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Quoteafter exploring several options I've decided to use Simple Press. I was going through the forum to see what kinds of issues I need to deal with and I see a message stating that Simple Press is shutting down and developers are retiring.
https://simple-press.com/suppo.....-possible/
I went to your blog to see what this is about but don't see anything about it. Can you please clarify before I invest my time and money?
OfflineHi:
That entry is old. Simple:Press was transitioned to a new owner last year. If you look at our blog you'll see that there have been quite a few releases and updates since then (https://simple-press.com/simpl.....-articles/)
Thanks.
OfflineThank you. So who is the owner and is there a commitment to the long term?
Here is a big issue that I have been dealing with for decades now and one of the reasons why I am choosing Simple:Press. Growing up in wine country and getting to know the business of wine, a lot of software is run like wineries. Many "wineries" are just labels or maybe they have a token vineyard for show but they get their wine from the same co-op as other labels but market and sell for a different price regardless of actual quality or distinction. A lot of software has a business front including support but the developers are thousands of miles from the business. Usually India, sometimes eastern Europe. There is then a disconnect for customers that I intentionally avoid.
One of your competitors for example that I was looking at seriously, every question in their forum is followed by a delay while the forum moderator consults with the developers who are in India. A few days of that and I was history.
I prefer dealing with hands-on, small business approach than slick operators. Same goes for hosting etc. I've worked with many hosts who were great. So great that they got bought out by bigger guys. Almost immediately after acquisition, they sucked.
OfflineHi:
I'm not quite sure what you're looking for but if you're looking for direct support from developers I don't think you'll find that here. That kind of support is in the realm of consulting. We draw a bright line between support and everything else. Support for us is about the existing features of the product. Thus questions such as "Does the product do x" and "how do I use feature y" or "how do I install abc" are part of support. Using a developer to answer those kinds of questions is overkill.
Questions such as "how do I create feature x" or "how do I make the product do Y instead Z" are usually developer related questions and those fall strictly under consulting or long term custom support contracts or many times, custom development.
A different way to look at things is as follows - you're not going to get support from a developer being paid 100K a year for a product that costs $100.00. The economics simply don't work. If you're looking for hands on developer support, expect to pay $5000.00 and up per year for a custom support contract over and above the cost of the software.
You'll find that most software shops work that way - that is if they're going to stay in business long term. A small business might start off using developers for support but in the long run its unsustainable. Using an experienced software developer to handle run-of-the-mill support questions is a waste of developer resources and likely to drive the developer to leave the company because they'll just be bored - its not what most developers want to do. Software support is a completely different skill-set than software development and requires a different attitude and an aptitude for certain things.
I hope this all makes sense.
Thanks.
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