Good points, bad points

The existence of the Internet, coupled with various ways in which business can be conducted, has resulted in the following:

• Programming work can be performed remotely.


• A organization or an individual with a programming need can hire a programmer for short-term contract work.


• The Internet itself can be used to facilitate the links between freelance programmers and organizations.

For example, I use the Blogpatrol counter service - when it works. When it doesn't work, someone has to fix it. For example:

Hi,

I run a free counter service http://www.blogpatrol.com and for some reason the automated password reset feature is not working.

Users are able to request a password reset (http://www.blogpatrol.com/lostpass.php) and the system does reset their password and does send the new password via email...all that works, but when the user tries to use the password it is not valid, and further resets don't work either.

You can see for your self by setting up a test account and then trying the the 'lost password' feature.

Interestingly the signup process seems to work fine, ie. the password received in the first instance does work...it is only subsequent resets which fail.

I am looking for someone who is familiar with this particular script (I know it is quite common) and can fix this for me quickly.

I am happy to escrow payment via SL.

Any questions please hit the PMB before bidding.

Then icogroup, who entered this request, waited for the bids to come in:

znsolutions $9 0 days 2/15/2004 at 11:08 EST
(3 reviews)
I know the problem

danyprundus $10 0 days 2/15/2004 at 10:31 EST
(64 reviews)
I think i know what the problem is.I am sure that i'll be able to fix this small bug

groupx $10 1 day 2/15/2004 at 10:47 EST
(1 review)
Easy work will finish this within an hour. Thanks.

bong $15 0 days 2/15/2004 at 10:20 EST
(27 reviews)
Hello, Can be done easily... Thanks and Best Regards, Bong

vintcn $15 0 days 2/15/2004 at 10:29 EST
(43 reviews)
No problems to fix it right now!

icogroup decided to select bong to do the work. They engaged in some correspondence (not publicly viewable), and the work was completed.

icogroup liked bong's work:

10 icogroup
(78 reviews)
fix password reset feature 2/15/2004 at 10:09 EST Closed
Review: Great stuff...very pleased with the work. Fast and reliable.

And bong liked working for icogroup:

10 bong
(39 reviews)
fix password reset feature 2/15/2004 at 10:09 EST Closed
Review: Great webmaster, great communication, instant payment knows whats he wants, highly recommended.... Will surely work for him in future also.... Thanks Charles :) was a pleasure working for you..

This entire interaction was hosted by ScriptLance.com, a site in the business of "connecting businesses with programmers." Here are some details from the FAQs:

What is ScriptLance?

ScriptLance is a service that connects programmers with webmasters that need custom programming done for their websites. Much like an auction, programming projects are posted and interested programmers bid on them.

Why should [a programmer] use the service ScriptLance provides?

Because we find customers for you, which might be the hardest thing for you to do, especially if you are a busy person. We already advertise ScriptLance.com all over the Internet and attract many customers, all of which could potentially request your programming services. Even if you have many customers already, why not use ScriptLance as an alternative if you need more? You've got nothing to lose! Also, if you have ever had problems agreeing on how to receive a payment, you will benefit from ScriptLance. Webmasters can deposit money in several different ways (credit card, check, etc.) and you can withdraw money in many ways too, which means it's easier to get paid at ScriptLance!

Why should [a webmaster] use ScriptLance for my programming projects?

Because we will find you the best programmers at the price you want to pay. When you post a project on ScriptLance, Programmers essentially compete for your business. It would take you a long time to request an estimate from as many programmers just by browsing the Internet, and you still wouldn't have any real competition going on. Here, programmers bid on your project much like an auction. They can place a new bid if they see another programmer has placed a lower bid than there's, this will undoubtedly result in a low price for you. Plus, with no up front fees at ScriptLance, you've got nothing to lose! Also, if you have ever had conflicts when agreeing on how to pay a programmer, you won't on ScriptLance. You can deposit money in several different ways (credit card, check, etc.) and programmers can withdraw money in many ways too, which means you don't have to worry about payments!

Sounds neat, but there is a drawback which affects the ability of Fortune 100 companies, and even independent companies, to use this service - namely, anyone who looks at the requested work can find out a lot about the organization and about the application. Should competing counter providers be able to learn that Blogpatrol uses MySQL on Linux and requires PHP programming? Worse yet, should competing counter providers be able to learn that Blogpatrol has (had) a bug in its password reset feature? Yes, I know that organizations can post anonymously, but it's possible to figure these things out....