[split] The SUPER EPIC!! debate about paid MyBB modifications!

[Firefox Wins]

(05-13-2010 10:51 AM)Harry Wrote:  ... So yeah they need to go.

Hi Harry,
Zinga (please don't leave forever ZB) correctly pointed out that money will bring more competition. In the long run, competition will increase the quality of both paid and free plugins.

• Harry, are you aware Open Source products and plugins do not have to be free?
• SQLyog is one of many quality products with a free and paid version. Their great product might not exist without the paid version.
  

  Can you, please, explain in one easy to read paragraph why you have such a determined crusade against paid plugins? Also, is there any chance you will stop causing so much trouble, and excess drama, for people who don't mind paying for other people's time and effort?

[Harry]

(05-25-2010 04:05 PM)Firefox Wins Wrote:  

(05-13-2010 10:51 AM)Harry Wrote:  ... So yeah they need to go.

Hi Harry,
Zinga (please don't leave forever ZB) correctly pointed out that money will bring more competition. In the long run, competition will increase the quality of both paid and free plugins.

• Harry, are you aware Open Source products and plugins do not have to be free?
• SQLyog is one of many quality products with a free and paid version. Their great product might not exist without the paid version.
  

  Can you, please, explain in one easy to read paragraph why you have such a determined crusade against paid plugins? Also, is there any chance you will stop causing so much trouble, and excess drama, for people who don't mind paying for other people's time and effort?

Sorry but this is a bit longer but for good reason. Thus read it all and carefully i might add.

Read my earlier post.. For starters..

Quote:BTW.. As mentioned on TAZ they did not totally ban paid plugins. They are just not allowed to be posted in the plugin or theme release sections anymore. Thus people are still free to continue charging for them which i have no issues with. Just because i think many of them being charged for are crap and are should be free does not mean that i think all should be banned. Just so we have that cleared up. Heck if the work is good and i have a use for it i will buy it as i have IPB etc

So again people can charge for whatever they like. Just as said i strongly believe they have been the source of problems on the mybb community forums and why i felt they should not be there. MYBB as well touched on the license thing too and they are correct. So for me it is not a issue anymore. All is good.

I may *think* some are not worth it and or be free or crappy but that doesn't mean i think people should be forbidden from charging. Sorry but some of the stuff i have seen on those pay site are just that CRAP and should have never been posted on a paid site and rather been released for free. Not like they took much time either or free alternatives via another forum solution etc.

Some of the paid guys forget too that when the dumbest thing is made payware and there is options for free people WILL go to that free method even if that means switching forum software. As well have those who will just avoid the software with the paid stuff. Also forget that MYBB is FREE and that it attracts like minded users who will ofcourse be looking for free mods/plugins themes etc. Yet how many times have we seen someone get totally blasted ( called cheapskates etc )for wanting a free version of some bs paid plugin? Really most of the paid authors have done nothing but make themselves a huge target for crap and again have alienated a good number of people and this is not just at MYBB either. Seems to be happening at vB/IPB etc as well. I don't know what happens at vB as i don't use it but am hearing about this at a few places now. IPB is a bit different and not just about the charging but as well people encoding this stuff. Plus some other crap happened. IPB released a new product that a well known mod author at IPB was charging for. Can read about it at TAZ-Adminzone or another new place called adminextra.

The paid guys need to rethink their methods on how to attract users. Focus on those who will use such stuff. To attract new users don't insult people but instead show potential buyers your abilities via some free stuff. Some i KNOW have put out some damn good stuff and it would suck to see them go under. This is why too i have taken issue with the craptastic stuff being charged for as it makes all look bad as well as the attacks. I have seen this invade the themes as well recently with people expecting to get paid for stuff they have no business charging for. Again the same applies. Makes all look bad. That's not fair to those who do put the time and effort into their stuff.

[Firefox Wins]

# ...are you aware Open Source products and plugins do not have to be free?
# SQLyog is one of many quality products with a free and paid version. Their great product might not exist without the paid version.

• In addition to a "free and paid version", another legit model (in some cases) is to have a dual license where the end user has the option of paying for a commercial license, so they can package the code with proprietary packages.
  

