Re: Making donation$ to Debian
On Thu, 20 Jan 2005, Norman Davis wrote:
> I'm not sure I understand when you say its more complicated. Is it the
> number of clicks involved, or is it navigating through the web pages
> and information provided. Could you write a short outline of the user
> experience that you are hoping for.
I'm not the original poster, but I just walked through the procedure and
the OP has it dead right. For starters you need a big bloody button on
<http://www.debian.org/donations> (or, better yet, right off the sidebar on
<www.debian.org>) that takes you /directly/ to the "Network for Good" "I
want to contribute $XX.XX" page. I understand why you have all the details
and info in between, but from a marketing perspective the extra clicks are
death.
Second, I /hate/ having to set up a personal profile for every damn thing
on the net. I don't want a profile, I don't want to be marketed to (even
if I can check a box to "say no"), I just want money to show up in some
Debian-related account. If I want to send more money I will type my data
in again.
Third, (IMHO) stop advertising the details of how Network for Good deducts
3% for processing, and that they'd really like you donate more, and you can
get all the details for the latter here, and the details for the former
there, and if you want to learn more about the NfG donation process you can
read the FAQ here... By the time I have read all the 'fine print' I've
decided that it's more hassle than it's worth to donate $10 or $20. I
realize the information is all good stuff, and NfG is just being up-front
about how it covers its costs (which is a Good Thing). Deleting the
details seems like a step backward though so I'm not sure how to improve
this aspect of the "user experience." Can the relevant detail be made
more succinct and just mentioned in the sidebar (no extra click)?
Fourth, the "Help us help more nonprofits. Make a gift to Network for
Good" box that automatically adds an extra $5 to the donation unless you
explicitly uncheck a box is borderline, if not flat-out, sleazy.
> It's a real shame if SPI/debian/etc. is losing yours and others
> financial contributions due to some lack of foresight or insight.
> Maybe you could help improve the donation process. That would be a
> far-reaching non-financial contribution with powerful financial
> effects for the organization.
Those are my two-bits.
-- Brad
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