<div dir="ltr">@Otto, All i understand from your perspective:<div>"You are moron if you sell a product with 1 time fee, why dont you make it on monthly fee?" </div><div>Label it as GPL, put all valuable functionality in plugin with paywall.</div>
<div><br></div><div>You just changed wordpress commerical GPL theme market. I hope you realize it.</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Sep 21, 2013 at 12:31 AM, Srikanth Koneru <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tskk79@gmail.com" target="_blank">tskk79@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div>Actually disabling stuff is what got everyone's goat :)<br></div>Some say its not gpl, is it really not gpl? only a lawyer can tell, kick this issue to a WP foundation lawyer and let them decide.<br>
</div>if it is gpl then all's well and we all will start selling subscriptions happily.<br></div></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Sep 21, 2013 at 2:52 AM, Otto <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:otto@ottodestruct.com" target="_blank">otto@ottodestruct.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div>On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 4:01 PM, Ünsal Korkmaz <<a href="mailto:unsalkorkmaz@gmail.com" target="_blank">unsalkorkmaz@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> And yes, we cant use this theme/plugin/whatever in multisite if not<br>
> developer licensed: <a href="http://www.pagelines.com/pricing/" target="_blank">http://www.pagelines.com/pricing/</a><br>
<br>
</div>Okay, so let's just boil this objection down here, to the root of the problem.<br>
<br>
>From looking through the latest theme code, it appears that they've<br>
moved all the paid functionality out into something called<br>
"DMSPluginPro".<br>
<br>
So, my first view here is that we have a free theme with support for a<br>
paid plugin. Not that unusual. I've seen special support for, say,<br>
GravityForms before.<br>
<br>
Now, that paid plugin comes from them as part of a subscription<br>
service. They offer different models for different levels of users. On<br>
the whole, this is not particularly objectionable either. Users with<br>
more websites will need more support. Multisite is more complex.<br>
Things like that.<br>
<br>
The plugin also checks that the subscription is an active one. It's<br>
tied to the subscription via code. Note that it doesn't necessarily<br>
need to be tied to said subscription, but it is, in the plugin code.<br>
The idea being that it's a perk with the subscription system. This<br>
last bit is the big objection some people are disliking. And honestly,<br>
GPL doesn't enter into it. Whether the plugin is GPL or not doesn't<br>
really matter here.<br>
<br>
The big question is this: Should we reject a theme because the theme<br>
author also sells an add-on plugin for it that has a monthly fee<br>
attached to it?<br>
<br>
Even if you want to yell "GPL" from the heavens, that's just an<br>
excuse, in my view. Are we really going to add this tight of a<br>
restriction on every subscription system made by every theme author?<br>
That seems like insanity to me. They want to sell an ongoing service.<br>
Presumably they provide support with this service. Presumably they<br>
have forums and other things to justify this service. The pro-code<br>
editor thing doesn't strike as something worth $8 a month,<br>
realistically, so I'm guessing that really they're selling their<br>
support here.<br>
<br>
As we all know, the selling support model is the only one that works<br>
for theme shops in the long run. You cannot provide<br>
free-lifetime-support. That would be silly. So a subscription system<br>
is perfectly justifiable in-and-of itself.<br>
<br>
If selling support services on a monthly basis was all it was, would<br>
we even be having this debate on the list? Now, suddenly, they throw<br>
in a plugin with some deactivation code in it and everybody loses<br>
their shit?<br>
<br>
The plugin doesn't bother me. The subscription doesn't bother me.<br>
They're selling support like every other theme shop out there. Simple<br>
as that.<br>
<div><div><br>
-Otto<br>
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