The problem really is that it’s difficult to get help on open source projects. When I’m using a piece of free software that doesn’t do what I want it to do, I’m happy to pay anywhere from 15 mins to several hours of someone’s time to help me fix it. I’d rather pay for an hour of your time than to wrestle with the problem for 8 hours.
Just recently I reached out to a maintainer on Gitter and offered $600 for something that would’ve taken an hour of their time or less (I know that because I eventually solved it myself). The maintainer didn’t take me up on the offer which isn’t a big deal, but it’s just a miss opportunity overall. I’m sure someone could’ve help, there just isn’t a system in place to pay for casual help.
Just recently I reached out to a maintainer on Gitter and offered $600 for something that would’ve taken an hour of their time or less (I know that because I eventually solved it myself). The maintainer didn’t take me up on the offer which isn’t a big deal, but it’s just a miss opportunity overall. I’m sure someone could’ve help, there just isn’t a system in place to pay for casual help.