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Topic: Notes from Marie

I Apologize & Quick Status Update

Hey,

First of all, I have to apologize for the silence and lack of upgrades to SJT. It's been a crazy time for me and what precious spare time I do have has been spent on non-SJT endeavors.

Second of all, I want to talk about the state of the service moving forward: As you know, SJT has always been a free service that you have used and enjoyed at your own risk. I do my best to keep things relatively bug free and stable but things happen. In this case, it was a server upgrade gone awry and I didn't get a chance until right now to get it fixed.

Soon, I'll get a bill for said hosting that I intend on paying to keep SJT open for another year. I mention this not for donations, but rather for transparency and to stress that you do as is advised all over the site and make proper backups of all data in addition to using a proper accounting package for work beyond the scope of SJT. Your expectation is that SJT will be around for another year, but things probably won't get better in terms of maintenance in the short to long term.

Finally, I thank the loyal folks who have thanked me and ask you to give them credit for keeping the application alive and kic--well, alive, at any rate.

Thanks for your patience and understanding,
r.

Comments

Thanks so much for such a useful product. I have yet to find one that fits my needs the way SideJobTrack does. I would love to donate towards your hosting fees and time spent on this project. Just let me know how.

# 1 wattsnet 12/19/2008

I have been using SJT for years now, and it's still my favorite product. I've evaluated other options, and none do what I need.

I would certainly pay a fee for this service, or help in other ways to keep it going.

Thank you for SJT!

# 2 funkatron 12/19/2008

I too have really enjoyed using this. As a guy who does design work as a true side-job, it's perfect for me. I don't need anything complicated, and SJT fits the bill really well.

I never realized this was a one-person operation (mea culpa for not looking more closely!), and I'd be happy to be counted among those who would help as I'm able.

# 3 mschutz 12/20/2008

I've also looked at other options, but this is still the best-designed app for web design projects in my opinion. I hope there's some way to keep it going!

# 4 ovidem 12/21/2008

Just wanted to add my thanks to the pile of others who have shared their appreciation for your product. I do wish you were able to continue to move forward with this project as it has been quite a nice one for me to use, but of course I do understand the nature of these things. That said, while I love the fact that SJT is free, I would also be more than happy to donate towards your hosting fees if it would help at all.
thanks

# 5 jfrench 12/22/2008

I am a sole proprietor who owns a clown entertainment company.Believe it or not, I have been using SJT for about 2 years and it is just perfect for what I do. Recently, I have tried several other online invoicing sites motioned in this article here: http://freelanceswitch.com/money/7-online-invoicing-apps-for-freelancers/ as well as some others that were brought up in the posts after the article. I probably tried 10 sites in total and all of them fall short in one way or another when compared to SJT. I wish so much that this site could continue and I certainly would be willing to pay a reasonable annual fee. Marie, is there not any way to contract out the maintenance of SJT to a friend or another up and coming ambitious programmer? It is just too good to let it go. I am confident that it would be a very successful site for a reasonable fee. Thank you for your efforts.

# 6 sparkyscircus 12/22/2008

I just want to chime in and agree with all here. I've tried other packages and this one still suits the best.

I do make back-ups (but will be more frequent) and I wouldn't mind paying a small charge ala 37Signals apps if I knew this would still be available.

All the best and thanks for everything so far.

# 7 dmwebsites 12/22/2008

I'm a full-time freelance interactive designer, as of this year, using SJT since 2004. After leaving the cubicle I went on the hunt for something more robust. I've been "Trying" the free versions of many of these online apps (same as jfrench above). I always come back to SJT. I'm finding, I need 2 online apps to accomplish what SJT does so simply. Needless to say I would be willing pay a fee for this service.

# 8 mrwaimanwong 12/24/2008

I have been a long time user, commenter in other parts of the forums and even wrote directly a few times to Marie, though tried to respect her privacy/time.

Marie knows my thoughts, but for everyone else. I agree with you. One thing that hasn't been brought up here is open-sourcing this app. I think Marie was quasi-against this in the past. But maybe that has changed.

Finally, I am going to start a new thread in the forums for active users. Let's move the discussion there, as I think it would really help.

# 9 dkaufman1 12/28/2008

SJT is a brilliant online app that has made the crappy part of freelancing bearable. I applaud your efforts and likewise would pay for this service.

Cheers and Happy New Year!
John Kappa

# 10 jkappa 12/29/2008

There is nice community of people, but many don't realize that Marie built us a communication area.

I have a link below that has a thread about alternate SJT options and welcome comments. Also scroll back in the community message area, there is a lot of valuable tips and tricks in using SJT.

http://www.sidejobtrack.com/community/thread.php?138

# 11 dkaufman1 12/30/2008

NOTICE: This post closed to comments

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