Alright, let me tell you about my little adventure with this “the open payout 2024” thing I stumbled upon earlier this year. Saw some chatter about it, sounded like they were giving out some cash to people contributing stuff – code, docs, articles, that sort of thing. Seemed interesting enough, figured I’d take a look.
First off, I had to actually find the real details. You know how these things go. Lots of fancy talk on the announcement page, but the nitty-gritty? Buried somewhere else. Took me a good hour clicking around their site, reading forum posts, trying to piece together what exactly they wanted and how you qualified. It wasn’t super clear, honestly.
Anyway, I eventually figured out the basics. Needed an account, which I already had from way back. Had to link it up specifically for this payout program. That part was easy, just a few clicks. Done.
Getting My Stuff Together
Then came the main bit: deciding what to submit. I’d written a couple of technical articles and guides over the past year related to their platform, things I’d shared on my own blog and other places. Thought those might fit the bill. Also had a few minor code tweaks I’d submitted to their open repo.
- Finding the work: I dug through my old files and contribution history. Had to find the links, maybe spruce up the descriptions a bit.
- Understanding criteria: This was tricky. The rules were a bit vague on how they judged “value”. Was it views? Complexity? Usefulness? Who knows. I just picked the stuff I felt most proud of.
- The submission form: Oh boy. The form itself was a bit clunky. Had to fill out details for each piece I submitted. One time the page timed out, and I had to start over. Classic stuff. Finally got everything uploaded – links, descriptions, why I thought it mattered.
Waiting and Wondering
After hitting submit, it was just… waiting. They said they’d review things and announce payouts by a certain date. Communication during this time? Pretty quiet. Radio silence mostly. You’d see people asking questions on the forums, getting vague answers or none at all. Felt very much like tossing your work into a black hole and hoping for the best.
It reminded me of this situation back at an old job. They rolled out this new “innovation bonus” scheme. Sounded great on paper. But the submission process was a mess, the judging criteria were totally opaque, and in the end, only the managers’ pet projects got anything. Lots of disgruntled folks after that. This “Open Payout” thing had a similar vibe at times – good intentions, maybe, but execution felt a bit rushed, a bit unclear.
So, What Happened?
Eventually, the results day came. Got an email. And guess what? I actually got a small payout! Wasn’t a huge amount, definitely not enough to quit my day job or anything. Covered a few nice dinners, maybe.
Was it worth the effort? Eh, debatable. The money was nice, sure. A little validation for the work I’d already done. But the process of figuring out the rules and dealing with the submission system was a bit of a hassle. It felt like they could have made it much smoother, much clearer.
Overall, I guess it’s a decent idea. Trying to give back to the community is good. But they really need to work on their communication and make the whole process less confusing if they do it again. Would I participate next year? Maybe. Depends if I hear they’ve actually listened to feedback and improved things. Otherwise, my time might be better spent just doing my thing without jumping through hoops for a maybe-payout.
