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Yeah. This is exactly my worry: as soon as solutions to technical problems like this start going in the direction of "we'll offer a monolithic solution and char

Yeah. This is exactly my worry: as soon as solutions to technical problems like this start going in the direction of "we'll offer a monolithic solution and charge users for access to it" instead of "we'll make it as generic as possible even if the alternatives for now are flawed", it makes me wonder about the long term trajectory of the project. I don't mean to cast aspersions on the developers—I respect everybody's right to try to get paid for good work, and this looks like good work. I am just not convinced it's the right option for my specific needs.

ameliaquining 8mo ago
What would "as generic as possible" look like in practice?
- caconym_ 8mo ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954896 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954896
crabmusket 8mo ago
I think it's right to worry about this. However, the Zulip project has a long (10 year?) history and track record with a stable team.
tabbott 8mo ago
Can someone explain to me why we should do engineering work to build features where the stated objective is to help corporations use our product without paying for it? Remember, self-hosted mobile push notifications already have a free community plan! I can't say whether Zulip might be a fit for your needs. But you can always email our lovely sales/support team. https://zulip.com/help/self-hosted-billing#paid-plan-discounts https://zulip.com/help/self-hosted-billing#paid-plan-discoun... should give you a sense of our policies.
- caconym_ 8mo ago
  > Can someone explain to me why we should do engineering work to build features where the stated objective is to help corporations use our product without paying for it? I'm not sure what you mean by this. I am looking for a replacement for Discord for my small community of friends, and before today I had never heard of Zulip and knew nothing about its pricing or policies or history.
- account42 8mo ago
  > our product It's either your product first or an open source project first. If you care more about having a marketable product then it's fair for people who care about open source to go elsewhere.
aragilar 8mo ago
It's not a technical problem, it's a policy problem from the mobile vendors. You'd basically be paying them to deal with Apple's and Google's messaging infrastructure through their (zulip's) infrastructure.

ameliaquining 8mo ago

What would "as generic as possible" look like in practice?

caconym_ 8mo ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954896 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46954896

crabmusket 8mo ago

I think it's right to worry about this. However, the Zulip project has a long (10 year?) history and track record with a stable team.

tabbott 8mo ago

Can someone explain to me why we should do engineering work to build features where the stated objective is to help corporations use our product without paying for it? Remember, self-hosted mobile push notifications already have a free community plan! I can't say whether Zulip might be a fit for your needs. But you can always email our lovely sales/support team. https://zulip.com/help/self-hosted-billing#paid-plan-discounts https://zulip.com/help/self-hosted-billing#paid-plan-discoun... should give you a sense of our policies.

caconym_ 8mo ago
> Can someone explain to me why we should do engineering work to build features where the stated objective is to help corporations use our product without paying for it? I'm not sure what you mean by this. I am looking for a replacement for Discord for my small community of friends, and before today I had never heard of Zulip and knew nothing about its pricing or policies or history.
account42 8mo ago
> our product It's either your product first or an open source project first. If you care more about having a marketable product then it's fair for people who care about open source to go elsewhere.

aragilar 8mo ago

It's not a technical problem, it's a policy problem from the mobile vendors. You'd basically be paying them to deal with Apple's and Google's messaging infrastructure through their (zulip's) infrastructure.