DEV Community: xs:code

How to Find a Solution to Any Coding Problem: Launching xs:code Aces

xs:code — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:27:05 +0000

When we launched xs:code exactly a year ago, our goal was to help open source developers get the resources they need to continue developing their projects by monetizing their code. Since then, more than 2,000 developers have joined our community, and generated much needed revenue for their projects by offering paid support, licensing and premium versions of their open source projects.

Open Source Needs Support

In the months since our launch, my team and I have spent countless hours analyzing data and talking to open source developers, R&D managers and team leads. We tried to understand where the biggest pain point was for developers working with open source components, products and frameworks in their day-to-day development tasks. One word came up repeatedly: Support.

The massive adoption of open source has created a challenging environment for developers. There are endless possible combinations of frameworks, operating systems, databases and components – most of them are open source, and they don’t always play nice together. Throw into the mix different builds, versions and legacy code and you’re in trouble. Developers often struggle to debug code they did not write, with scarce documentation to rely on, if any. When they turn to Stack Overflow and similar websites for help, the static, often outdated information, does not cover all possible combinations, and specific problems require specific solutions. It became clear to us, that where forums fail, sometimes, 5 minutes with an expert can save you days of work. But where do you find the right expert to talk to?

Open Source Developers are the Key

It then dawned on us that the best people to help solve highly specific problems are those with a very particular set of skills.

For obvious reasons, the developers who create, maintain and contribute code to the open source software you are using are better equipped than anyone on the planet to help with issues related to their code. And it’s not just their own code that they can provide assistance for. An open source developer who created a hugely popular Vue component is likely able to help you with other Vue related components as well. A developer who contributed to multiple Redis related repositories is probably highly familiar with Redis, and can help if you have a Redis problem no one else on your team can solve.

Open source is more than just code. It’s knowledge. It’s expertise. It’s years of experience. Needless to say, open source developers are hugely under compensated. We all use their code for free, but rarely think about the people behind the code and what a valuable asset their expertise can be. If we get their code for free – it’s time we start paying for their time.

Armed with this insight, we set out to create the latest release to xs:code. Not just an open source monetization platform for open source developers, but a place where developers who need help, can connect instantly and chat with expert open source developers (which we call “Aces”) who are willing to offer paid, online support for any coding issue.

Matching Aces

To ensure we provide the best matches between a problem and the Ace most suitable to solve it, we created a ranking algorithm that ranks developers based on their expertise in specific development topics. We rely on developers’ public open source contributions as guidelines to make the best possible match between developers looking for help, and the Aces best equipped to help them. We calculate this ranking using a variety of parameters, but give significant weight to the amount of code contributions an Ace has made to relevant open source repositories. This helps us assess their expertise in topics associated with those repositories.

It’s important to note that our ranking does not determine who is a better developer. Nobody knows that. We only try to project who might be a good fit to help with a specific topic, a combination of topics, or provide support for a specific open source repository. If an Ace had multiple pull-requests merged to multiple highly popular repositories with similar topics, it suggests proficiency in those topics, increasing their rank in those topics respectively. The algorithm dives deeper than just commits and repository stars, but essentially it provides other developers with enough information to decide if an Ace has the expertise and experience to help with a specific problem.

Aces to the Rescue

When you find an Ace on xs:code, just hit “Chat” and state your problem as specifically as you can. It’s up to the Ace to decide if they can help, and how much they’d like to charge for it. There are plenty of Aces to choose from, but choose wisely, and try not to waste anyone’s time with pointless questions, or if you’re not willing to pay for their time. Remember – everyone’s busy, and the fact that an Ace is on xs:code does not mean they owe you anything. Don’t get yourself banned for spamming or annoying others. Respect them – and they, in turn, will respect you.

While we are still in Beta and have a lot of polishing to do, we’d love to hear your feedback and thoughts at https://xscode.com.

You can also check out our leaderboards and find out if you’re ranked as an Ace here: https://xscode.com/leaderboards

Chen Ravid is co-founder and Head of Product at xscode.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/chendravid

Originally posted on xs:code.

xs:code Developer Spotlight: Matfish2

xs:code — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 07:43:03 +0000

We’re proud to have reached an exciting milestone more recently here at xs:code. More than 1000 developers decided to be part of the evolution of open source by monetizing their projects. We’d like to shine a spotlight on some of the innovative and creative developers that make up our community, as well as their projects, with our Developer Spotlight series.

