RinkWorks: Stupid Emails: Subscription Fee for Coding Services?

513. Subscription Fee for Coding Services?

From:  The Rink <sam@rinkworks.com>
Subject:  Re: subscription service
Date:  Wed, 8 Aug 2007 09:55:02

> Hi...was curious about the cost of your subscription service?  I am in  need
> of a few games like yours to put as missions in a game I am trying to  create
> and was wondering about a possible trade off (my paying for your subscription
> service fee for coding services??)

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.  The subscription service I used to
offer -- currently I'm not selling any subscriptions for lack of a payment
processing service, but that's another story -- is basically a way for readers
to donate and support the site, should they wish to.  As a thank you, the pages
appear without ads, and access to a couple of special features is provided.

Right now, all that is in limbo.  I've been trying to figure out how I can
restore subscription services without binding myself to the tedium of
personally processing the monetary transactions.  (I used to offer the service
through a payment processor that handled all that for me, but they went out of
business.)

For me to offer you coding services is a whole different league.  I never
really considered offering coding services through my web site, because I do
it for myself as a hobby, but if you really want to go there, my normal
contracting rate for programming work is $80/hour.  So one hour of my time
will cost more than a subscription for two years would (I used to charge $35
for a year's subscription).  To write a game like those found on Adventure
Games Live takes me upwards of 150-300 hours, depending on the size of the
game -- that's why they don't come out too frequently.  If you'd like me to
write you a game for $12000, I'd be happy to, but I bet that's not what you
had in mind.  :-)

This is one of those emails that isn't actually stupid but simply amusing for how the sender just had no idea what she was really asking.