DonationCoder.com

DonationCoder

URL	www.DonationCoder.com
Slogan	"for software connoisseurs"
Commercial?	no
Registration	None to browse, Required to post
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Jesse Reichler
Created by	Jesse Reichler
Launched	March 2005
Alexa rank	29499 [1]
Revenue	Private Donations
Current status	Active

DonationCoder.com is a website hosting a community of programmers and software fanatics. It supports a donation-based model to organize and finance software development, and is one example of Donationware.

The community develops and finances its own free software, software reviews, podcasts, and a diverse programming school. Funding is accomplished using a grant-like system of micro-donations. All donators to the site receive their donation back as DonationCredits which they can then trade amongst themselves to support different projects and reward activities contributing to the community. All members are considered equal and simply donate an amount they feel comfortable with.

The community also fosters collaboration on free services, programming contests, and academic projects.

The site has an active forum which focuses on developments in software, and hosts a Programming School section which features challenges in several languages to help motivate people to teach themselves how to program (or learn a new language) and share their creations with others. Users can comment on each others code as they progress through the school.

DonationCoder has been recognized by LifeHacker and several other well-known and reputable blogs for its adherence to the principles of freeware and open source software. Many well-regarded utilities have been produced by the coders that frequent DonationCoder, especially during the New Apps for the New Year (N.A.N.Y.) initiative that the site hosts annually.

Most of the software developed and discussed on the site is for Microsoft Windows, even though the developments in other platforms are followed.

See also

• Gift economy
• Participatory organization
• Donationware
• Micropayments

External references

• DonationCoder Website
• DonationCoder Software Blog
• DonationCoder Forum
• gHacks.net Column on DonationCoder
• DonationCoder programming school forum
• Long article describing the experience of this website's first year
• LifeHacker.com Column on DonationCoder