Comicpress Releasing Premium Pay For Version

[Rob]

Got it and perusing it now.

Thanks.  ;)

[jeffa]

Will they jump on the pay bandwagon and buy Comicpress 3.0 once it's out of Beta or will sites like Smackjeeves, Rampage, DrunkDuck and even alternative CMS's like the ones created by our own DrBlkKnight and DragonPowered be the wave of the future?

I have mixed feelings.

I'm a software developer by profession and really enjoy getting money. If I could get enough to have a big Scrooge McDuck style vault with a money pool for swimming, I'd surely do it.

For that reason, I absolutely cannot fault anyone who decides to charge money for their software. Making it is hard work and not just anyone can do it.

On the other hand it's really, really hard to convince people to pay for something you used to give them for free.

If ComicPress had ALWAYS been $30, then I doubt you'd hear any grumbling. Well not as much. The other problem is that it is an add-on to a bigger free product. Hard to talk people into paying for your add-on when the main program is free.

It is also wicked hard to get somone to pay you for something if your competition is giving away theirs for free.

Personally (again as a developer) I like to "roll my own". For the past 10 years I've been working on mostly behind the scenes code, and my web skills are rusty. That's why I started working on my own CMS: to learn how. I doubt I'll ever release it to other people either for free or for money, but I use it. It is currently underpinning two sites: http://galacticbeacon.com and http://funzietown.com.

My reasoning comes down to support and income. Supporting software you release costs money and time whether you charge for it or not. Let's say I charge $30. Not only is there no such thing as software without any bugs, there is also no such thing as a user who doesn't make mistakes. Either way you as developer are on the hook. For me to go full time developing that software, I'd have to sell a friggin armada's worth to break even. Unless I hired at least one support person to handle the "can't type my password" and "can't remember my password" and "what's a password?" questions, I'd never have any time to actually develop the software after starting to sell it. For me, there is a deep moral obligation to someone who has actually paid me. I can't just ignore the problems of someone who is a paying customer.

OK, let's say I release it for free. Guess what? People still expect support! If you are very lucky, and you release as open source, you might attract a following of people who can develop and support your software with you. You might also, NOT be lucky. You may get 25 people world-wide who use your stuff and expect you to drop everything to fix their problems. If I were using someone else's software to run my site and my site was broken, I'd sure as heck expect them to help me fix it.

The point is that I could use the same skills and time to make software that will make me more money, without costing me as much.

If I were to win the lottery, then I'd spend full days working on this software and release it to the public without worrying about mortgage, food, college for the kids, etc.

To answer the specific question, Rob posed, I think we will see a mix. A LOT of people will continue to use the existing free version. A small number will pay. Many will try alternatives. Ultimately I think quite a few will go for a hosted solution where someone else manages everything.

Sorry to get all rambly and stuff, but that's my two cents worth.

[ScottLincoln]

I've been using the Comicpress theme for a while and stopped upgrading at 2.7-2.8. For me it was the first program that really set up a clean and professional looking comic site with auto-updating. I'm not a programmer but I chopped through the code to make my site appear a bit more customized. Frumph was very helpful and I very much appreciate the time he took into making a great program and helping me out.

Right around the time I got my site up and working I noticed that Inkblot was getting to be "the new thing" and even considered switching (mostly because of the flexible theme structure it used) but chose not too because I didn't want to mess with what I had just spent months figuring out and customizing. I suspect there might be a bit of migration over to Inkblot and their software, but people do find comfort in paid versions because it implies a certain level of product responsibility and support that goes beyond freeware expectations. Has anyone done a side by side comparison between the new Comicpress and Inkblot or other such software/freeware on the market?

[Rob]

Has anyone done a side by side comparison between the new Comicpress and Inkblot or other such software/freeware on the market?

No but I'd love to see the article on it here if anyone does.

Frumph is a great advocate for the Comicpress plug in.... almost to a fault. My only two experiences with the man have been really negative because he overreacted to one of our articles advocating the "Webcomics" plug in and some minor criticism I made on Twitter of Comicpress sites in general (that they are a bit bland usually). He really flipped on me. It wasn't pretty.

But I let it go because I know how helpful he is to everyone who uses the plug in in the community. I admire his passion for the work/product he's helped create.

[Travis Surber]

I'm actually looking for a different program.I've tried to get help on the comicpress forums several times and the last time I was there Frumph told me to leave and not come back "until i knew how to ask a proper question". Not the warm fuzzy helpful person everyone else told me he was. Well off to spend the weekend being a fellow guest with him at Intervention.

[Dr. BlkKnight]

I'm actually looking for a different program.I've tried to get help on the comicpress forums several times and the last time I was there Frumph told me to leave and not come back "until i knew how to ask a proper question". Not the warm fuzzy helpful person everyone else told me he was. Well off to spend the weekend being a fellow guest with him at Intervention.

I am getting closer to the ComicReef 0.30 release. My site has been running it successfully for over a year and those who do use it praise its ease of use. Contact me if you're at all interested.

[Rob]

I'm actually looking for a different program.I've tried to get help on the comicpress forums several times and the last time I was there Frumph told me to leave and not come back "until i knew how to ask a proper question". Not the warm fuzzy helpful person everyone else told me he was. Well off to spend the weekend being a fellow guest with him at Intervention.

I am getting closer to the ComicReef 0.30 release. My site has been running it successfully for over a year and those who do use it praise its ease of use. Contact me if you're at all interested.

What he said.  ;D