ragtek addons

[steven s]

Now that 1.1 is here and i tested it, i finally have the features i need to switch to xenforo, but some of the addons i need and paid for, especially the usernotes one, from ragtek are nowhere to be found because he's MIA and his board is offline.
I don't know if ragtek will come back and keep update his addons, but would it be possible to have at least the free ones hosted somewhere? Anyone has them? I'm kinda desperate atm

Apology to the thread starter...
I'm replying here to stop the vivid imagination of some users and the fake rumors spreading.

Bob and I are selling due to our everyday works and family commitments taking most of our time.
We simply can't commit enough time to the site to be fair to our users.

Selling it is currently the correct thing to do in hope that the new owner will have more time to dedicate to the site and making new themes.

No other sinister reasons, nothing to do with other sites or developers closing down, just pure coincidence.

If anyone want to further discuss, you know were to find me. Please don't do it here as it's not right the place.

Thank you,
- Miko

Sounds like this thread is over.
Maybe someone should simply start, the risks of using 3rd party addons/mods?

 

[borbole]

I side with the staff on this one. Never run a forum that depends on other peoples mods always being supported, unless you have the skill to update them yourself if need be. It never ends well that story! Go take a look how many mods on vB.org have been sent to the graveyard area because the creators of them either went AWOL or just plain stopped supporting them.

Well, at vb.org things are entirely different from here. There the mod authors are forced to released their mods for free and all they get for their work is grief from the users there who keep downloading and downloading and the only time they post is to either complain for something or ask for new features to be added to the free mods in a way as if it is owed to them. It is more than normal then they do not want to spend more time on their mods. But that is something which is a little off topic and entirely out of place here. (I appologise to the staff if I got a little off topic)

Simple "my life priorities have changes; wife said no; got a new job; .... and I won't be coming back. Sorry." would be nice for those dependent on their once ongoing works instead of afk and awol.

The thing is that one is not obligated to state his/her reason/s why he/she is leaving the forum if they do not like to.

The bottom line is, installing third party mods and themes is always done at own risk. If their authors (of the custom stuff) will not support their work anymore for one reason or the other, those that use their mods/themes should not put the blame to the core software or anyone else for that matter. You can either a) uninstall that mod/theme that gets unsupported, or b) pay someone to keep it updated or c) (my favorite) take the time to learn how to code yourself and you will not be dependent on others. It will be good for your pockets too

 

[bogus]

The thing is that one is not obligated to state his/her reason/s why he/she is leaving the forum if they do not like to.

Not true at all.
If someone sells his Addons and grants access for a special time and disapears at this part of time should, at least, leave an info, which is also not enough to be honest.

Someone that just offers addons without taking money can do what he want. Also not the best way but the hard truth

 

[mrGTB]

Very true, different story entirely if your selling add-ons then vanish without a word. Totally unacceptable.

 

[iTuN3r]

Very true, different story entirely if your selling add-ons then vanish without a word. Totally unacceptable.

Specially if you are selling them under premium membership . Good thing i didn't jumped over for those add-on's .

 

[Sadik B]

I firmly believe that xf needs to seriously consider an itunes / paid app kind of model for addons. Times today are different than from last decade when people "wanted" to share their custom stuff at vb.org. This is the "app" generation and we don't mind buying an app for $2.99 for our iphones and Android devices. The model needs to be given serious consideration because in spite of making the best forum software, XF will not become the most used one simply because every site's "must-have" feature list is different and it is impossible for core developers to develop everything for everybody. XF as an excellent Addon framework but that by itself is just not enough. There needs to be an interface for accountable communication between the Add-On developer and user, and it must benefit the Add-On author too monetarily. I may love to code and provide add-ons but that will not provide food on the table. If someone chooses to give an Add-On free, it's his choice. If someone wants to make paid addons, the system should facilitate it, and also hold the developer accountable. If a paid for Addon gets abandoned, there should be a fail-safe.

VBulletin is not vbulletin because it is the best system out there. VBulletin got to where it is because you can make it do absolutely anything due to the vast number of addons. Sure after a decade, XF may too have as many addons, but do you really want to wait a decade or instead do something about it.

 

[erich37]

stop whining! if one coder leaves, there is a better one waiting around the corner

this is business: survival of the fittest

 

[iTuN3r]

Well Shelly you can't really stop piracy at any cost . I remember 2years back i got a designer for my site to do custom skin and as he was done he put up that skin on his portfolio site . Before i launched new skin on my site the skin was all over the place lol someone ripped off gfx and css and made similar skin . I got my refund back .

Well don't want to guess what happened but i think he was on and off for a while with his add-on's which is not positive thing being a developer . Those who paid for their premium memberships they deserve explanation atleast .

 

[steven s]

This is the "app" generation and we don't mind buying an app for $2.99 for our iphones and Android devices.

What assurance is there that an 'app' or addon will be supported, even if there was a fee?

