I used to be active on CodeMentor a few years ago, and the bad thing for these problem solving kind of requests is that they are usually prompt requests. Now working remotely, in theory, you can be available almost any time, the problem is, that after a while you just feel like not wanting to leave what you do. At least not on a short notice.
Agreed upon mentoring sessions that can be scheduled work a lot better from this regard.
Actually, when I joined codementor, I was working on a startup that offered psychology consulting in a similar way. (And one of the reasons me joinging codementor was to get first-hand experience of the dynamics of such a service.) Our psychologists didn't like either that they had to be around and that they had a lot of non-meaningful inquiries. (Similar to what you see on codementor.)
I think that can be addressed by setting the right expectations. A discussion with an expert doesn't have to end with "the answer" to be super helpful.
A lot of times people have just gone down the wrong path and need someone to get them going in the right direction or even just confirm that they're doing the right thing.
This requires a empathy from the provider and grit from the person seeking help. This kind of work is definitely not a "stackoverflow" kind of thing. It's also can't be about the money, because anyone with enough skill to help people out with dev problems is likely already well paid and doesn't really "need" to do it.
BTW, what happened to your service? Or, probably better to ask, how far did you get and why did it fail?
Yes I would like this
I have contributed to the SE for more than 6 years, beginning as a greenhorn and ending so far with more than 400 posts(most are answers). I find the value of SE is threefold: 1, it provides me a communication platform; 2, it provides me a place to take notes; 3, it keeps track of my improvements partly by a reputation system which I can monetize elsewhere. I only spend time writing answers there in my idle time.
edit: conversely I would be interested to know if such an option already exists
- Many entry level programmers at big companies (think Walmart Labs, Target, Goldman Sachs, etc) are too scared to ask managers/team for help. If you work for a large company, make sure new hires feel safe asking questions and seeking help or they will seek it elsewhere.
- The really hard questions they're willing to pay $240 an hour for have too much context for you to grasp. They want you to replace their ORM layer or tell them why their 600 line test case is not working.
- Getting customers is not too hard by poaching them from Stack Overflow, Reddit, CodeMentor.
- Developers make good money working full time and idly sitting at their desk part of that time. Here you only get paid for active time and the idle time in-between will kill your salary. Your motivation has to come from helping other people and watching them grow, not from $$$.