why?
Does this mean that payments for downloads are ending?
The platform will no longer make any payments after March 2026. As a creator, you have the option of including links (e.g. in the product description) to let sponsor your work.
FINNALY!
A very good decision! This way, the platform are on the path to get original, AI-free content.
A nice Christmas to you all…
BTW: Should the decision be implemented, I will return with full commitment.
I want to note that regardless of everyone’s own point of view, the question for the reason has still not been addressed by the staff.
Thank you for your interest in understanding this decision. We’ve carefully evaluated multiple factors and decided to discontinue this service. While we won’t be sharing detailed reasoning publicly, this decision supports the platform’s long-term direction.
We appreciate your understanding.
thank you for your answer.
regarding the long-term direction the platform is heading: are you also considering other measures to reduce ‘matthew effects’ happening on parts of the platform, f.e. regarding the ‘most downloaded’ counts kde is using (going back years, also see ‘preferential attachment’)?
You’re absolutely right that the current ranking system can create a “rich get richer” dynamic that makes it difficult for newer quality content to gain visibility.
We’re aware of this issue and discussing various options to improve content discovery, such as time-weighted rankings or trending sections or ageing of download counts (older downloads count less). We don’t have concrete plans to announce yet, but it’s definitely on our radar for the platform’s long-term development.
Sorry you came to that conclusion. That said, during the years the service has been active it’s helped me a lot. Even though I was already posting content before, the donations were definitely a motivation to do it more often. I understand the reasons — I just want you to know that even if it comes to an end, I’m incredibly grateful for the support those donations meant to me, and I believe the rest of the creators appreciate it too.
I completely agree with ‘verismei’. If possible, the OpenDesktop Team should also consider extending the edit/update window for products to appear on the main page from one week to a month, or even removing this feature altogether. This would provide new projects/products with greater visibility, rather than repeatedly featuring the same old ones with only minor updates.
Additionally, why not introduce a category specifically for AI-generated products? - This would give original creators a more effective platform to showcase their work and increase visibility.
Thank you for your understanding and for sharing this. We’re glad the program was able to support your work over the years – that’s exactly what it was meant to do.
We appreciate your contributions to the platform and the community.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re currently evaluating various approaches to improve content discovery and visibility for quality contributions, including the points raised by verismei.
Regarding the update window: we’ll take this into consideration as part of our broader review of ranking and visibility mechanisms.
On AI-generated content: this is an interesting suggestion. We’d need to carefully consider how to define and enforce such categorization, but it’s worth exploring as part of our long-term platform development.
Thank you, “dschinn-de” for your attention, and I truly appreciate your response. I notice that this platform is evolving, and I would like to congratulate you on that.
I wish the OpenDesktop team, as well as the entire community, a wonderful and amazing New Year.