Find out who our first developer is and what is their open source repository by checking out our blog.

Insights by xs:code Launches on Product Hunt!

xs:code — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 08:38:53 +0000

Open source plays a critical role in the development of new and amazing software. It is the standard today to integrate open source components into almost any software product. Unfortunately, not every repository out there will be the right fit for your project. There are only so many parameters to take into account when choosing an open source repository to use, it can sometimes be difficult to make an educated decision. The wrong repository can derail your R&D timeline if not caught early.

If you’ve been following us on social media, you might have seen our posts and tweets about our upcoming new product called Insights by xs:code. Well, the wait is over. We’re excited that we can officially announce its release on Product Hunt!

Insights is a free Chrome extension that helps you identify if an open source repository on Github is right for your project before you integrate it into your code. You can use the extension to aggregate and analyze data from multiple data sources into an easy-to-use and accessible dashboard.

With our new extension, you can:

Find out the health status of a repository, to see how actively maintained it is.
Access Snyk‘s industry leading security solution to get a detailed vulnerability report.
Check what you can and cannot do with the current repository license, and get access to more licensing options directly from the owner.
See what other developers are asking about this repository on StackOverflow.
You can even order pizza from the closest pizza place to you because pizza makes you code better.

For more information about Insights by xs:code, head on over to https://xscode.com/insights/ or download the extension directly through the Chrome Web Store.

Cross posted from xs:code's blog.

Coming soon - Insights by xs:code

xs:code — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 10:02:53 +0000

We are very excited to announce a new upcoming product.

Insights by xs:code gives developers intuitive analytics of open source repositories. It analyzes data from multiple sources to help you decide if a repository is a good fit for your project.

Stay tuned for it on Product Hunt:
https://www.producthunt.com/upcoming/xs-code-insights

THE GUARANTEED FUNDING PROGRAM FOR EXCEPTIONAL OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS

xs:code — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 17:05:20 +0000

“The noblest search is the search for excellence.”
Lyndon B. Johnson

The Guaranteed Funding Program – Now Accepting New Applicants

At xs:code, we’ve made it our mission to connect open source developers with the software companies that use their projects. With more and more companies using xs:code to find paid solutions, support and licensing for the open source components they use – we aim to help as many open source developers discover the potential of offering paid products and services on top of their free code, and turn their open source projects into steady sources of revenue.

We’ve had such success with helping open source developers monetize their projects, that we are now accepting applicants for our Guaranteed Funding Program (GFP), granting developers with exceptional projects up to $5,000 in funding. GFP members are eligible to guaranteed revenue when they monetize their projects with xs:code. This means that if your project does not reach its minimum revenue goal, we will pay you the difference.

How does it work?

When you’re accepted to the program, our team will set a minimum revenue goal for your project, based on several factors, including popularity, traction and your planned road-map for its continued development. We will then assist you with choosing the best monetization model for your project, help with setting up your paid items, consult on pricing and actively promote your project in various channels. It’s in our best interest that your project makes as much money as possible – and if it doesn’t – we will pay you the minimum revenue goal every month. Depending on your project and its estimated revenue potential, you can receive up to $5,000 annually.

Do I have to commit to something?

You have no commitment, other than allow us to help you with setting up your project’s monetization. We do require you do keep using the monetization model we choose together to be eligible for payment. You can leave the program at any time and do not need to return any funds paid to you.

Who should apply?

If you have an actively developed, original (not forked) open source project with more than 1K stars and you are planning to continue developing and improving it in the future. We prefer MIT licensed projects, but other licenses may work as well. We accept all projects from all programming languages and frameworks, but generally prefer open source components to stand alone projects. Currently we only accept projects hosted on GitHub to the GFP.

How to apply to the GFP

Send an email to hello@xscode.com, with GFP in the subject. Tell us a bit about you and your project (one paragraph is enough), and add a link to your GitHub repository. If we find your project suitable, we will contact you, usually within 72 hours. If you are accepted, you can enter the program immediately.

What now?

New to xs:code? Click here to learn more.

Questions? email us at hello@xscode.com

Terms and Conditions

Using xs:code is subject to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on the website.

GFP grants are considered a part of a project’s gross revenue and subject to our standard commission at payout.

Applicants are required to accept an addendum to the terms of service, provided upon acceptance to the program.

Cross-posted from our blog: https://blog.xscode.com/833/the-guaranteed-funding-program-for-exceptional-open-source-projects/