Scripting a long-winded procedure of the kind you find in tutorials is neither fun nor challenging.

Personally, I think scripting from tutorials is a great way to become familiar with GIMP scripting languages, while learning GIMP techniques at the same time. It's a very useful approach and many coders actually find it fun. Building off and improving the techniques found in tutorials can also be quite challenging.

What I find kinda boring are arithmetic based scripts, which draw a bunch of squiggly lines.

Ofnuts, I fully understand what you want to convey. We all should make the original tutorial first, step by step (most of us do that) but it is true that other members in Gimp-Chat enjoy making scripts and all of us enjoy them too.
All depends on what each one would like to do. If someone wants to learn more is sure to make the tutorial.
The main goal is

Personally, I think automation is cool!
Any kind of automation is cool, even if the work involves some boredom like cutting and pasting long 'ss names.
The end result is you have a product that is automated.
Also I find that scripting a tutorial makes you memorize the steps more, I still forget just not as much.
Instructing the computer DO STUFF is all fun to me.

I'm not talking about the result but about the fun you have while making it. A developer has three incentives:
1) user recognition (people use the stuff)
2) peer recognition (other developers appreciate the way you solved the problem)
3) fun and challenge (you are somewhat proud of the results, or gained some knowledge)

Once you have a few scripts under your belt, scripting an existing tutorial only falls in the first category.

The classification above also applies for someone who write tutorials (replace "developers" by "skilled users"), so someone who writes a nice tutorial about a new technique also gets the three rewards. But scripting it will only bring one (small) reward. Better spend the time on something that provides the three rewards...

You're absolutely correct.

I have a completely different perspective.

I am not motivated by the 3 bullet items ofnuts listed.

I code (and write scripts) to help me achieve a specific task and/or to avoid repetition. I value my time, so I don't like to waste it with repetitive tasks that can be automated. I can also be motivated by cash.

If others find code that I have shared to be useful, that's great. If not, that's fine too. I write scripts that will be useful to me and I do not require overt or tacit approval from others.

Fun and challenging are two very different things. Sometimes coding is fun and sometimes it's challenging There are times when it's both and times when it's neither. I do find, for the most part, it's usually fun, though. If I didn't enjoy coding, I would have chosen a different career path long ago.

I guess that's why you're the founder!

I suppose what I'm really trying to say is that I see coding as a creative art form, just like image creation, writing or composing music.

Do it because you enjoy the creative process, not for anyone's approval, unless of course, they are paying you and it's how you make a living.

I really don't think many of the script writers are writing them for merits, or to fall into categories, they are writing them for others besides themselves to enjoy and from what I have seen since I joined, they are very much appreciated and the numbers tell the tale of how many of these scripts are grabbed up as soon as they are released.
I for one really admire all the work that has gone into these and the talent it takes to do so.
Heads up for all script writers out there... THANK YOU

Hear, Hear!

I code scripts in this order:
1) Something I need to speed up workflow now
2) Something I could potentially use to speed up workflow
3) Something someone else has mentioned that is really simple (i.e is a small tweak to an existing script)
4) Something someone else has mentioned that falls under 1 or 2
5) Something that can realistically only be done by scripting because doing it by hand would be painfully tedious or error prone that falls into 1-3.
6) Something someone says can't be scripted (cause I like a challenge!)

So feel free to PM me if you are looking for something that falls into any of those categories

-Rob A>

Number 6 is a nice one! hehe

One thing you can be sure. All developers are very loved and admired.

I agree Carlos, we would be very lost without scripters. Like many I guess, I still remember doing things the hard ways and we tend to get a little lazy using scripts. So merits to tutorialists also.
Thanks everybody.