Suggestion: Go back to how it was…

  • Resolved queso

    (@queso)


    4 years, 4 months ago

    My fault for not checking… but I haven’t been actively developing my site and clicked update on the plugin and I’m really disappointed what this plugin has turned into…

    It USED to be a plugin that made it really easy for more advanced users to self-host Google Fonts…

    Now that monetization is coming into play, the plugin has opted to charge the advanced users who just need the original basic functionality, and include the “automatic” stuff geared towards beginners as the only “free” route. Should be the other way around, basic/easy stuff is free, and if the beginner user doesn’t understand it and wants to pay for all the advanced “logic” of the plugin to do it for them, that should be the upcharge.

    Ex. “Manual Mode” no longer even has the opportunity to just specify a darn font… It only looks for fonts that are enqueued as scripts?

    I spent countless hours optimizing my site to the max… I hate to have to go and install my font as a separate script, just to get the plugin to work again. It will be faster/easier to just manually create the stylesheet and delete the plugin.

    Extremely disappointed that your original users are being left out.

    (Also, of course it wasn’t clear when updating that such crucial functionality was being removed/changed.)

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Plugin Author DaanvandenBergh

    (@daanvandenbergh)

    Now that monetization is coming into play

    Yep, two things can happen to free plugins: they get a premium addon, or they are abandoned. Which do you prefer?

    The plugin has opted to charge the advanced users who just need the original basic functionality.

    That’s not true. You read the changelog, right? The manual search will be re-introduced as a (free) add-on soon.

    Extremely disappointed that your original users are being left out.

    No one is being left out. The most important features and advanced options are still there. The only feature that has been removed from the core plugin (for performance reasons) is the manual search. It contained a bunch of legacy code standing in the way for me to introduce better stuff. That’s why it was easier to remove it, to allow OMGF to grow, and rebuild the manual search separately.

    Instead of judging me, and being disappointed. Has it occurred to you to ask WHY I made these choices? Because you’re entire message contains incorrect assumptions.

    Thread Starter queso

    (@queso)

    (As mentioned) I understand and support the monetization, just would prefer the charging be for all the “advanced” features and not have core/basic functions removed.

    Free add-on SOON: So, yes, the original (working) functionality was removed (breaking people’s sites) and will be restored in the future, but currently, no solution is available aside from downgrading the plugin or reverting/modifying several parts of the site ??

    My suggestion/point was more that I would have kept it in until the separate plugin/module was available… (or at least included a work-around such as just free texting the font name into a box (even if it had to match verbatim).

    Not judging YOU, just saying I’m disappointed that it wasn’t much clearer that a function that is crucial for (some?) users was no longer in the update and they may want to hold off until the future version is removed.

    Not everyone reads to full changelogs on every plugin. I’m one of the few that actually does (at least skim them) and somehow missed this.

    I’ve have publicly thanked you before (multiple times) for your hard work and continue to commend you on the good work on this (and the CAOS) plugins. ??

    • This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by queso.

    @queso I totally agree with you.

    Plugin Author DaanvandenBergh

    (@daanvandenbergh)

    Just would prefer the charging be for all the “advanced” features and not have core/basic functions removed.

    Just to be clear, no features were moved from free to premium. If that’s what you’re suggesting.

    So, yes, the original (working) functionality was removed (breaking people’s sites) and will be restored in the future, but currently, no solution is available aside from downgrading the plugin or reverting/modifying several parts of the site.

    That’s correct. But there was no way around it. Sorry.

    Not everyone reads to full changelogs on every plugin. I’m one of the few that actually does (at least skim them) and somehow missed this.

    I get that. However, the thing with free plugins is, that you don’t have any data on your users i.e. there was no way to send out a newsletter. So I added a sticky post to this forum for a few weeks and wrote it in the changelog.

    That being said: I kind of expect my users to understand the weight of an update from v3.x.x to 4.x.x. I mean, you don’t just update from Windows 8 to Windows 10, right? If you’re smart, you check if you’re applications are up to date. Or at the very least, after updating you’ll test if the apps you use the most are still working properly.

    So yeah, that the update would break someone’s site. That’s possible. But that’s a very common thing with major updates.

    OMGF is over 2 years old. WordPress has evolved since then, and so did my programming skills and WordPress knowledge. Changes were needed in order to keep adding new features. And I’ve been implementing changes under the hood for a while now. This was the first one that was visible for users. But it was inevitable. And due to database changes, etc. It has to be done in steps. Not one big update, like you’re suggesting. The bigger the update, the bigger the risk that sh*t breaks.

    I’m working hard guys to bring things back on par, and I will bring back the manual search option in a free add-on. Bear with me.

    Thread Starter queso

    (@queso)

    Thank you! Sorry if this came off as a personal attack. It was definitely not meant to be one.

    Plugin Author DaanvandenBergh

    (@daanvandenbergh)

    It wasn’t! ??

    I appreciate the feedback. I’m going to make this post sticky in case anyone wants to share their feedback.

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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