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They owe them the decency not to change the terms of the license mid-stream. The nice thing about Rails, it's on a MIT license which can not be revoked. You can
by enjo 16y ago
They owe them the decency not to change the terms of the license mid-stream. The nice thing about Rails, it's on a MIT license which can not be revoked. You can build on rails with the confidence that at least the current version of the software is yours forever.
Chargify is clearly in the wrong here in my opinion. They gave woefully short notice. They jacked the price, and they left no guarantee that won't do it again. I'd be quite nervous as a customer of Chargify that they might do it again.
I'm the same situation with Twilio. We are, right now, far too dependent on them. So far they've always gone in the other direction (gotten consistently cheaper since the day we signed up), but what happens if they jack their rates?
It's scary...
- jeffepp 16y agoThank you. I am glad you understood the gist of my post. The point of the FREEMIUM argument is to show: 1) There is substantial value here companies will pay for. 2) We are investing in the company, and there is an expectation of fairness & consistency.
- tptacek 16y agoIt sounds like you just said that your argument is "Chargify produced something with substantial value that companies will pay for, and we've invested in Chargify by using it without paying."
- jeffepp 16y ago@tptacek I am saying is that Chargify falsely presumes companies under a FREEMIUM account are worthless. My point is that they are unlikely to leave [since they have invested their own resources] unless the trust is broken or perhaps, they go out of business...
- tptacek 16y agoChargify made a business decision that the "freemium" accounts weren't worth what the freemium tier cost. You are entitled to disagree with that decision, but I'm entitled to say that to call it a betrayal of trust is hyperbolic and naive.
- jeffepp 16y agoFair enough, I appreciate and thank you for your comments..
- tptacek 16y agoYes. It is scary. It is also the nature of working with new companies who are, just like you, trying to find their footing in the marketplace. You clearly want predictable pricing and delivery. Every business wants predictable pricing and delivery. What you don't appear to grasp is that established businesses pay a premium for predictable pricing and delivery. If you want to lock in a rate with Twilio or Chargify or anybody else, get their CEO on the phone and get a contract in place. That's what real businesses do. But don't be surprised to find out that the price for (say) Twilio to lock in a permanent price for you is higher than you want to pay. You're a startup. You should understand what it means to work with one.