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

[ZiNgA BuRgA]

(05-12-2010 06:33 AM)Harry Wrote:  And sorry but the attitude of oh they put this time and effort into it does not wash with these plugins.

I'd have to disagree partially.  They do put in effort (example, why don't you release free code/themes?) and I can understand needs to be compensated, as, for example, I may rather spend my efforts/time on playing games or going out.

(05-12-2010 06:33 AM)Harry Wrote:  It is WHY MYBB has gotten like it has. Again where was this attitude a few years back? It was not there. Now everyone is trying to make a quick buck and nothing more. Has zero to do with the amount of work going into them. Most of them back then were happy with donations to their sites or perhaps even landing a job in this field via someone discovering their talent.Most however did it to help further the project.

There's a few factors at play here - one is initial motivation, and being "initial", they don't last.
When you start developing something, it can be exciting, but after a while, you can lose interest.  This happens to me a lot.

The problem is primarily lack of competition.  If every paid plugin had a free alternative, I don't see paid sites lasting too long (there will be those that do support it, but this won't be a major issue).
The fact that this isn't the case means that some people have a comparative advantage in the "bargaining process".  I think management could possibly try encouraging competition by attracting more 3rd party theme and plugin developers, but they seem to be more preoccupied with "obtaining professionalism" or "promoting the MyBB brand" to care much about 3rd party development.
Perhaps I have things wrong and they have some hidden agenda on this - there certainly is a number of possibilities, but I'm just saying this from my point of view.

(05-12-2010 09:29 AM)Harry Wrote:  Again the close ties to the owner etc of MYBB is not helping the situation. Friendships can blind people till the bitter end. I learned long ago that in business you have to keep your personal friendships with co-workers to a certain distance and cannot let them avoid the rules. If you do productivity etc goes down and everything becomes a mess because everyone decides hey they don't have to follow the rules and so why should i? Yes call me a prick as i have fired friends and i would do it again. Even though the software is free it is still a product on the market that is trying to attract a share of the market and thus is a business and needs to be treated as such.

Another thing is that I'm not sure whether they are aiming for a business like structure or a community structure.
From what I've seen, they're trying to be more business-like, which I ultimately don't find appealing.  I get plenty of business environment at work and I don't need any more of it outside work.
I personally believe in more laid-back, community driven environments for open source projects where the developers are working for free.  I'm not being paid to do anything, so I much prefer an environment which appeals to me, has less rules etc.
If you want "professionalism" or a business environment, I expect to get paid for that.