Don’t believe the high rating, it’s for the pre-acquisition version

  • Syed Balkhi strikes again. A great free plugin-in acquired, turned into bloatware (install size went from under 500k to 5MB), with a very expensive pro version slapped on and into a giant advertising panel in both dashboard and interface, admin notices and even emails.

    His install wizard installs software you didn’t ask for by default.

    The whole description here in the plugin directory is more or less a promotion of the paid plugin.

    This has nothing to do with the FOSS WordPress so many developers have volunteered to build. Alas, the WordPress plugin directory has become shark-infested waters. It’s high time to clean up the plugin directory from such sharks.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • Plugin Support Victoria Sakal

    (@sakalvictoria)

    Hi, @foliovision.

    Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about Easy WP SMTP.

    While Easy WP SMTP is now being managed by new developers, we have not removed any functionality that was already in Easy WP SMTP.

    Regarding our high ratings, you are correct, some were here pre-acquisition, but please know that we have received ratings related to our newly developed versions of Easy WP SMTP for several months now. Those ratings/feedback help us ensure that we are still on track with our goal of continuing to refine Easy WP SMTP’s base functionality of improving email deliverability while introducing new features where appropriate.

    The size increase is due to the adjustments to Easy WP SMTP which include new features such as:

    • SendLayer, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo, and SMTP.com email provider integrations
    • Debug Events – logging all email-sending errors and debug events

    These are free features with the intention of streamlining the setup process for specific SMTP services while maintaining the original setup process via the Other SMTP mailer. Despite this size increase, we will ensure that Easy WP SMTP remains optimized in terms of functionality as well as file size over time.

    Also, as you mentioned, the option to install additional plugins is only available in our Setup Wizard and only if the option to install them is left checked during the setup process. We intended to provide great starter tools for popular/related needs while keeping the option to uncheck or uninstall if anyone was already using an alternative.

    We understand your concerns and have shared them with our team, so we can continue looking into adjusting this in a future release.

    We hope that you give Easy WP SMTP another shot in the future. Again we thank you for your feedback.

    Sorry, Victoria, Easy WP SMTP is now terrible bloatware and an exploding advertising billboard in the WordPress interface.

    High time that plugin takeovers with makeovers into adware should be delisted.

    Long-winded excuses about new features don’t change the fact that your employer has taken one of the most useful free WordPress plugins and turned it into crippled commercial dross.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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