Board Game Arena

quietmint wrote: ↑01 September 2020, 23:22 To echo what's already been said in other posts (like https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... 12&t=17070), for the majority of games on BGA almost everyone involved is working for free. In this context, it would be highly inappropriate for BGA to pay someone to fix a small bug when even the developers who put hundreds or thousands of hours into creating and maintaining the games are not being paid.

Why? I would personally don't mind that someone is paid to fix my bugs. I find it much more fun to code a game than to hunt bugs. Would you work full-time for free fixing others people bugs? Some things just does not work purely voluntarily.

For instance, my day job is to work on a data management program (which is boring), so I won't do that except if someone is paying me. Coding games for BGA is a hobby (and one of the few that don't cost me anything!). But I don't mind that someone is making money from my work if that takes nothing for me, provided that it benefits to everyone. After all, the BGA admins ARE making money from my work, but that means they can work full-time on BGA in turn and invest on the hardware, allowing BGA to exist.

bdrieu wrote: ↑02 September 2020, 20:20

quietmint wrote: ↑01 September 2020, 23:22 To echo what's already been said in other posts (like https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewto ... 12&t=17070), for the majority of games on BGA almost everyone involved is working for free. In this context, it would be highly inappropriate for BGA to pay someone to fix a small bug when even the developers who put hundreds or thousands of hours into creating and maintaining the games are not being paid.

Why? I would personally don't mind that someone is paid to fix my bugs. I find it much more fun to code a game than to hunt bugs. Would you work full-time for free fixing others people bugs? Some things just does not work purely voluntarily.

For instance, my day job is to work on a data management program (which is boring), so I won't do that except if someone is paying me. Coding games for BGA is a hobby (and one of the few that don't cost me anything!). But I don't mind that someone is making money from my work if that takes nothing for me, provided that it benefits to everyone. After all, the BGA admins ARE making money from my work, but that means they can work full-time on BGA in turn and invest on the hardware, allowing BGA to exist.

that 'highly inappropriate 'money thing...
I did fix some broken games which were on Bounty Hunting for a very long time.
The developer never answered when I asked for the permission.
Players were happy, the admins were happy...
I was granted months of Premium or something like that so there is really no need to yell for highly inappropriate rewards...
so please calm down and trust.

I think that what quietmint is saying is that it could do more damages than good.
Consider the following : if I know someone is going to get paid tracking down the bugs, why should I maintain the game I've developped ?
As bdrieu said, I believe most of us enjoy coding the game more than hunting down every corner cases of it. So do we really want to encourage developpers to make code that just sort of works ?

Tisaac wrote: ↑02 September 2020, 22:35 Consider the following : if I know someone is going to get paid tracking down the bugs, why should I maintain the game I've developped ?

My experience after 25 years as volunteer in a non-profit that has both volunteers and employees (in which I have been both) is that volunteers and employees do different works. But anyway, has it has been said, this recruitment is not about bugs so that is irrelevant.

Maybe I didn't explain well. I am providing my time to BGA because it's a free service I want to support and I know it needs help. Most things are volunteer here because nothing else is possible. BGA simply doesn't have the resources to pay me a fair wage for contributions. I understand the reality and am happily providing my time.

BUT... if BGA has the resources to pay someone to find bugs, it means we're at a completely different point. It probably means I would no longer be willing to give free labor. Bug hunt is a low priority task (server administration, main site coding and maintenance, sales/marketing, support for users, support for the developer community, and adding new games all come above this). It sends a chilling signal if BGA has cash to burn from a limited budget on this. It sends the message that the resources aren't so limited after all...

quietmint wrote: ↑05 September 2020, 17:57 Maybe I didn't explain well. I am providing my time to BGA because it's a free service I want to support and I know it needs help. Most things are volunteer here because nothing else is possible. BGA simply doesn't have the resources to pay me a fair wage for contributions. I understand the reality and am happily providing my time.

BUT... if BGA has the resources to pay someone to find bugs, it means we're at a completely different point. It probably means I would no longer be willing to give free labor. Bug hunt is a low priority task (server administration, main site coding and maintenance, sales/marketing, support for users, support for the developer community, and adding new games all come above this). It sends a chilling signal if BGA has cash to burn from a limited budget on this. It sends the message that the resources aren't so limited after all...

where did you read that ?

tchobello wrote: ↑05 September 2020, 23:10

quietmint wrote: ↑05 September 2020, 17:57 if BGA has the resources to pay someone to find bugs

where did you read that ?

ma_cieng wrote: ↑01 September 2020, 22:43 Did you consider adding bug hunter position?

Eh? Did you miss the beginning of this whole discussion? This is all in reply to a suggestion that BGA should hire someone focused on fixing bugs in existing games. I'm explaining why I think that probably cannot and should not happen.