Hello everybody,
I've been reading a lot of requests, both in the Plugins subforum and in Development, and I'm beginning to notice that there is a striking quantity of people who post threads that often don't get too many responses, and those responses that they do get are usually from newer or less well-known developers. There is also often a common theme to those posts, and I want to identify it so as to help some people avoid doing the things that cause those threads to have issues. So, Tl;DR: Here's a few suggestions for people writing request threads:
1. Grammar and idea communication. This is by far the most common issue I see. Now, I am *not* here to say that you should have perfect grammar, or even good grammar. Many people here are not native English speakers, and they are most certainly welcome here, regardless of how well they speak the language. However, please make sure that the content of the post is at least readable. I've had multiple threads where the idea was so badly worded or the punctuation was nonexistent, and I was forced to post not in response to the idea, but to ask what the original post was meant to say. Now, that post only takes me a few seconds, but it does a few things: First, it fills the thread a bit more, and with content that doesn't help other people who read the thread. Second, it means that the original poster (OP) has to go back and clarify their original post. That means I've spent time asking what you meant, you've spent time clarifying, and we've thus far not started getting your idea worked on. So, to summarize this point: Make it clear the first time around. It saves everybody time in the long run!
2. Include enough information. The most common other issue I see is when people fail to include enough information about their request in the thread. As a general guideline (my personal opinion here), you should include the following in the initial post on your thread:
A. Plugin description. At least a sentence or two about what the plugin should do. It doesn't necessarily have to include all the information a developer would need, but it's helpful to potentially interested devs to at least know the general idea of what they'd be doing. If you are asking for a direct plugin copy from another server, it is strongly appreciated if you still include this. Some people may know what you're talking about, but others might not, and they're forced to Google to try and find what this plugin is.
B. Plugin Budget. This doesn't need to be an exact value, but at least a range of what you want / are willing to pay is helpful. If the plugin is a huge plugin, such as a gamemode, it is understandable to ask for price quotes instead of posting a budget, but as a general rule of thumb (and this is entirely my opinion): If the price you're looking for is below the $75-$100 range, you should include a budget range. If it's higher, then of course asking for PMed quotes makes sense, but for smaller plugins it's helpful to know how much you're willing to pay up front rather than half way through talking to you about the idea.
C. Timeframe for Completion. This is less important than the other two, but it's helpful to know when you need the plugin / request done by. If you need it done in a week, putting that down helps a dev to know whether or not their schedule would allow them to take this request.
Thank you all for reading. I know that this post is my opinion, so please don't bash it as if I'm trying to pass it as gospel, because I'm not. There are also obviously exceptions to any rule, so unique requests, etc might not need all of the above. This is just a few helpful tips that I believe help to get more high-quality developers to respond to your posts, and save everybody time and confusion in the process.
Note: This may not be strictly what this forums section is for, but since the people who post here often don't read that much of other sections, it seemed reasonable to post it in this subforum. If a moderator takes enough problem with it being in here that they desire to move it, you may of course do so, but I thought here was a good starting to post it considering it relates most heavily to this forum.
I've been reading a lot of requests, both in the Plugins subforum and in Development, and I'm beginning to notice that there is a striking quantity of people who post threads that often don't get too many responses, and those responses that they do get are usually from newer or less well-known developers. There is also often a common theme to those posts, and I want to identify it so as to help some people avoid doing the things that cause those threads to have issues. So, Tl;DR: Here's a few suggestions for people writing request threads:
1. Grammar and idea communication. This is by far the most common issue I see. Now, I am *not* here to say that you should have perfect grammar, or even good grammar. Many people here are not native English speakers, and they are most certainly welcome here, regardless of how well they speak the language. However, please make sure that the content of the post is at least readable. I've had multiple threads where the idea was so badly worded or the punctuation was nonexistent, and I was forced to post not in response to the idea, but to ask what the original post was meant to say. Now, that post only takes me a few seconds, but it does a few things: First, it fills the thread a bit more, and with content that doesn't help other people who read the thread. Second, it means that the original poster (OP) has to go back and clarify their original post. That means I've spent time asking what you meant, you've spent time clarifying, and we've thus far not started getting your idea worked on. So, to summarize this point: Make it clear the first time around. It saves everybody time in the long run!
2. Include enough information. The most common other issue I see is when people fail to include enough information about their request in the thread. As a general guideline (my personal opinion here), you should include the following in the initial post on your thread:
A. Plugin description. At least a sentence or two about what the plugin should do. It doesn't necessarily have to include all the information a developer would need, but it's helpful to potentially interested devs to at least know the general idea of what they'd be doing. If you are asking for a direct plugin copy from another server, it is strongly appreciated if you still include this. Some people may know what you're talking about, but others might not, and they're forced to Google to try and find what this plugin is.
B. Plugin Budget. This doesn't need to be an exact value, but at least a range of what you want / are willing to pay is helpful. If the plugin is a huge plugin, such as a gamemode, it is understandable to ask for price quotes instead of posting a budget, but as a general rule of thumb (and this is entirely my opinion): If the price you're looking for is below the $75-$100 range, you should include a budget range. If it's higher, then of course asking for PMed quotes makes sense, but for smaller plugins it's helpful to know how much you're willing to pay up front rather than half way through talking to you about the idea.
C. Timeframe for Completion. This is less important than the other two, but it's helpful to know when you need the plugin / request done by. If you need it done in a week, putting that down helps a dev to know whether or not their schedule would allow them to take this request.
Thank you all for reading. I know that this post is my opinion, so please don't bash it as if I'm trying to pass it as gospel, because I'm not. There are also obviously exceptions to any rule, so unique requests, etc might not need all of the above. This is just a few helpful tips that I believe help to get more high-quality developers to respond to your posts, and save everybody time and confusion in the process.
Note: This may not be strictly what this forums section is for, but since the people who post here often don't read that much of other sections, it seemed reasonable to post it in this subforum. If a moderator takes enough problem with it being in here that they desire to move it, you may of course do so, but I thought here was a good starting to post it considering it relates most heavily to this forum.
Last edited:
