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I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but: can you please enable me to buy a new license for 4.0 even though it may not even be on the road map yet? Or swit
by mstade 9y ago
I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but: can you please enable me to buy a new license for 4.0 even though it may not even be on the road map yet? Or switch to / enable a subscriber model which is paid yearly and gives access to all upgrades?
I rely so much on sublime for my day to day work and I fear the $80 or whatever I paid for it whenever ago is too cheap for the amount of value I'm getting out of it, and I'd hate to see this magnificent piece of software fall by the wayside because of an unsustainable business model.
Of course, if the business is perfectly sustainable then you know, carry on as you where.
- yoodenvranx 9y agoWhat about the idea to sell 'silver/gold/diamond supporter' licences for 100/200/300$ to people who _really_ love your software? I am not even talking about adding some special features, just enable people to pay more than the normal price and perhaps just add a nice 'Thanks for your extra support' badge to the 'Info' menu.
- Beltiras 9y agoBuy licenses and donate to your local high school.
- virgil_disgr4ce 9y agoExcellent, excellent suggestion.
- saagarjha 9y agoMy local high school will refuse them. The computer science classes use Geany because it “builds character” and anything that looks remotely like an IDE apparently “does too much work for students”.
- mstade 9y agoThis is great, I will have my accountant look into how I can do this. Thanks for the suggestion!
- JohnKacz 9y agoOr give the diamond supporters the ability to vote on features. That may not be something Jon and Will would want though.
- yoodenvranx 9y agoThat is exactly what I would avoid. Don't add any special features to it (vote for features, faster support responses) because that will take time from normal development. Just clearly state: "This software cost x$. And if you love it so much that you would pay double the price then you are free to do so."
- Volt 9y agoDo you think that TextMate fell by the wayside because of an unsustainable business model?
- geerlingguy 9y agoIt fell by the wayside because 2.0 was the HL3 of text editor releases, IMO. Open sourcing it was too little, too late. Even though Sublime Text has had long periods of inactivity, the beta releases every quarter or two were just enough to keep people who loved the editor hooked. TextMate lost people like me because there was, for a long time, zero indication it would continue being developed.
- hopeless 9y agoYes, happy to pay more often. Or just have smaller releases. It must have been years since I last paid for Sublime
- whalesalad 9y agoAgreed. I am a very appreciative Sublime user as well and want to ensure your business is successful. I started with Textmate during the Rails craze and transitioned to Sublime due to the portability of themes etc. I think I'm still using my 10 year old TM theme. Thank you for the continued dedication to this project.
- pvg 9y agoAmusingly, your 10 year old TM theme probably shows different/inaccurate colours than it did in TM unless you went to the trouble of converting it to sRGB for Sublime.
- whalesalad 9y agoI'm out now but it looks identical. I'll share a screenshot and download link when I'm back! It's my favorite.
- pvg 9y agoHere's an interminable github issue thread about it. https://github.com/SublimeTextIssues/Core/issues/880 https://github.com/SublimeTextIssues/Core/issues/880
- whalesalad 9y agoUpdate: It's called Made of Code. Here is the screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/JvDEBk7.png https://i.imgur.com/JvDEBk7.png Here is the theme: http://fl-mwhalen-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/Made%20of%20Code.tmTheme.zip http://fl-mwhalen-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/Made%20of%20Code.tmTh...
- pvg 9y agohttps://i.imgur.com/cUCwysp.png https://i.imgur.com/cUCwysp.png
- whalesalad 9y ago
- thesagan 9y agoSame here, I get wayyyyyy more than $80 of usage out of this software. I'm very very appreciative of the great work that has gone into this product and don't want it going any place!
- azeirah 9y agoHonestly, I'm in. I'm absolutely dependent on Sublime Text for my workflow. I don't mind paying more for it /whatsoever/
- UseStrict 9y agoTotally. I bought my license in 2013 and just realized that I didn't even have to pay the 3.0 license upgrade fee! I have used Sublime daily for almost 5 years now and I almost feel guilty for paying so little. I'd be more than happy to pay for a future 4.0 upgrade fee now.
- danso 9y agoI concur with this. I'm appreciative of Atom -- and recommend it to folks who aren't professional programmers and can't imagine paying for a text editor -- and I've heard similar great things about VS Code, but ST and its ecosystem has just been so dependable for me. It was inconvenient to switch over from TextMate to ST initially, but ended up being a great move overall. I haven't yet seen anything on the horizon that would seem like the next phase from ST for me.
- baldfat 9y agoI left VIM after 20 year to VS Code. I find that the ecosystem at VS Code to be the best I have ever seen. Great job by Microsoft and I use it on my Linux box all day.
- yodsanklai 9y agoVim code in VS code works very well (and integrates commonly used vim extension such as 'surround'). You can have the best of both worlds.
- baldfat 9y agoI should have stated that I still use VIM mode and bindings. It is the reason why I am there. I tried Sublime, Atom and other text editors and VS Code's VIM mode was on par.
- computerex 9y agoI have tried vscode and vim plugin but found it to be noticeably less responsive than vim.
- s73ver_ 9y agoIs it built in, or is it a plugin?
- yodsanklai 9y ago
- vanadium 9y agoThis was the easiest upgrade to consider in my career; $30 is nothing compared to the value and ecosystem around Sublime Text. I'd entertain such a model as OP to ensure the ongoing viability of the app.
- satysin 9y agoI would also like if the developer would agree to release the source code under a FLOSS license should he find working on Sublime Text is no longer worthwhile for him (could be financial but could also just be because he has lost interest in developing it, etc).
- 8draco8 9y agoYes. They could make some kind of small cloud service to pay for on a monthly/yearly basis. I would gladly pay for a service that would allow me to share my Sublime settings, addons and projects across all my Sublime installations. This can be done either way but I would happily pay Sublime devs for that.
- nateweiss 9y agoAgreed, I just paid my upgrade fee and it seemed too small. I feel ST could have a checkbox during checkout to add an additional $50 or something in that range. "I'd like to be a supporter for an extra $50". I'm pretty sure I would opt-in to that, but maybe I'm just saying that now because there isn't such an option....
- 5_minutes 9y agoI understand your appreciation for the software but begging for another subscription fee? One feature here is that the authors charge a normal fee and are not greedy in your pockets, like 1Password and many others. I really do appreciate the classic software pricing. It could be a higher fee, or more frequent but I'm really tired of all the Recurring costs!
- eberkund 9y agoExactly, for every one person like this there are probably many who would not renew if they went subscription. It's not like they rely entirely on new customers, the company only has two employees and I'm sure ST3 will be out for a few years and then ST4 will come along. Software companies existed long before "cloud licensing" became the norm.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- 8draco8 9y agoI am not fan of replacing classic pricing model with recurring payments but instead of forcing recurring payment, allow that option for extra feature. Make the base app as it is now and add something on top of that for small fee. Like I suggested earlier, make small cloud service for syncing configs, addons and projects between installations. It's not a big thing, not deal breaking, it can be even done using rsync by user but I would happily pay couple dollars for that functionality and I would support devs. Development is recurring cost. Without aggressive marketing, like for example Microsoft, it's very hard to pay developers from selling not recurring licences every 3 or 4 years.
- eberkund 9y agoI would be okay with them having an optional cloud service for syncing settings. But the issue you talk about is where major version upgrades come in. Sublime text could cease all development tomorrow and not pay another cent towards development, should people have to continue to pay to keep using it? If new major feature are requested then that is grounds for charging and upgrade fee, otherwise I don't see why people should pay.
- wslh 9y agoWould a crowdfunding campaign help to fund a product like Sublime Text which has a lot of traction? I think so.
- eberkund 9y agoIt has worked in the past, for example: I would consider the recent FontAwesome 5 kickstarter campaign a huge success both from a funding point of view and the backers getting what they wanted. This was only really possible in my opinion due to the reputation Dave Gandy built up by releasing the open source version of FA prior. One needs only to look at the myriad of failed software kickstarters for examples of what happens when a unknown person who hasn't proven they are capable of delivering what people want tries the same thing.
- hashkb 9y agoI think the price is fair given their competition is foss.
- reificator 9y agoAs a former paying user of Sublime, I find this interesting, because their pricing seems to be right on target all around. If there was a subscription available that offered some amount of extra features, I probably wouldn't have purchased anything at all.
- provemewrong 9y agoNoone's stopping you from buying more licences, if you really want to support the dev. I think it's overpriced as it is (as another commenter mentioned, considering the competition is FOSS), but I might buy it one day, when I have more disposable money (assuming I won't have switched to VSCode or $hotNewThing by then). I really do like Sublime, and I'm happy 3 is out of beta, but seeing the userbase migrate to Atom/VSCode is worrisome, and makes me doubt $80 is worthwhile investment (I'm mostly worried about third party plugin devs, which was once Sublime's biggest strength).
- aaron_oxenrider 9y agoI use Sublime and paid for it a few years ago. That said, I also use VS Code which I really like for certain things. I actually use both of them daily and simply get different utility from them. If Sublime went to subscription then I would make do with other products. VS Code has a robust plugin ecosystem and I see that growing in the near future. I honestly think Sublime will eventually end up as FOSS. Whether that is from a drop or increase in subscribers I don't know.
- bakli 9y agoIt needs to provide you with just enough productivity to help you work for 2 extra hours, and it'll have paid for itself. $80 is peanuts for this.
- provemewrong 9y agoI don't live in the United States so my purchasing power from two hours of work is exponentially smaller, but I get your point. Truth is, I don't really use Sublime (or any other text editor) that often anymore, because I'm working with Java and using IntelliJ IDEA for that. If I used Sublime Text professionally, I (or my employer) would have bought the licence in a heartbeat.
