[BlueOnyx:12374] Re: Solarspeed / Compass / BlueOnyx stores

[Greg Kuhnert]

The earlier post in this thread was posted to answer some frequently asked questions. There are some new questions raised that I will briefly answer here. Michael's earlier post indicated we'd not discuss future commercial topics on list. It would be appreciated if readers here could contact either Michael or myself directly with any further correspondence on this topic.

However, here are some answers to the questions raised today.

1. A question about a password reset. For any user with that type of issue, contact me off-list - and we'll make a time to sort your problem out - or open a support ticket at http://support.compassnetworks.com.au/

2. There was a question about pricing. While I personally understand Eiji's comments about pricing, the reality is that the current pricing model is not likely to change radically in the short to medium term. Why? Volume. Currently, not all BX users are purchasing products. If every BX user paid $10 or $20 per server per year, I'd be able to quit the day job, and Michael and I could hire more staff to make lots of new things happen. However, Blueonyx will stay free - Thats a philosophy that we both agree with. Back to our store prices. The prices on the new webstore are already generally significantly reduced from previous pricing. How much does the new pricing really cost per server? $185 per server for ALL packages. (Not including maintenance/renewal).Thats everything. Spam, phpmyadmin, firewalls, all wham modules, the lot. 63% discount off list price. Before making accusations about pricing, go check it out for yourself. The new store automatically gives discounts for quantity purchases.

3. New features? There's lots of stuff planned for the future of BX. For myself, I am not a full-time developer. I have a day job. Michael is full time, but he is just one man. Anyone wanting to implement an alternative to apache is welcome to do so. Anyone wanting to pay enough $ to Michael to encourage him to put it at the top of the queue is welcome to do so. Until either of those happens, these are all ideas in a pipeline and the most promising ones will get implemented first.


Last comment... about "tone" in this list. From personal experience, I deal with lots of cultures on a daily basis as part of the day job. Sometimes, a lot gets lost in translation and it might appear that someone is being rude. Lets assume for now that the concerns today are due to culture/translation, and move forward.

My advice to everyone here - if you think you are being "demanding/rude" in asking for something, don't ask for it here. The blueonyx project is a volunteer effort. Please be respectful of this status. If you want to make demands, open your wallet and offer to fund your demands under a commercial engagement. And for everyone else, if you think someone is being rude - ignore them. If no-one responds or reacts, they'll get bored talking to themselves. I know it's hard to ignore this type of thing... and I sometimes struggle to do this myself - but lets try :)

Regards,
Greg.