When vBulletin becomes fully commercialized

[GamerzWorld]

So let me get this right, commercial hacks will be asked to pay for advertising space further increasing there price? This is supposidley the ultimate vbulletin source, I would expect to be able to find both paid and unpaid hack links..

[Eikinskjaldi]

Generally yes that would make sense, but I also see the stand point that if you have to pay to get the link then you will not pay the price for every random useless hack, but ones rather that are really worth the price you have to pay to sell it to others, sort of like a quality control. So personally id rather see it as a pay to display type area.

[Freesteyelz]

Originally Posted by amykhar

And, if somebody were to offer me a free one, I certainly wouldn't expect them to help me install it, use it, or repair it if it broke.

Interesting freezer analogy.

Not everyone will make that assumption with hacks. In fact, I'll go one step further and suggest that most users expect support to be given by the authors. People will have questions regardless of what the author states and it shouldn't stop other people from helping if they can.

Now there is a (supported) checkbox for authors to click but it simply does not grab the attention of the users. Would it be practical for hacks to be separated into 2 categories: Supported and Non-Supported? A second suggestion is an agreement that must be clicked by the users before they have access to non-supported hacks. These are just two examples.

[0ptima]

Originally Posted by LiveWire

I would rather pay for something like this. Otherwise it would just be a spam forum. You need to be able to have some control over what is listed and what isn't.

This is a good idea....

[Mr Chad]

Originally Posted by JohnBee

When vBulletin becomes fully commercialized

It will mark the end of a great product.

While I realize that I am just a drop in a bucket, I have complete confidence that commercializing modifications on vb.org will mark the beginning of the end for a great product.

Although vBulletin is currently a leader in bulletin board technology, there are others not so far behind. The biggest appeal which prompted me to purchase and pay for vBulletin was entirely wrapped around this community and the open source style modifications it offered.

Although some people seem to think that mods will still come in free flavors afterwards, believe me that selling them will be the ultimate goal for every coder. The results will be the junk mods would be available and the useful ones will all fall under the eminent fee structure.

When this happens users will drop vBulletin in favor of alternate software?s who still support open source modification communities. It's a step backwards for vBulletin as a whole because it will stimulate focus on alternate products and we all know how easily things can change in this industry.

It's a shame to say the least that vb.org has taken this path.
This place was the reason I purchased a vBulletin license to begin with.

PS. I looked for another place to voice this but the topic was closed :surprised:

Before I was licensed, I was browsing VB.org. It looked like a great community, with a bunch of new mods every day. That is what made VB so attractive. If they make it all PAY then :/.

[FASherman]

Originally Posted by Eikinskjaldi

Generally yes that would make sense, but I also see the stand point that if you have to pay to get the link then you will not pay the price for every random useless hack, but ones rather that are really worth the price you have to pay to sell it to others, sort of like a quality control. So personally id rather see it as a pay to display type area.

I see no problem with that, so long as its a two-tier pricing model. Developers that release and support lite versions of their paid products here should get reduced advertising rates as a recognition of their continued support of the community.

Those that are strictly focused on developing and marketing paid products - and I have no problem with that - should pay a higher rate. We are nothing more than a target market to them.

[COBRAws]

Originally Posted by Paul M

No it isn't. 90% of my hacks were written specifically for Cable Forum. They are released here so other people can use them. They are not written to make money, nor is that my aim. I have no desire to subject myself to the hassles that come with selling vb mods/hacks/whatever.

Actually I hited the Post Reply too quickly. I've should said that most of "coders" would end up selling their hacks.

I know that a lot of them wont do it, but a lot more will like to make profit out of it.

sorry for my english

[Adrian Schneider]

Originally Posted by Ntfu2

Once there are paid hacks though, for them to be on vB.org i beleive they should have to support them 100% of the time for each and every user that requires it. This is also when it becomes more then a hobby.

Of course.

Originally Posted by Marco

I don't think we will ever host support forums or bug trackers. That is something the coder must provide if he wants to run a business.

Understandable, I am just looking at this from the user perspective. As an (ex) user, I would love to see full support and bug tracking (which IS now [poorly] done in threads). As a developer, I could care less where it is. The odds are I would have a site already... Again, the ultimate vBulletin resource should be the ultimate vBulletin resource. I will respect the decision either way though, and to be honest: I feel this site has been run well during the time I was here.

Originally Posted by Mr Chad

Before I was licensed, I was browsing VB.org. It looked like a great community, with a bunch of new mods every day. That is what made VB so attractive. If they make it all PAY then :/.

Small to medium-sized mods will almost all remain free, or else there is no point in someone buying it because someone can quickly remake a free version. Unfortunately, with larger mods, people can only give so much before they want something in return. Bastards.

This is a community; we should be sharing, not just taking. I may be a little bit of a hypocrite, having released only two minor modifications here, but I will always take the time to help others.


My advice to many of you who are slightly disappointed:
Learn. I did. Many others here did. I was once a noobie asking for help with even the simplest things, but after a little practice I was able to learn to do things myself. Nearly two years later I am coding in all my spare time and still loving it. If you have the time, go for it, and I bet you won't regret it. You may even end up helping others here, continuing the cycle.

To anyone who has helped me in the past: I thank you.

[theArchitect]

As I see it, "free" modifications are very important as many, if not most, communities don't exactly turn a profit and some don't make any money at all. So their Admins don't have piles of cash to throw into development.

Having said that, if a person is going to charge for their hack, then I feel it is only reasonable that they should kick back some of that money into the ongoing costs of running vBorg. If I sell something on EBay they get a cut, why should vBorg be any different?

[Battle_Ring]

its just like cubecart the shoppign cart system most of the good add ons are commercial now