Forum scripters, what is your motivation?

I'm primarily a builder, secondly a texture application expert, and somewhere along about tenth down the line, a scripter. I have learned to script, as much as I can, anyway, to be able to have my objects do things that I can't find commercially available scripts for, or perhaps affordable ones. I also want to be able to transfer my items to other grids without the problems using other people's scripts engender.

Since the time I began to actually comprehend scripts a little, I have occasionally gone through the ones in my inventory that I purchased back in the old days, and realized that the person selling them inworld had copied them verbatim from this forum and the libraries, usually deleting any of the lines that attributed them to the originator, and put them up for sale in their store, or even on XSL.


I suppose they may be due a "finder's fee," since they tracked down what I needed back then, and made it available, but it chaps my hide to think I paid some people good money for PD scripts, and that they would actually stoop to selling them at a large profit. L$50 I could understand; L$1000 is a different matter entirely. Some people are charging much more, and apparently getting away with it, though I couldn't say how many they are actually selling.


Now, I understand fully the concept of an intellectual exercise, and how much fun it can be to come up with an answer. However, when it comes to scripting, in my case, those answers are often hard-won, because I so often need things that are a bit different. I don't often sell scripts, but I do have one tutorial door script for sale, which is heavily modified from a PD script, heavily commented, and heavily documented, and is designed to help people who are like I was when I first learned to build houses, but still thought I needed to buy doors. So, while I can kind of understand why you folks post clever scripts for the taking in this forum, I kind of don't, as well.

There is, for example, a guy called Baller, who has a largish script store. Years ago I bought three or four scripts from him, before I realized that the problem wasn't that I didn't know how to use them, it was that they didn't work. Yeah, I was pretty script-stupid back then. I finally caught on when I bought a "full perms" swing script from him for L$250, and recognized it as a modded version of a door script I already had. It didn't work; it made the swing jerk back-and-forth sideways. I called him on it, and he said he would fix it, but, long story short, if I wanted a full perm version, it would cost me L$2500. I was not polite, and I ate the L$250. (as well as the money from the other scripts)

And recourse? How many people do you think complain to LL daily about scripts that "don't work?" Would you listen to them? I wouldn't. I could bring him down if I were willing to spend about ten grand to get back twenty bucks, you know?

And the thing is, if most of the people who post scripts here went to his store, found a script thats function looked familiar, and spent the money for a version with at least mod perms, and looked at it, I would bet they would see their own handiwork, or at least the handiwork of the person who first posted a non-working script and a plea for help to make it work.

Regarding other stores, many of the people who sell scripts never bother to verify if they work or not; they just find a script for something, label it, and put it up for sale.

So, as I asked in the header, what is your motivation? Many of you are constantly being ripped-off. I'm grateful that when I come here, I can often find a script I need, or even more often find one to mod, but why post your clever scripts here? I'm glad you do, make no mistake, but why not open a store in SL and sell them?

I won't speak for others motivations, but mine are pretty simple. I love coding... it's actually enjoyable to see not only if I can do something in the least amount of steps, but also to see if I can do it different ways, more effeciently, smaller, what have you... for me it's fun.

also I love to help, tutoring is something I have a knack for (translating a concept into whatever frame of reference is needed to make sense of it), though I'm not so good at teaching (the difference is subtle, but important)

most of the script I do here, whether examples, tweaks, of full scripts, are all things that usually either minor stuff to me, extra fun, or because I see lots of scripts of the same type that are really over-complicated (like hinge scripts). also if I don't see much market for something, I'll release it to the public... no sense in it being wasted, and maybe someone will learn from it.

and in truth I do sell pretty much any idea I code on these forums, and/or the more complex versions I don't show here

are the people that snipe scripts, strip credit, and resell them for ridiculous amounts a bunch of thieves and rip-off artists? uhm, yeah. BUT, the ones that don't strip credit, and only charge what amounts to a finders fee, those ones are cool in my book, they're the Matthew Lesko's of the scripting world, and good on 'em.

I'm not a professional, but I've written programs for a very long time in several languages, mostly for scientific purposes. I like a nice logic problem, I like puzzles, and I like to learn new ways to do things that I thought I understood before.

I come to this forum because I'm curious about how other people solve logic problems and because I'm still getting comfortable in LSL. If I see that someone has posted an interesting problem that I can tackle, I give it a shot. If I solve a problem that seems interesting enough to share, I post it. If I hit a snag and can't see my way to an answer, I post the question. Almost always, when I put something here that seems finished to me, I discover that someone else has a twist I hadn't thought of. With only a few exceptions, I don't feel much sense of ownership for a script I have written. Once it's out there, I hope it has some practical or educational value for someone else. For me, the value was in whatever I learned along the way.

It's like my husband says about dentists: he doesn't know why anyone would want to be one, but he's really glad they do.

I am eternally grateful for the code examples and generous people I see here. I post extensively in another programming language on a different list, and over there I am happy to share ideas and snippets so that others can learn. It's easy for me to do, and instructive for others. The roles are reversed here for me -- I'm still learning LSL and I'm hugely indebted to those who give so freely of their time and intelligence.

The generous people who post here, if they are like me, aren't in it for the money or the glory. They are posting for the love of the language and the chance to make it accessible to others. The fact that someone might rip off their code is possibly irritating, but secondary to the main purpose, which is noble.

Paying it forward! Newgate Ludd and some other scripters that are still here answered my silly questions and taught me to script. Because of RL circumstances, scripting was able to occupy my mind and build my self confidence again eventually leading to me going back to work. I have since gone on to other languages and several of us use a couple of my programs at work now because they save time and money. I will be forever grateful and will be here answering questions as long as the forum is open.

Seconded.

Scripting remains a somewhat opaque business to me. I don't have the capacity and, thankfully, not much need to actually learn the grammar and syntax but I sure as Hell appreciate the value of a good script when I come across one.

For me, good scripting is every bit as important to SL as considerate building and texturing and I only wish more developers would avail themselves of the generous advice and assistance experienced scripters and programmers offer on this forum - whether or not they sell the results is another issue entirely.

As for discussion, I often browse the scripting forum just for the fun of reading what various posters have to say or contribute to issues and problems that don't really concern me. I've been in the habit of doing the same thing with the cornflakes packet at breakfast ever since I was a kid.

And I'm still not sure what riboflavin is good for.

Lol! When I first began LSL scripting, I thought, dynamite! I can have some fun, and sell some scripts! But, this forum is so efficient at producing scripts or script fragments on request that, for a good long time, my skills weren't good enough to produce anything that wasn't available for free. As time went on, I did a few custom scripts for pay. But, now I just give them away to friends, as folks do here in the forums.

*shrugs* Let's face it, if you work in the field at all, no one in SL is going to pay you the same $/hour you get in real life to code. So, for me, why bother charging? It's a hobby, and sometimes helps people.
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Thirded. Even though I'm a dunce scripter I enjoy reading these threads - even when the topic is beyond my ken. Almost everything I know has come about because of the generosity of the posters here.

When nobody else listen to me it is my satisfaction I can make a machine do what I tell it

I script to make things that work exactly as I want them to. I rarely find a tool that is quite what I want. I'm incredibly fussy about user interface.

Amazingly, it seems there's at least a few other people out there who want things done my way.

BINGO! That is the secret to any content creation in SL. If you want it, you create it and if it meets your expectations, then there is a market for it.

most of my customers would die of shock if I quoted them real life development prices... although I can and do charge that much, but only for exclusive rights code.

often times smaller stuff, if I think there is a market for it I'll do it closed source for free, and turn around and sell it (basically I refund the cost for giving me a fun idea to play with that I might make a profit on.)