Yumi, What Happened? (Please don't go)
On a lighter note & somewhat off topic:
Newsflash folks: "The Internet does NOT want to be FREE... It wants to GET PAID on F@cking Friday, just like everybody else on the damn planet."

Note: This "semi-famous" blog post was written by a former Paypal developer, it contains some rather strong language and is also pretty funny.
...+ why Facebook, Google, & Apple will own your wallet by 2015.

[ZiNgA BuRgA]

Not really.  Well at least, I bet labrocca, the person that started all this mess, actually doesn't really have any intention of earning much from people buying his plugins.  Logically, one would conclude that advertising revenue is a superior income source in his position.

There's a number of reasons to charge, including (but not limited to):
- marketing - well known that people will think something paid has greater value than something available for free
- fanboyism and collectivism - when these people pay, they feel that they're a part of this exclusive group and that they have advantages over others who don't
- reduces criticism - all the developer people won't waste their money for something worth so little, so this prevents them criticising bad code; you're left mostly with people who don't know much about the code that's actually doing all the magic and thus won't complain
- similarly, reduces the number of stupid whiney kids asking stupid whiney questions
- community support - just donate a token portion amount back to the community, and get treated like a hero; as it's something you're relying your websites on, you generally get treated specially in these circumstances

[MattF]

Such a sharp thrust written in so subtle a manner. I haven't seen the like for a long while. That's pure class. IMHO, whilst ever those who allowed the situation to arise in the first place still control, things will ne'er change. It's akin to a change of Government. You know the new chaps will put a different spin on it, call it a different name and make it look as if everything has changed, but it's always boils down to the same old at the end of the day.

[ZiNgA BuRgA]

Haha, thanks

[walkman]

After reading carefully all the posts here I agree with Harry that the mod section at the official mybb forum should be free of all paid plugins. However, I understand the paid plugin makers as well being one myself. I have created several mods at phpbb but now I am looking for a new challenge.

Harry, let me ask you something, have you ever created a plugin? From your posts I don''t think so. Because if you did then you should know that it takes time and effort to do that and if someone comes and downloads it without a thank you then you would have had enough of it. But as said above, they shouldn''t be allowed to be posted at mybb.com

[Harry]

(06-01-2010 04:15 AM)walkman Wrote:  After reading carefully all the posts here I agree with Harry that the mod section at the official mybb forum should be free of all paid plugins. However, I understand the paid plugin makers as well being one myself. I have created several mods at phpbb but now I am looking for a new challenge.

Harry, let me ask you something, have you ever created a plugin? From your posts I don''t think so. Because if you did then you should know that it takes time and effort to do that and if someone comes and downloads it without a thank you then you would have had enough of it. But as said above, they shouldn''t be allowed to be posted at mybb.com

If they make use of my work i will be delighted. I don't need $$$ as a form of a thank you. Yes a simple thank you is very nice as well. My joy comes from HELPING others and not taking advantage of them because i know how to code and they don't. That is how i see it. MYBB has had a ton of work put in to it and thus a ton of time and yet they do it all for free. Sorry but bringing in a commercial environment has killed it. It should have never happened or MYBB should have gone paid back when. Look at the thread starter here and thus read his posts. Many more who have gotten tired of it over there because of the paid authors attitude. The attitude stems from competition thanks to the commercial environment prevalent there.

Oh well don't worry.. Ole labrocca has donated enough to insure that mybb will change the license enough to make him and the rest happy. Can already see the writing on the wall with that.. So it will be business as usual except they wont be able to use the release forum which yes is a help. Will to bet that once business starts being affected they will start crying again till it goes back to the way it is now.

[Pirata Nervo]

(06-02-2010 05:47 AM)Harry Wrote:  

(06-01-2010 04:15 AM)walkman Wrote:  After reading carefully all the posts here I agree with Harry that the mod section at the official mybb forum should be free of all paid plugins. However, I understand the paid plugin makers as well being one myself. I have created several mods at phpbb but now I am looking for a new challenge.

