For anyone wanting to donate to Gittip itself: https://www.gittip.com/Gittip/
Thank you. :-)
Gittip, Year Two
141–150 of 218 posts
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Three of the top four receivers appear to fit the label "moderately well known and divisive figure in the tech feminism scene".
I think more seriously https://www.gittip.com/noirin/ has stuff on her profile that directly deprecates her husband. I don't anything about this case, but I'd say in general it makes me uncomfortable that somebody is bringing up a personal conflict on a platform like this.
[deleted]
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#143It seems to me that Gittip is making the same mistake that Gnu/FSF have made: the most effective change comes one step at a time. Ostensibly, the primary goal of Gittip is to create an economy of Open Source work. But instead of focusing on this goal, they are also (from the article): * running a non-traditional "open" company * shunning investors not willing to work with an "open" company * only doing "open" intervi…
> there's a reason that Linux has succeeded I think you mean GNU/Linux? ;) You are asserting that the real goal of Gittip is to create a new economy, but that's not Chad's goal. You say that this makes him like Stallman, but it also makes him like Linus. Linus has made it clear that his primary goal isn't to extract revenue, and in many ways he doesn't care much about traditional success metrics. Instead he wants to…
Hadn't heard of Wikimedia's FDAs, sounds awesome! Do you have a link for more info?
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
Three of the top four receivers appear to fit the label "moderately well known and divisive figure in the tech feminism scene".
I think more seriously https://www.gittip.com/noirin/ has stuff on her profile that directly deprecates her husband. I don't anything about this case, but I'd say in general it makes me uncomfortable that somebody is bringing up a personal conflict on a platform like this.
He was exonerated and is suing her for libel and assault. www.scribd.com/doc/170684165/Michael-Schwern-Exonerated
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
As with any major public facing change, do it sooner rather than later, because the later it is, the more people will know you as "Gittip", so the cost of the change will be larger. Sit down with 2-3 people (including someone not in the Gittip loop!) this weekend and list all of the nouns and verbs that you associate with Gittip's mission, its market, what users do on Gittip, and what people achieve through Gittip. T…
But is it holding us back from reaching sustainability for Gittip itself?
I believe it is. You say one of your problems is "we’re not doing well enough at engaging with people about our product". Perhaps I am part of the group you would like to engage, I'm not sure. I read a lot of Hacker News and I recognise your website, so I must have been to it before, but when I saw this post I thought "what's Gittip again?"
Honestly, I can't even figure out how to pronounce Gittip. Is it git-tip? When I try to say it that way I get tongue-tied over the double-t. Gid'ip, with a kind of southern drawl? If I was trying to tell someone about it I would say "there's this neat crowdfunding patronage type site called g-i-t-t-i-p". Or just type it into their computer/phone. That's not where you want to be. Names are what we hang ideas on, and I can't even hang a sound on yours.
Speaking of ideas, I feel like there is a fundamental disconnect between the passion and grandiosity of your mission and what I see on your front page. "Sustainable crowdfunding" is accurate, but uninspiring. What happened to "gratitude, generosity, and love"? Your blog post sounds like you're trying to remake the world based on those principles. That's a hell of a vision. A crazy vision. The kind of vision that either goes down in flames or inspires thousands. That's the vision that defines what you're doing and why your organisation exists. So why can I find literally no mention of it anywhere on your site?
You mentioned Patreon, so I looked them up. Front and centre on their page: "Be a patron of the arts." There, in one sentence, they have described why someone would care about what they do. A patron of the arts. That's who I could be if I sign up for Patreon. Reviving the noble tradition of patronage. Supporting artists and the arts community. Joining the cultural movement of the future. What a thing to be a part of! What am I a part of with Gittip? Sustainability? You can do so much better.
I suppose my point is that I believe at this point you don't need to improve your product to grow, but rather get more people interested in your product to grow. Like a software project where everyone just writes some code and hopes it links up in the end, I think the way Gittip presents itself has been under-designed, and isn't coherent enough to achieve its goals.
