I hope 2 different kinds of people visit this site – people who can write code, and people who want code.
What’s in it for people who want code?
Code, of course. Perhaps even well-written, well-documented, well-maintained code. But what are you willing to give in return for that code?
What’s in it for people who can write code?
This is a bit more complicated.
What do you want in return for the hours of your life you spend maintaining code?
I want at least some projects that have nothing to do with money – people do them just because they find it interesting, or they feel like being friendly, or they want to experiment with Wiki:PairProgramming or other development techniques. We can start doing that today.
“Reward Innovators with Harder Problems” http://radio.weblogs.com/0125927/2006/01/05.html#a319 mentions: “As a knowledge worker you’ve got to do a few simple things: first, choose the right projects to work on as best you can. … ask for what you want next, being as specific as possible. Is it a spot on the new project team? Seed money for R&D? Time with marketing to get their support to chase those exciting new projects? … start with what your corporate goals are, think about how you can measure progress against these goals, then do those things that will positively impact those measures. …”
This Software Bazaar will help freelance programmers “choose the right projects to work on”.