Displaying 1 To 7 Of 7 Comments Cashing In On WordPress Plugin Development Michael. The post contains real concerns and questions that most in the WP community have and currently still do express. Matt Mullenweg can put these concerns/questions to rest once and for all by simply posting direct answers. He instead chooses to refer to the GPL which fails to address specific concerns/questions. Most people still don’t understand that when the GPL refers to “free” it means free to distribute, not free as in price. That speaks volumes and trumps whatever “few notable members of the WordPress community” believe. Bringing the issue to the forefront is a good thing and that’s exactly why you and I both chose to write about it. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 20, 2009 @ 10:54 PM BTW, it’s too bad you didn’t read the entire article; much of what you said regarding the inaccuracies are addressed within it. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 19, 2009 @ 9:39 PM That’s the exact premise of the article; to address misconceptions. If something is not accurate in the article please point it out and help clarify it for others so they can learn from your insight. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 19, 2009 @ 9:36 PM Hey, http://tomuse.com/matt-mullenweg-automattic-wordpress-themes-plugins-developer » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 19, 2009 @ 8:25 PM @John Kolbert - My thoughts precisely John. $80 over 5 years. He’s missing the point. Furthermore, most people use 20 or less plugins on their site and don’t donate at all. If the cost was merely $1 per plugin he could have saved $60. I think we are wasting our time arguing with Mr. Glavic. Let’s just agree to disagree. Like I said, thankfully his position on this debate has almost no support whatsoever. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 17, 2009 @ 8:38 PM Well said Michael. Thankfully I believe that Miroslav Glavic’s stance on this is quite unusual. Almost everyone I’ve spoken with has been supportive of a low cost mandatory donation to help developers maintain and support their plugins. WordPress could do this very easily by redirecting each plugin page’s download link to the developer’s PayPal account. The developer could in turn redirect back to WordPress.org where the already logged in user could download the plugin and receive lifetime updates and support for $1. I don’t think that’s too much to ask and I’m betting at least 95% of people would agree. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 17, 2009 @ 8:27 PM Thanks Jeffro. I’m glad to see others are supportive of plugin developers and optimistic about finding a solution that gives back to them. WordPress has greatly benefited by the hard work and effort of plugin developers and I think it’s only fair that we consider an alternative model that compensates them. If Matt Mullenweg can allow premium themes to be advertised on WordPress (e.g. Brian Gardner’s Revolution2 themes) why can’t he do the same for premium plugins? If a premium plugins repository is out of the question, then perhaps a mandatory “donation” of $1/download is possible. Despite the low cost, this would do wonders for the developers and allow them to provide much better support for their plugins. Doing so would further drive innovation for WordPress and may even create some jobs in the process. That’s something that’s especially needed in these tough economic times. Regardless of the model used, it would greatly benefit WordPress to be supportive of the theme and plugin devs that made it what it is today. » Posted By Kevin Eklund On June 17, 2009 @ 1:28 PMComments Posted By Kevin Eklund
I posted a follow-up to the original article that goes a little more in-depth and discusses some potential options for developers and the WP community. It would be great to hear you insight on it.
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