labrocca Wrote:Quote:- I wont download Labrocca plugins anymore, as they will turn paid at any moment and unsupported here in mybb oficial board...
Weird since I am fully supporting my plugins and always have. However it's those FREE plugin authors I have seen come and go. Often others or I are left to give support for them. At mybb central I have always supported my plugins and members that use them. I go as far as logging in and fixing it myself on their server even if the problem isn't related to my plugin. Free is good. I love free. However realize that free doesn't equate to great support...it never has. I dare you to PM a staff member of Mybb and see what kind of response you get. 
Here are examples of mybb staff signatures:
Quote:Please do not PM me for help, I will always tell you to ask in the support forums.
Quote:Please do not PM me for support. Chances are I'll ignore you.
That's fine and an understandable position but realize it's not for everyone. Some really need quick response to their problems and being ignored or forced to post their issue publically may not be optimal for them.
Quote:Your plugins were amazing, I am very sad to see you go.
They ARE amazing (just a grammar correction) and I haven't gone anywhere. No need to say goodbye to me.
I actually feel good about those choosing not to pay. It really does make me realize that all the time I spent helping a LOT of people many were just ungrateful and unappreciative. I know that the mybb central subscribers will get A+ support from me. I would rather help 100 people in a year all paying $5 each than 500 people most of which just want my free services. Don't confuse me with mybb staff. I never agreed to offer my services here free even though I have and still do. I am not obligated to do stuff for others nor would I accept such duty. I have to remain open to income.
One real cool benefit of being a Mybb Central subscriber is that I am probably going to start taking requests for plugins. Previously I would just create plugins only I needed and then shared them. However if I get requests that others want as well I will be more inclined to create that for them. The same holds true to adding features to existing plugins.
I must say ..I get a strong impression that the people saying they won't pay...can't pay. Am I wrong? Being that I only currently accept paypal how would someone from a third-world country pay?
I really do appreciate this thread though. I think it's a very healthy discussion for us to have. I realize people don't agree with my decision but I do hope this doesn't alter their perception of me too much. I just want my choice to be at minimum respected. If I get that then anything is possible for the future.
Thanks.
Edit
*****The post above was EDITED AFTER my comments were made.******
Now see this is where i am calling BS. For you to say people dont appreciate because they DONT WANNA pay? Give me a friggin break. Has zero to do with that. Stop trying to lay some damn guilt trip on people.
I disagree with many of the replies in this topic, and I do not personally appreciate labrocca making all these plugins paid as there are many people who, despite willing to pay, are not able to pay as the developing countries fail to provide them with viable options. Paypal doesn't cover the whole world (think India and Pakistan) and even if does, not everyone in the world can or does have a credit card. In fact, in developing countries, only few do - especially when we're talking about age < 21.
I would like to suggest you to consider other options for those who aren't able to pay.
@OP and others: It's the developers choice to offer his/her code in any way deemed appropriate. Plus, $5 for a year is nothing which is what you're objecting at. It's only fair to put up a cost to it when all the users are generally
unappreciative. Paying $5 is a way to show your appreciation. We, the modders and plugin coders, get nothing out of coding for a forum software. The team at least gets credit somewhere and are treated as
heroes but the same isn't true for us. In addition, the users often take us for granted and expect us to provide all the free support - and we seldom receive gratitude in return.
To put it in perspective, let's consider this: I offer a SEO mod and more than half of the users decide not to link back to me. I don't complain but, ironically, these are the users who come up requiring support.
However, many users argue that we do it because we enjoy it which is true to some extent. But to keep doing it, we need to feel appreciated or we burn out or stop enjoying it after a while (yeah, I'm being blunt). Yes, we enjoy coding but why would we like to share it if there's no positive reaction from the community? There's a limit to the altruism and it's very rarely above a certain degree in today's world
HarryWx Wrote:Now see this is where i am calling BS. For you to say people dont appreciate because they DONT WANNA pay? Give me a friggin break. Has zero to do with that. Stop trying to lay some damn guilt trip on people.
Hey !? HarryWx... I don't agree with you.
labrocca Wrote:. I realize people don't agree with my decision but I do hope this doesn't alter their perception of me too much. I just want my choice to be at minimum respected.
It's not the same with:
HarryWx Wrote:For you to say people dont appreciate because they DONT WANNA pay?
But this... yes... it is interesting and it's good to know:
labrocca Wrote:Don't confuse me with mybb staff. I never agreed to offer my services here free even though I have and still do.
Labrocca was 3 years part of MyBB Staff.
My words...
Quote:It really does make me realize that all the time I spent helping a LOT of people many were just ungrateful and unappreciative. I know that the mybb central subscribers will get A+ support from me. I would rather help 100 people in a year all paying $5 each than 500 people most of which just want my free services.
SOME people DON'T appreciate free help. For you to deny it is BS. Example..yesterday the guy I helped with fixing a problem..he didn't even say thanks once I fixed the issue. The issue wasn't even related to my plugin. The guy just didn't chmod his settings.php and I had to spend 30 minutes inside his admincp before I figured that out. Did he say thanks? Nope..yeah in the back of his mind he might have been grateful..but not to me. He was just grateful his site was fixed not that I helped him. He just wanted help and nothing more. Many want to take but are unwilling to give ANYTHING. Heck there was people here bitching when I asked for 2 posts before downloads. TWO POSTS and that was too much!!! Certain people just don't appreciate others. It's not everyone. However...$5 seperates the cream from the junk. It buys me a latte at Starbucks. If you can't buy me a coffee one day a year you aren't my friend and don't deserve my help.
labrocca Wrote:If you can't buy me a coffee one day a year you aren't my friend and don't deserve my help.
I buy a coffee for you if I want (because you are our friend = by donate) but not when you ask me to do so.
Quote:Labrocca was 3 years part of MyBB Staff.
I have never been on staff...never. And I joined this site 2 1/2 years ago.
Asad as a fellow author seems to understand my position very well. I am SURE he gets a lot of questions and PMs about his SEO mod (which is GREAT btw).
Quote:Paypal doesn't cover the whole world (think India and Pakistan) and even if does, not everyone in the world can or does have a credit card. In fact, in developing countries, only few do - especially when we're talking about age < 21.
I do realize this but it's difficult to be fair. How can I say to someone well you're in a developed country so you can pay while those in India can get it free? Either way someone is screwed. What I MIGHT do is find other creative ways to offer free memberships to Mybb Central. Maybe a post count requirement at WebmasterForums.biz (been trying to get that site moving).
btw...I almost forgot I had a few plugins there including 2 of my favorites (Contact Form 2.0 and Easy Refer)
http://www.webmasterforums.biz/downloads...view&cid=1
So there....SOME of my plugins are still available and free.
labrocca Wrote:So there....SOME of my plugins are still available and free.
This is true... so... maybe it's a good ideea to make some plugins for free and others only with subscription.
That's always a possibility. I am very open to ideas and changes and satisfying as many people as I can. I just need something back...that's balance imho. If you knew the plans I have for new plugins you might understand more why I want compensation. I hope to make the largest mybb plugin to date when 1.4 is released. It's something widely sought after and would help generate income for admins.
labrocca Wrote:That's always a possibility. I am very open to ideas and changes and satisfying as many people as I can. I just need something back...that's balance imho. If you knew the plans I have for new plugins you might understand more why I want compensation. I hope to make the largest mybb plugin to date when 1.4 is released. It's something widely sought after and would help generate income for admins.
You know... I think you can satisfy more people if you will release a lite version (for all) and a pro version (for bucks) - for big plugins.
In this way, who want's to have all futures of plugins + support from you, must pay.