 

[Shelley]

Well Shelly you can't really stop piracy at no cost . I remember 2years back i got a designer for my site to do custom skin and as he was done he put up that skin on his portfolio site . Before i launched new skin on my site the skin was all over the place lol someone ripped off gfx and css and made similar skin . I got my refund back .

Well don't want to guess what happened but i think he was on and off for a while with his add-on's which is not positive thing being a developer . Those who paid for their premium memberships they deserve explanation atleast .

That is something unfortunately your not going to get an explanation and even then you have to take that with a pinch of salt. Firstly because x person won't give it. secondly part that houses x product won't allow it to be discussed therefore you have to make the best of what you have and try to work around in either using alternative add-ons or fix them or find someone that'll maintain them.

Your right, piracy is something that can't be stopped, even if it is at your door step but I'm sure if and when x author returns with their add-ons again people will think twice about being burnt and go with reputable developers.

 

[RobParker]

I firmly believe that xf needs to seriously consider an itunes / paid app kind of model for addons. Times today are different than from last decade when people "wanted" to share their custom stuff at vb.org. This is the "app" generation and we don't mind buying an app for $2.99 for our iphones and Android devices. The model needs to be given serious consideration because in spite of making the best forum software, XF will not become the most used one simply because every site's "must-have" feature list is different and it is impossible for core developers to develop everything for everybody. XF as an excellent Addon framework but that by itself is just not enough. There needs to be an interface for accountable communication between the Add-On developer and user, and it must benefit the Add-On author too monetarily. I may love to code and provide add-ons but that will not provide food on the table. If someone chooses to give an Add-On free, it's his choice. If someone wants to make paid addons, the system should facilitate it, and also hold the developer accountable. If a paid for Addon gets abandoned, there should be a fail-safe.

VBulletin is not vbulletin because it is the best system out there. VBulletin got to where it is because you can make it do absolutely anything due to the vast number of addons. Sure after a decade, XF may too have as many addons, but do you really want to wait a decade or instead do something about it.

Exactly what I was getting at earlier but expressed much better

 

[RobParker]

I'm sure if and when x author returns with their add-ons again people will think twice about being burnt and go with reputable developers.

Really? Take the guy who did the Post-it bookmark addon. He got all upset at some constructive criticism (ironically from ragtek) and pulled the addon, leaving a load of people stuck. He then re-released it as a paid addon which loads of people (including yourself I believe) have bought. There's no question that's it's a superbly done addon but with an author who has shown they'll remove their addons with no thought to the people using them then it's a big risk.

 

[Shelley]

Really? Take the guy who did the Post-it bookmark addon. He got all upset at some constructive criticism (ironically from ragtek) and pulled the addon, leaving a load of people stuck. He then re-released it as a paid addon which loads of people (including yourself I believe) have bought. There's no question that's it's a superbly done addon but with an author who has shown they'll remove their addons with no thought to the people using them then it's a big risk.

I would not put syndol in the same category just like I wouldn't with most developers whom have showed upmost professionalism.

 

[Syndol]

He got all upset at some constructive criticism (ironically from ragtek)...

You are speculating dear Sir.

... leaving a load of people stuck...

How are you stuck. If you have or had a problem with Post-it you could have contacted me at any time. But you did not.
If you can't live without a bookmarks add-on then simply use the old free one which still works, or cough up the huge sum of $20 for a newer version that has bells and whistles.
But for the life of me I do not see how you are stuck, so please stop this whining just because you want expect the new version for free.

 

[MilesDB]

The thing is that one is not obligated to state his/her reason/s why he/she is leaving the forum if they do not like to.

True, but as a matter of courtesy and respect to the community it could have been done ..........

 

[jonsidneyb]

The world can be a confusing place

 

[yavuz]

I wouldn't install Ragtek's add-ons if you gave me money for it. Why? Because most of them are barely stable, buggy... He had many good ideas but din't made much progress. Making 2 great addons are far better than making 10 half arsed ones. Ragtek's addons unfortunately fall into the other group.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

I don't think its a great loss to be perfectly honest. I had paid to have access to his mods many months ago as well, however; mods rarely completely worked, most were constantly in beta and never left beta, they had issues with other mods and the list went on and on.

It's not because Ragtek is necessarily a bad coder, but more IMHO, I believe Ragtek over-extended himself into making lots of mods, before ensuring prior mods worked flawlessly, without fault. I found it difficult to get default mods fixed so they even worked correctly, as advertised from Ragtek.

Hence months ago, I uninstalled all Ragtek mods and stopped using them on all my sites due to lack of ability to sell a product that worked correctly, let alone maintain them.

 

[jonsidneyb]

I was waiting on a Ragtek add-on

 

[bubbl3]

Miko is selling his business (His reasons are his own, and none of anyone elses business). A requirement of the sale is that the new owner support the products for the duration of a persons license, so they'll still be supported.

Well let's hope the new owner supports the products better than them, all their themes have editor problems with firefox 9 and they are doing nothing about it.


About ragtek: redistribution is not allowed, fine, rest the fact i paid for that product so i would like at least an explanation from ragtek and and the latest copy of what i paid for.