- ship_it 9y agoDoes every developer earns $80 for two hours? No.
- cdnsteve 9y agoAlso, I don't see Sublime in the MacOS App store. I'd suggest it get added there, even if you have to charge more due to the percentage that Apple takes.
- goosh453 9y agonice try sublime dev :>
- soegaard 9y agoBuy a copy for a friend!
- TheKarateKid 9y agoCan someone please explain to me why $80 for Sublime Text is a good price for a text editor? I'm not flaming, I genuinely want to know. I've tried Gedit, Atom, VS Code, Notepad++ and I fail to see what Sublime offers over those to justify the price.
- coldtea 9y ago>I'm not flaming, I genuinely want to know. I've tried Gedit, Atom, VS Code, Notepad++ and I fail to see what Sublime offers over those to justify the price. It's better than Gedit in every way, it's way faster and more lightweight than Atom and VS Code, and it has a far better plugin ecosystem and functionality than Notepad++. I'd pay triple the price.
- amelius 9y ago> it's way faster and more lightweight Now you've got me wondering why editor speed is actually a thing.
- 2439u23uro 9y agoOh get fucked. The last thing we need is more subscription models!
- anindha 9y agoYou could buy some additional licenses and donate them to someone.
- uoaei 9y agoFeel free to donate licenses to university students!
- loop0 9y agoYou can always buy more licenses and give away to other people. :)
- mtw 9y agoYou should buy multiple licenses of Sublime Text 3.0 I'm in a situation where if I had $10 or $80 extra, I would use it to buy baby supplies, not software. Many others are in the same situation, or worse (thinking of those in developing countries where $80 represent a week's worth of savings).
- vim_wannabe 9y agoThe first thing I did after Ulysses went the way of subscription was get a refund from App Store. :)
- makk 9y agoOr keep the current model as is and add an optional recurring donation somewhere.
- joemaller1 9y agoJust buy another license.
- laxk 9y agoProbably they just need to add a Donate button for people who wants give more than license fee only.
- amorphid 9y agoEncourage them to set up a Patreon page? Do people use Patreon for software projects?
- veidr 9y agoI don't feel like Sublime Text has the development momentum to justify the subscription model. That isn't necessarily bad; it's a great editor and I've been happy to pay for all versions of it. But if I am paying an ongoing, continual fee, I expect rapid delivery of updates and new features. I pay for an IDE from JetBrains, and they deliver solid incremental improvements and bug fixes, continuously. So I feel the continual fee is acceptable. Sublime Text is known for going on hiatus for months at a stretch, with no or negligible updates. That would irritate me as a paying subscriber to the software; it doesn't bug me when I pay a lump sum for the big milestone releases.
- halfnibble 9y agoI think I'm going to start buying licenses for my interns and students. It's an investment in our future. Today's interns and students are tomorrow's senior devs. Best to start them off proper.
- newscracker 9y agoI agree on the point that useful software/service providers must have a sustainable business model, but I see your point about $80 being too cheap as just one data point (not that you were claiming otherwise, and you did appreciate the value that you get). There are many people for whom spending $80 every few years may be a bigger burden too. Subscriptions, without significantly lower per year prices, also favor the ones for whom these aspects don't matter as much. I just wanted to put these points across since a single price probably may not well serve all user classes and the developer/company.
- mstade 9y agoSo many nasty replies. :o( (Some pretty great replies too – thanks!) I'm not a ST dev, I have no financial interests in ST becoming more expensive or changing to a (for the company) more lucrative business model. I have tried alternative editors, anything from vi and emacs to VSCode and Atom, but nothing hits the marks for me as ST does. It has – in my opinion – great UX, its speed and efficiency is unmatched in the GUI editor space, and my favorite feature: it has rock solid buffer persistence. I can't tell how many times ST has saved me from system crashes and just me being an idiot and restarting everything before saving anything, or removing a file but ST keeping a buffer. I've come to rely on this, and it's rock solid. Not once in the years since I started using it (I believe I bought my first license in 2012) have I encountered a situation where ST lost my data. I've never experienced this with any other editor (I'm sure vi and emacs can do this, but in years of trying, I can't come to grips with their UX – they're just not for me) and this feature alone has paid for the price of admission for me, many many times over. In short – I don't care that there are FOSS alternatives. I don't care that there are alternatives that are "better" by some measure. Until they can match these three things, in increasing order of importance, they will never compete with ST for me: - Great UX - Speed and efficieny - Rock solid buffer persistance, even for unsaved files Someone in this thread suggested I buy licenses and donate to a local high school. I'm going to seriously look into this as a viable way to both support the company producing ST, as well as hopefully enabling kids to learn programming, or write novels, or whatever they want to do with the software.