less and less free addon?

[Kintaro]

is it just me or new free addons release rate is dropping?
(Waindigo => ThemeHouse excluded)

I don't see this as a very negative thing... but is it happening?

 

[iTuN3r]

Isn't it better that way so we can atleast get some support on paid addon's .

 

[Kintaro]

Well... in some cases paid addon got unsupported too. ;-)

 

[Daniel Hood]

Well... in some cases paid addon got unsupported too. ;-)

People should make a habit of making this known via reviews.

 

[sbj]

I think in general addon release rates are dropping, not only for free.
It seems everyone is waiting for the 2.0 because then most of the things will need a rewrite anyway.
Only AndyB and Xon deliver excellent free add-ons these days. That is also very alarming and I agree with you @TO.

 

[Ernest L. Defoe]

It seems everyone is waiting for the 2.0 because then most of the things will need a rewrite anyway.

I'm pretty sure you answered it right there. With 2.0 so close in sure that's why there are less and less addon releases cause why make an addon that will need a rewrite or may get included in core.

 

[FredC]

Not much money to be made if you give all your stuff away for free. I suppose it makes sense that as the coders become more confident in their own code they would begin to charge for their work with increased frequency.

 

[Kintaro]

No problem with that!

Well 2.0 is not so close!

 

[vbresults]

Nothing to do 2.0, developers are in the know.

 

[Daniel Hood]

Nothing to do 2.0, developers are in the know.

I consider myself a developer and I am not "in the know". I have no additional information than everyone else that has read those few long posts.

 

[FredC]

Nothing to do 2.0, developers are in the know.

Ive been here from almost day one and that would be a first..

 

[Bionic Rooster]

As of this post there are 138 pages of FREE resources and 35 pages of PAID resources. just saying

 

[Kintaro]

As of this post there are 138 pages of FREE resources and 35 pages of PAID resources. just saying

I was talking about the dropping of the release rate (and update rate). Not about the total number of addons.

 

[jauburn]

Isn't it better that way so we can atleast get some support on paid addon's .

Paying for an add-on by no means guarantees support or ongoing development. I've learned that the hard way.

 

[Dad.]

Paying for an add-on by no means guarantees support or ongoing development. I've learned that the hard way.

Well think of it this way. If I sell you a shirt, but a better fabric comes out, should I be expected to update your shirt for you? Software from large companies sends out (sometimes necessary) updates from time to time. But that concept should not be applied to everything 'digital'. There is a lot of work that goes into products, regardless of whether they get updates or not.

I know you aren't necessarily saying you are upset, Im sorry to hear a developer did not give you updates. But I just feel like a product should be stand alone. You are not paying for updates, you're paying for use of the product. Updates are nice, but shouldn't be seen as mandatory.

 

[jauburn]

I know you aren't necessarily saying you are upset, Im sorry to hear a developer did not give you updates. But I just feel like a product should be stand alone. You are not paying for updates, you're paying for use of the product. Updates are nice, but shouldn't be seen as mandatory.

I'm not or was not upset. I was just stating an observation from experience.

However, updates are more than just "nice." They're often vital when, for example, xenforo requires a change or when one experiences a bug that prevents one from using the add-on the way it was advertised.

Before I lay out money for an add-on, I study the comments and history closely to try to determine how responsive the developer has been to customer needs.

 

[Paul B]

It's fewer and fewer, not less and less.

Even then it's still incorrect compared to this time last year.

 

[wang]

I'm not or was not upset. I was just stating an observation from experience.

However, updates are more than just "nice." They're often vital when, for example, xenforo requires a change or when one experiences a bug that prevents one from using the add-on the way it was advertised.

Before I lay out money for an add-on, I study the comments and history closely to try to determine how responsive the developer has been to customer needs.

I agree with this. Updates are vital to add ons especially in 3 cases. The first and the most important, when a security issue is discovered in the add on. The second case is when a bug is discovered that renders the add on useless. And as last, when xenforo has reelased a version, which will require changes in the code of the add for it to work with the new version.

 

[Martok]

However, updates are more than just "nice." They're often vital when, for example, xenforo requires a change or when one experiences a bug that prevents one from using the add-on the way it was advertised

I agree with this. Updates are vital to add ons especially in 3 cases. The first and the most important, when a security issue is discovered in the add on. The second case is when a bug is discovered that renders the add on useless. And as last, when xenforo has reelased a version, which will require changes in the code of the add for it to work with the new version.

It's fair enough to expect updates in these cases for paid add-ons. However, some people expect continued development of the add-on at the one-off cost that they pay, and would expect the add-on to be rewritten for XenForo 2.0 at no additional cost. I think this is unreasonable. When an add-on is purchased, you should expect nothing more than you get at that time (unless the author has stated otherwise). You should not expect additional functionality to be added year on year all for a one-off charge. You don't see Microsoft or other software developers continually enhancing their products for a one-time cost.

For ongoing development of add-ons we should be expecting to pay an ongoing cost ie an annual renewal, just as we have from XenForo itself and from many other software developers. If add-on authors can't make some money for their time out of their work, or in some cases make a living from it, then there's no incentive for them to carry on maintaining and developing their add-ons. The sooner we as consumers and they as developers grasp this the better.

 

[wang]

It's fair enough to expect updates in these cases for paid add-ons. However, some people expect continued development of the add-on at the one-off cost that they pay, and would expect the add-on to be rewritten for XenForo 2.0 at no additional cost. I think this is unreasonable. When an add-on is purchased, you should expect nothing more than you get at that time (unless the author has stated otherwise). You should not expect additional functionality to be added year on year all for a one-off charge. You don't see Microsoft or other software developers continually enhancing their products for a one-time cost.

For ongoing development of add-ons we should be expecting to pay an ongoing cost ie an annual renewal, just as we have from XenForo itself and from many other software developers. If add-on authors can't make some money for their time out of their work, or in some cases make a living from it, then there's no incentive for them to carry on maintaining and developing their add-ons. The sooner we as consumers and they as developers grasp this the better.

I agree with you in regard to the continued development of the add on, the expectation, the new functionalities and the re-written part. What I was talking about in my previous post, was about the updates of add ons in general. And the way I see it, it is essential for an add on developer to keep his work updated, especially in the first 2 scenarios that I mentioned above.