects, funds for > general TiddlyWiki "community support services" have been completely > exhausted and are no longer available. Regardless, despite this loss > of funding, the *need* for these community support services has not > changed. In fact, as TiddlyWiki continues to grow and evolve, it is > being applied to an ever-increasing variety of sophisticated real- > world applications for which technical help and assistance are almost > certain to be even more vital. > > From a personal perspective, the problem is simple: in order to > continue providing full-time support to the worldwide TiddlyWiki > community, I must quickly find a way to replace the loss of revenue > from UnaMesa, ideally without the distraction of finding and working > on *non*-TiddlyWiki consulting projects. Of course, TiddlyTools.com > is an open-source effort, so there are no licensing fees for the > addons I have published, and my online assistance has also been > offered free of charge. However, there *is* a "tip jar" form on > TiddlyTools.com (seehttp://www.TiddlyTools.com/#Donations) that > allows you to easily make voluntary contributions (via PayPal) as a > way of showing your appreciation and support for my continued efforts. > > You should consider making one (or more) donations to the tip jar if > you: > * use TiddlyTools plugins, scripts, etc. on a regular basis > * have been helped by my online answers, even if you didn't ask the > question! > * request specific help for your document (and I provide a useful > response) > * request enhancements to plugins to add new features for specific use- > cases > * or, just generally appreciate and want to support my TiddlyWiki work > > You should also note that, in addition to rewarding specific efforts, > your donations will help give me time for ongoing general maintenance > of the main TiddlyTools.com document in response to updates in the > TWCore, as well as time to develop and publish new addons and > TiddlyTools QuickStart(tm) documents (pre-configured, task-optimized > mini-applications). The amount and frequency of your donations are > entirely up to you, and should be based on how much benefit you feel > you actually receive as a result of my work. Ask yourself how much > time/effort you've saved, and how much that is truly worth in real > dollars... and then donate an amount that you feel comfortable with. > > Even with generous community contributions, I don't realistically > expect that my *entire* monthly budget will always be covered by > voluntary donations from the TiddlyWiki community (though it would be > very nice -- and would bring me great JOY!). So, in addition the > TiddlyTools.com "tip jar", you can also directly **HIRE ME** to > provide professional-quality consulting services for your TiddlyWiki > documents, including analysis and evaluation of the overall document > design, diagnosis and debugging to help locate and fix complex > document errors, general solutions for common problems, and custom > development of new plugins (or enhancements to existing plugins) to > support your specific needs. > > My professional services are available on an as-needed basis, or as > ongoing consulting as part of a planned, scheduled project effort. > For tasks under 1 hour, you should make a suitable donation to my tip > jar. For short-term projects or complex diagnostic/debugging > requests, I offer reasonable hourly, daily, and weekly rates. For > larger, long-term projects, a fixed-cost monthly retainer can also be > arranged. > > It is my hope that, through a combination of consistent and generous > tip jar donations combined with earnings from private TiddlyWiki > consulting projects, the TiddlyWiki community itself can provide the > funds so I can continue to do the work I love without distractions: > providing full-time technical support and advice to the worldwide > TiddlyWiki community. > > So, my friends, it is now up to you... as the holiday season > approaches, please consider giving thanks by making a gift to the > TiddlyTools "tip jar". Whether its just a 'stocking stuffer', or > Santa's entire workshop, your financial support will truly be "the > gift that keeps on giving". > > Be Well, Be Happy. > > much thanks, > -e > > Eric Shulman > TiddlyTools / ELS Design Studios -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TiddlyWiki" group. 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