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[08--n7.r6-79.84]

Abstract question - would you work with guy who don't want to talk via Skype calls (he can chat with you), doesn't tell anything about him, but have GREAT SKILLS?

Will you do an exception for the silent man? Or for a talented but very shy autistic?

PS: Maybe I'm wrong with board, in this case, advise the right.

[Christian Knudsen]

Sure, just don't pay him everything up-front! In fact, payment on delivery only seems like a compromise he'll have to make if he wants to work like that.

[SterlingDee]

Depends on what the skills are in. If he's an amazing programmer, then probably. Will he still chat over email? But I don't think it would work beyond one or two projects.

[08--n7.r6-79.84]

Sure, just don't pay him everything up-front! In fact, payment on delivery only seems like a compromise he'll have to make if he wants to work like that.

Agreed =)

Depends on what the skills are in. If he's an amazing programmer, then probably. Will he still chat over email? But I don't think it would work beyond one or two projects.

Oh and if he's an amazing artist? You can chat as you prefer - skype, miranda, e-mail, PM on tigsource, but without a voice!

[SterlingDee]

well, I guess I value super amazing programmers more than artists.

Well, he's just nervous about his voice/being socially awkward (or poor english maybe?) ...I guess instant messaging is pretty close to voice chat.

[lolo]

I definitely wouldn't because of the way I work but if your tasks are well defined and you are organized, sure and like the others said, with post payment and a serious contract (ownership mainly).

[Moczan]

I think it's reasonable, English is not my native language and I also prefer the text chat over voice calls. There are also benefits of chat/e-mail i.e. everything you say is already recorded without having to take notes after each conversation.

[ANtY]

and you have time to think through everything you say

[Graham-]

I have a friend that I worked with for a while once. We were good friends, met at school. He didn't like the phone. We used to hang out all the time. We were comfortable together but he didn't like the phone.

That was tough. Communicating emotions is hard through text. Now I have the skill but then I didn't. I really would have preferred the phone. Ugh. But the chips fall where they do. We also were making product decisions collaboratively, so that was harder - very different from one person being in charge.

It is a bad idea not to chat (on skype etc), but, some people are nervous otherwise - I know I can be. So work your way up to it. Anything can be done in text, but voice helps a _ton_, even if you only do it sometimes and text the rest. You can't tell anything about his skill from his request alone. You have to see his work. Also, play to your own strengths. Text is a skill. You can learn it.

The skill is also a good one to have in general.

[clockwrk_routine]

I have trouble speaking, skype calls make me nervous, and if I'm in the middle of working, having someone on the line is like having a boss behind my back.  i pick my nose, scratch my butt.  we chat though.

[Christian Knudsen]

Not wanting to Skype and such wasn't the main issue for me. This part was:

Abstract question - would you work with guy who don't want to talk via Skype calls (he can chat with you), doesn't tell anything about him, but have GREAT SKILLS?

I assumed that meant he wants to remain anonymous? That's why I suggested only paying after delivery. But if you know who the guy is, then only wanting to chat isn't that big a deal and shouldn't really influence payment too much.

[Graham-]

Oh yeah, I misread that part. Pay after delivery. That should be obvious.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i wouldn't even mind working with a person who insists on communication only through morse code, but they would have to be *significantly* better than the alternatives

i mean, let's say you have two artists. both are equally good. one insists on communicating only through morse code, the other doesn't. i'd go with the one who doesn't. but if the one who wants to use morse code is a 10x better artist i'd go with that person and bear through learning morse code

[Graham-]

I've found that you learn a lot communicating through text. I've used a lot of tracking software for projects. I've worked on one major one in which I had to use it as the main form of communication. Learning to express your ideas in writing is healthy.

Think of the pitch thread on these forums. People try to condense their ideas into a sentence. That activity forces you to understand what is really important about your game, what is _really_ important. Communicating with others through email does the same thing, but you know with a partner.

[J-Snake]

I personally prefer to communicate over emails, that is what I suggest my artists and composers. My experience has been that when I chat many things will not be paid enough care since people have a tendency to lower their attention when quantities of talk are going on.

When you write an email you have more time to think out properly what you want to say. And the receiver will pay more attention reading it. And even then it goes on my nerves when at times my partners do ignore some specs I have explicitly explained.

As of now email is a more efficient way to communicate for me.

[FatBasic]

It would depend on his skills.
If I had to use unnecessary time explaining stuff over chatting, than I would have used if I could talk with him over Skype, I would reconsider if the time is worth it.

[hanako]

I cannot people. People are stressful. Writing emails is sufficiently difficult social interaction to be stressful a lot of the time. So certainly when I'm hiring folks, if they want to insist on skype communications that's a problem for me.

Many people offer and it's very nice of them to give me their contact info, I appreciate it. I'm still not going to use it, like, ever, unless they stop replying to emails and I need to hunt them down.

(I also dislike text chat programs because they seem to attract people who want to bug me constantly about stuff that does not need an instant response, or just because they want to chat. Don't message me if it's not urgent!)

... Yes, I'm ridiculously anti-social.

[TomHunt]

If we're doing the rev share thing, and it's like more than a small project that both of us are really vesting in, I might take skype-averseness as a red flag. I can see where you're coming from there.

Most of the time when I'm working with someone, I'm fine with just e-mail, but that's just me. The skype thing doesn't usually come up and we just swap files over e-mail or dropbox or whatever.

I'm also totally fine with Skype - if it's work-related. I've had people bug me about skypeing before just for idle chit chat - no projects, nothing - and I find that kind of annoying.

Professional stuff - I'd say it's a reasonable thing to do, but that's just me.

[wccrawford]

I've ignored a lot of chances for collaboration because they insisted on Skype voice chatting.  I'm a native English speaker and I speak quite well.  I'm not nervous on the phone.

So why do I refuse?  Because most people are horrible communicators and a phone call with them takes 10x as long as it should.  I understand that it's easier to explain something by voice than text, but they insist on adding a bunch of polite smalltalk and then it's hard to close the call, and ugh.  Forget it.  If they can't explain in text, where I can read it at my own pace, on my own time, I won't bother.

In a business setting, I'd be charging them by the hour for that call, so they can waste all their money that they want.  At least I got something for my trouble.  But in collaborations, there's no such reward for me.

[ANtY]

Lately I was hiring an artist for a small job and every time I wrote to him anything on Skype he was instantly calling me, it was really awkward especially because half of the time he was talking with his girlfriend, he couldn't simply reply to most basic questions.