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> This is what I believe: if you build a side project and allow real customers to purchase it, you have a moral obligation to support and maintain it properly a

> This is what I believe: if you build a side project and allow real customers to purchase it, you have a moral obligation to support and maintain it properly and if you are unable to fulfill that obligation, then it is your obligation to shutter the project or find a new owner who can amply care for it. I agree with the core idea of this quote: don't take people's money and run away, especially if you led them to believe you will support a paid product for a long time. However, I wouldn't say that supporting every paid product you make is a moral obligation. Just because a couple of people paid you $20 doesn't mean you should force yourself to spend your valuable time improving and maintaining the product if you no longer benefit (through joy or money). Certainly, you shouldn't defraud people and lead them to believe you will maintain a product for a long time, but this kind of blanket statement might scare away people from trying to create a paid service because of the fear of having to perpetually support a handful of users. Again, I agree with the principle in particular cases, but there are cases where it doesn't apply (at least in my opinion).

theseatoms 11y ago
If push comes to shove, you can always open source the project.
marcosdumay 11y ago
That's how I read the article: you either maintain it, or don't promise you will and stop billing. Looks reasonable to me.
- crpatino 11y ago
  What if you build it, commercialize it and maintain it for several years, and then the market shifts and it becomes impossible to keep producing revenue out of it? Does the customer that paid a single fee once have the right to claim a share of your time on perpetuity so you can keep maintaining it? Or is it fair to change your business model so you charge yearly fees for support/maintenance? What if most customers don't want to pay the yearly subscription fee but a handful of them do? Are you still morally obligated to support them, even if their money barely cover costs?
  - marcosdumay 11y ago
    I don't see how any of it would apply to one time licenses. It's a good rule about subscriptions, but that's all. Personally, I think it's fair to change your business model in any way that won't deceive your clients. Asking for a subscription and not maintaining the product will deceive them.
  - s73v3r 11y ago
    If that's what you sold them. It is not your customer's fault that your business plan isn't working.
    - crpatino 11y ago
      Let me put it this way. Is every one of your former employers entitled to free support because they once paid your salary? No, I did not think so.
      - fineman 11y ago
        I'm pretty sure that's not in my contract with them. But yeah, if I sold them something and promised unlimited support, they would be.
      - s73v3r 11y ago
        That's a different situation. Listen, its extremely clear: If you don't want to act like an adult and support the stuff you're charging money for, then don't charge money for it. Don't hide behind this bullshit of "it's a side project!" It's not. It becomes a real project the second you charge money for it.
  - 6d0debc071 11y ago
    If I have a service level agreement with you, paid for up front, then wilfully violating that agreement strikes me as the sort of thing I could take you to court over and stand a decent chance of winning. You got the money earlier, allowing you to do some things that you otherwise couldn't, and in return for that took on certain liabilities. That you may eventually have to pay for those liabilities with a few hours of your time here and there does not absolve you of the agreement that you wilfully entered into in order to obtain those benefits. That risk was in large part what you were paid for. If you're going to gamble, yeah. Sometimes you lose. Mind you, this whole thought experiment is a bit silly. If you're going to form this sort of agreement, then you should define equitable exit conditions to manage risk in the event that you're dramatically wrong. At the very least, I'd want a significant portion of my money back if I paid for 'forever' (not decidable, so that might not even be a legal contract depending on your jurisdiction) and got a couple of years.

theseatoms 11y ago

If push comes to shove, you can always open source the project.

marcosdumay 11y ago

That's how I read the article: you either maintain it, or don't promise you will and stop billing. Looks reasonable to me.

crpatino 11y ago
What if you build it, commercialize it and maintain it for several years, and then the market shifts and it becomes impossible to keep producing revenue out of it? Does the customer that paid a single fee once have the right to claim a share of your time on perpetuity so you can keep maintaining it? Or is it fair to change your business model so you charge yearly fees for support/maintenance? What if most customers don't want to pay the yearly subscription fee but a handful of them do? Are you still morally obligated to support them, even if their money barely cover costs?
- marcosdumay 11y ago
  I don't see how any of it would apply to one time licenses. It's a good rule about subscriptions, but that's all. Personally, I think it's fair to change your business model in any way that won't deceive your clients. Asking for a subscription and not maintaining the product will deceive them.
- s73v3r 11y ago
  If that's what you sold them. It is not your customer's fault that your business plan isn't working.
  - crpatino 11y ago
    Let me put it this way. Is every one of your former employers entitled to free support because they once paid your salary? No, I did not think so.
    - fineman 11y ago
      I'm pretty sure that's not in my contract with them. But yeah, if I sold them something and promised unlimited support, they would be.
    - s73v3r 11y ago
      That's a different situation. Listen, its extremely clear: If you don't want to act like an adult and support the stuff you're charging money for, then don't charge money for it. Don't hide behind this bullshit of "it's a side project!" It's not. It becomes a real project the second you charge money for it.
- 6d0debc071 11y ago
  If I have a service level agreement with you, paid for up front, then wilfully violating that agreement strikes me as the sort of thing I could take you to court over and stand a decent chance of winning. You got the money earlier, allowing you to do some things that you otherwise couldn't, and in return for that took on certain liabilities. That you may eventually have to pay for those liabilities with a few hours of your time here and there does not absolve you of the agreement that you wilfully entered into in order to obtain those benefits. That risk was in large part what you were paid for. If you're going to gamble, yeah. Sometimes you lose. Mind you, this whole thought experiment is a bit silly. If you're going to form this sort of agreement, then you should define equitable exit conditions to manage risk in the event that you're dramatically wrong. At the very least, I'd want a significant portion of my money back if I paid for 'forever' (not decidable, so that might not even be a legal contract depending on your jurisdiction) and got a couple of years.