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#146I have a few criticisms of Gittip, with the caveat that I'm largely criticizing you for not being something else that I want, rather than for not doing a good job at the thing that you're currently doing. 1) Is there some sort of legal reason that Gittip doesn't want to manage all of my non-profit giving? 2) What's with the focus on programming? The programming community is tiny, and will be better off piggybacking o…
Thanks for the great feedback! :-) 1) No. 2) Historical accident. 3) Sounds like a +1 for https://github.com/gittip/www.gittip.com/issues/1493 ? 4) I see Gittip as a marketplace that has to support both sides more or less equally. You are a generous person! I hope we can help you! :-)
https://github.com/gittip/www.gittip.com/issues/1493 is exactly what I was talking about:)
edit: The Neo4j solution is really an ideal solution for automating some of this stuff. I beg you not to dismiss it out of hand because of lack of familiarity...
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#147Earlier quoted context omitted.
But is it holding us back from reaching sustainability for Gittip itself?
I believe it is. You say one of your problems is "we’re not doing well enough at engaging with people about our product". Perhaps I am part of the group you would like to engage, I'm not sure. I read a lot of Hacker News and I recognise your website, so I must have been to it before, but when I saw this post I thought "what's Gittip again?" Honestly, I can't even figure out how to pronounce Gittip. Is it git-tip? Whe…
I think you raise a good point here -- Gittip is run by committee and consensus, via Github issues and pull requests. The Linux kernel is developed via community as well, but has a strong leader at the helm to direct things. In contrast to this, Gittip feels like a bunch of people kind of doing their own thing, which leads to a general impression of aimlessness.
I suspect that branding and marketing efforts shouldn't be run by +1's on issues, but by someone taking charge, picking a direction, and running with it.
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there's a reason that Linux has succeeded I think you mean GNU/Linux? ;) You are asserting that the real goal of Gittip is to create a new economy, but that's not Chad's goal. You say that this makes him like Stallman, but it also makes him like Linus. Linus has made it clear that his primary goal isn't to extract revenue, and in many ways he doesn't care much about traditional success metrics. Instead he wants to…
Hadn't heard of Wikimedia's FDAs, sounds awesome! Do you have a link for more info?
After I made this comment this I realized that the best thing might be to connect you with the people who do bizdev at the WMF. ;) I've already sent them an email, I'll be in touch soon.
Also, the 'full disclosure agreement' is just an inside joke. But, a real-world example. Facebook was creating topic pages, and they wanted to seed them with Wikipedia content. While our bizdev person was arranging that, they refused to sign NDAs. So every time they visited Facebook, the people at FB erased every whiteboard they might see coming or going.
I think that might give you a good indication of what you're up against when it comes to openness and corporate partnerships, but also some hope that other arrangements are still possible.
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#149Gittip is a nice idea. But sadly, it has become a place for certain people to receive hefty monthly paychecks from anonymous patrons in exchange for incredibly aggressive and toxic trolling. Despite original intentions, this is not making an ecosystem of love and gratitude. So if its creator isn't even making money from it, it's probably better if it goes to sleep.
Do you have examples of the trolling you talk of?
I only plan on making this single response in this thread.
As someone mentioned directly below, you're damn right I'm a staunch feminist. But nobody has 'hijacked' anything: I've known Chad since before Gittip was even a thing, and have been in the top leaders list since when that meant I got less than a dollar. Because that's what happens when you've been using a platform longer than others. Naturally, this extended to my friends, as well. Furthermore, you only make Gittip money if you ask people to donate. The top getters are people who ask more.
My sibling presents a one-sided view of multi-faceted people: Shanley, for example, has her own bootstrapped media company that's already profitable, which is more to say than a large number of HN 'entrepreneurs.' (including myself).
Anyway, I'm not sure the 'leaderboards' are a good thing, exactly. But this kind of pettiness (from throwaway accounts, no less) is amusing.
Re: Gittip, Year Two
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
heavy eyeroll if this is supposed to be a "hidden" jab at tech feminists.
No, that wasn't a jab at feminism in tech! Feminism is great and there are some big problems to address in tech. But paying people to stir up heated conflicts and throw Tumblr-style tantrums isn't fixing anything, it is actually misrepresenting women in tech and doing harm to their cause.
http://www.derailingfordummies.com/derail-using-anger/
c.f. "You are hurting your cause by being angry"
try to be less of a trope.