Harry, let me ask you something, have you ever created a plugin? From your posts I don''t think so. Because if you did then you should know that it takes time and effort to do that and if someone comes and downloads it without a thank you then you would have had enough of it. But as said above, they shouldn''t be allowed to be posted at mybb.com

If they make use of my work i will be delighted. I don't need $$$ as a form of a thank you. Yes a simple thank you is very nice as well. My joy comes from HELPING others and not taking advantage of them because i know how to code and they don't. That is how i see it. MYBB has had a ton of work put in to it and thus a ton of time and yet they do it all for free. Sorry but bringing in a commercial environment has killed it. It should have never happened or MYBB should have gone paid back when. Look at the thread starter here and thus read his posts. Many more who have gotten tired of it over there because of the paid authors attitude. The attitude stems from competition thanks to the commercial environment prevalent there.

Oh well don't worry.. Ole labrocca has donated enough to insure that mybb will change the license enough to make him and the rest happy. Can already see the writing on the wall with that.. So it will be business as usual except they wont be able to use the release forum which yes is a help. Will to bet that once business starts being affected they will start crying again till it goes back to the way it is now.

You say that because you actually have never developed any piece of software. Sometimes a thank you and lots of stupid support questions is does not compensate the time we spend developing certain plugins.

[Harry]

(06-02-2010 08:43 AM)Pirata Nervo Wrote:  

(06-02-2010 05:47 AM)Harry Wrote:  

(06-01-2010 04:15 AM)walkman Wrote:  After reading carefully all the posts here I agree with Harry that the mod section at the official mybb forum should be free of all paid plugins. However, I understand the paid plugin makers as well being one myself. I have created several mods at phpbb but now I am looking for a new challenge.

Harry, let me ask you something, have you ever created a plugin? From your posts I don''t think so. Because if you did then you should know that it takes time and effort to do that and if someone comes and downloads it without a thank you then you would have had enough of it. But as said above, they shouldn''t be allowed to be posted at mybb.com

If they make use of my work i will be delighted. I don't need $$$ as a form of a thank you. Yes a simple thank you is very nice as well. My joy comes from HELPING others and not taking advantage of them because i know how to code and they don't. That is how i see it. MYBB has had a ton of work put in to it and thus a ton of time and yet they do it all for free. Sorry but bringing in a commercial environment has killed it. It should have never happened or MYBB should have gone paid back when. Look at the thread starter here and thus read his posts. Many more who have gotten tired of it over there because of the paid authors attitude. The attitude stems from competition thanks to the commercial environment prevalent there.

Oh well don't worry.. Ole labrocca has donated enough to insure that mybb will change the license enough to make him and the rest happy. Can already see the writing on the wall with that.. So it will be business as usual except they wont be able to use the release forum which yes is a help. Will to bet that once business starts being affected they will start crying again till it goes back to the way it is now.

You say that because you actually have never developed any piece of software. Sometimes a thank you and lots of stupid support questions is does not compensate the time we spend developing certain plugins.

Why doesn't MYBB feel that way? Why doesn't zinga feel that way? Why do the coders at phpbb not feel that way? And please don't tell me what i haven't done. Hell why did i pay out of pocket for 4 years just so a number of people could have a place they can call home? You know very little about me to even suggest such. Maybe if you hate those stupid support questions as you say that much you should find something else to do with your time?  

Again you all wanna make money off the GPL go for it. I have no issues and i'll even help as said. That is a promise and you can quote me on that. But to try and close off the license for plugins just to continue business as is? NO. Seeing what has happened and well looks to continue to happen ( labroccas donating equal him getting whatever he wants which was MADE POSSIBLE by his closed license on his pay for plugins ) there is no way i could ever support business as is. This is why the GPL is there in the first place. YES it allows for all to make money off of it ( even encourages it ) BUT it keeps commercial interest from having TOO MUCH influence and or taking over a project.

Alot of people have waited a long time for a great script with great support and developement to come along which we now have with MYBB and i'll be dammed if i am gonna sit idle and let a few turn it to crap for their self serving interest. And yeah that is exactly what is gonna happen the moment MYBB make adjustments to the license so you all can have your closed licenses for the plugins. MYBB will be seen as a total JOKE by many because a supposed opensource/GPL project caved in to those few who as well happen to have donated the most to the project.  Need not say how that looks.