[eliben]

There used to be a time where people created programming tutorials just for the heck of it: to learn the language better themselves, to do something good, to get some rep, to make a name for themselves. I wrote quite a few myself - enjoyed every minute of it - both the process of writing (writing stuff down forces you to be honest about knowing it well) and the feedback afterwards. Without asking for $10K on Kickstarter!! I see the direction this is going and I don't like it at all. I hope Kickstarter won't end up harming open source.

[bpatrianakos]

I don't think Kickstarter will harm open source. I think opporunists might. But do you really think people like us would fund something like this? I'm honestly asking the question. I don't think they would. As a programmer I know better than to fund something like this. There's no shortage of Ruby tutorials out there for free and a ton that cost money too. All great resources. I see this and I think to myself, "nice, someone decided to capitalize on the hipness of Ruby by duplicating what's out there for free with a twist - vaguely familiar games as lessons".

I have faith that this won't be funded.

[tomku]

As a programmer, I wouldn't fund it. However, it might appeal to people who want to become programmers and don't know about the alternatives.

[jamesgeck0]

The end result is going to be free, isn't it? He's just asking for money so he can devote more of his time to it.

[pc86]

The end result will be $100.

[espadrine]

What makes you say that? The description seems pretty specific about the end result being open-source and distributed as a gem.

EDIT: indeed, the $50-backers description alerts of a rise to $100 after the kickstarter. That has to be a huge mistake on their part.

EDIT 2: I just received information from Tom Black that the software environment, along with the lessons, challenges, projects, will be free and open-source. What will be paid are subsequent, related screencasts and online classes.

[tomku]

There are actually two components that the author is promising. The interactive learning environment and website will be free and open source, but the author is also planning on selling a premium, paid month-long course with extra content. The premium course is what's promised in the $50 tier, and what will cost $100 after the Kickstarter ends.

Edit: As the responses indicate, the premium course is probably against Kickstarter's rules. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.

[pc86]

The point is that people are trying to use Kickstarter to eliminate risk in a business venture. If you're good enough o charge $100 for membership for one of your website, do it. Take a risk. Be entrepreneurial. Don't be that guy trying to get other people to provide you back-door seed funding so you can just bolt if it all falls apart with an extra $10k to boot.

From the KS: "Launching a Kickstarter campaign is the best way I can think of to get the word out and see if there's real interest in this. I always try to focus my time and energy on things people want (easier said than done), and this campaign will help me figure that out. So if you want this to exist, cast your vote by pledging!"

I try to be civil and calm here but that is complete and utter bullshit. Kickstarter does not exist so people like this guy can get a few months rent while trying out his latest business venture.

[briandear]

Lol. Tell that to every SilVal wannabe startup begging for seed funding. Being entrepreneurial IS about gathering reasorces to make your idea happen.

Kickstarter shouldn't exist so some guy can raise money to sell 3d printers either, but that happens all the time.

[bdcravens]

Any kind of membership site is against Kickstarter rules.

[bdcravens]

It won't harm open source. Perhaps it'll harm future crowdfunding endeavors, as the trust level will be low. However, I think open source software that was funded on Kickstarter, but never delivered (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1397300529/railsapp) is far more of a threat than courseware.

[gary4gar]

Rails.app which is now called Tokaido is not dead, see this:

Kickstart Update: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1397300529/railsapp/post...

Source Code: https://github.com/tokaido/tokaidoapp

[bdcravens]

Never said it was dead, but the promises of that project still haven't been fulfilled (see the Deliverables section of the project - a GitHub repo that developers can build in XCode isn't the .app that was promised) Note that update you linked to came a day after a pretty energetic discussion on HN:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5116601

[bitcartel]

It seems like developing classroom material to teach kids how to code is the gravy train du jour.

Just from yesterday, "Treehouse gets $7M to bring learn-to-code programs to high schools". https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5520726

[bdcravens]

Creating a good content can be pricey. Even if one wants to be altruistic, perhaps doing something gratis means you really can't dedicate as much time as you'd like. To that end, Udemy is a great solution for monetizing great teaching content.

[ilink]

That's a litte hyperbolic, this is the first I have seen of something like that on Kickstarter.

[eliben]

Not at all. I withheld this reaction N times before finally posting it. The project mentioned in an earlier comment (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1397300529/railsapp) is another example. I'm talking about programming projects in general (tutorials, new apps, libraries, toolchains) and not specifically how-to tutorials. Why participate in open-source if you can try to get real money for it on Kickstarter?

[bdcravens]

With all due respect, the idea that open source projects are always the result of free, volunteer work is a bit of a sheltered and idealistic view.

Open source projects with the most tractions are either sponsored, or someone is writing open source code as part of a job they're paid for. (a few examples: Rails, node.js, Linux, Vagrant ....)

For projects where that's not an option, crowdfunding is a good alternative.

Most "involved" in open source are consumers. Crowdfunding allows for involvement and support at a different level, and is totally consistent with the open source ethos. Open source is about freedom, not money.