paid extension

[manarak]

I'm currently debating my myself if I should hire someone to develop an extension for me.

the question is, if I can then sell that extension to recoup development costs ?

did anyone do this and what was your experience selling an extension ? did people buy it ?
or did it get out and widely used "for free" quickly ?

[nou nou]

Depends what kind of income you are looking for and how you want to do it...

I've paid for a good few extensions myself, even when they are available as free.

There are sites like https://www.canidev.com/ (I bought and use a lot of theirs, and I've even bought some I don't use, because they are so cheap and I want to support them). Then I've also seen https://www.dmzx-web.net/ and https://phpbbdev.space/ where they use more of a "subscription" model and they have a lot of stuff for free and a couple of premium ones (typically the ones that have the potential of making you money, like a PayPal subscription extension).

Then there is https://kasimi.net/ for example, also a subscription but for extensions that expand the use of mChat which is a hugely popular free chat extension. Kasimi hasn't been active for a long time but the donations keep coming (still pocket money, but it adds up I guess).

There are people selling extensions separately too: https://github.com/senky/httpproxy (links don't work anymore, but I got them back in the day and they still work), etc etc.

And then there are these people: https://sitesplat.com/phpBB3/ who built an entire community and client base around their theme.

It will definitely depend on a lot of goodwill. It's open source, everything is Apache license (I think?) so it's very hard to protect yourself from copying stuff, and people can even take your code and make it their own, I've seen that happen plenty of times. It's a little bit the nature of open source, but also there is quite a large market for a solid and useful extension.

Not a terribly clear yes/no answer, but hope it helps...

[KevC]

Surely it would come down to an agreement between you and the extension writer as to who owns the rights to the sale of it.

If you sell it, that would suggest you have to also look after updates and support questions from buyers, which you're not in a position to do because you didn't write it.

[manarak]

Surely it would come down to an agreement between you and the extension writer as to who owns the rights to the sale of it.

If you sell it, that would suggest you have to also look after updates and support questions from buyers, which you're not in a position to do because you didn't write it.

well, if I pay for the work, I will certainly own it as my contractor will be my agent.

regarding updates and support, I plan the extension to be feature complete, so only technical updates would be required for new PHP versions or new versions of phpbb. as I will be going to continue using the extension myself, I will perform these updates, but it's not something I would guarantee, so the initial purchase would be "as is".

regarding the "revenue" I want to get from it, it's not for profit, it's just for covering the development costs.

[manarak]

Depends what kind of income you are looking for and how you want to do it...

thanks for the pointers.
I will probably shop around and ask them too.

[ssl]

but it's not something I would guarantee, so the initial purchase would be "as is"

And you really believe that people will pay for an extension that is not sure to work on their forum? Are you serious?

[nou nou]

but it's not something I would guarantee, so the initial purchase would be "as is"

And you really believe that people will pay for an extension that is not sure to work on their forum? Are you serious?

I sure have, plenty of times. You kinda get what you pay for, so of course that depends on price. There is a huge difference in buying something for 100 dollars that’s advertised as being fully supported, and something that’s the price of one beer and tested on a default phpBB install without third party extensions.

I also use a lot of other open source tools and it’s part of the scene that some code, even paid/premium/supported tends to disappear without warning and you’re left to fix it by yourself, often by hiring other developers.

My own forum’s responsive theme has been abandonware for years but I like it and I maintain it to this day.

I’m a little nervous about the upcoming shift to php8 though

[Talk19Zehn]

GNU Operating System - Licenses
Hi,

...(...)... everything is Apache license (I think?) ...(...)...

The individual case decides. The licences are extensive and sometimes more complicated than expected.

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html.en

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html.en

Regards

[nou nou]

Right, GNU…. I’d have to read it again but you’re right, they are a bit of a maze and from what i have seen in the wild people have been very “creative” with them.

[nou nou]

Honestly, it really boils down to being fair as an end user. You get some gain out of something so you contribute something towards its value, which doesn’t even have to mean money per se.

It’s a long conversation

[wintstar]

I think for phpBB paid extensions are not useful. phpBB lives from the community “With each other & for each other”. You should better look around for another forum software, such as WoltLab or vBulletin, for example: They are chargeable and there are chargeable extensions that are also maintained by the developer for a very long time. You have already asked the same question on phpBB.de. And the response confirms that there is little interest in paid extensions.

GNU Operating System - Licenses
Hi,

...(...)... everything is Apache license (I think?) ...(...)...

The individual case decides. The licences are extensive and sometimes more complicated than expected.

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html.en

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html.en

Regards

Also I think there could be conflicts with the license of phpBB to the costly extensions, as well as the issue of copyright should be considered.


This is what I think about it, my opinion.

[Talk19Zehn]

Yes wintstar, I agree with you. And the GNU-Copyright and the GNU-Copyleft are also decisive. Contractual regulations between partners, including licences between developers / further developers and purchasers, should not be underestimated and so on.
In my opinion, there are many things to consider: open source does not mean that you can do things that do not comply with the GNU rules / licenses.
Unfortunately, this is often underestimated and circumvented. I also don't believe that the licences are limited to one country.

The topic starter should obtain legal information if necessary. It is easier than you think to make mistakes that need to be avoided.

It’s a long conversation ...(...)...

Right, I think the same.

Regards

[nou nou]

phpBB lives from the community “With each other & for each other”.

Sure, but that's got nothing to do with licensing per se, and also doesn't mean someone should or shouldn't charge for software.

This one is a really good read if the license will be GPL:

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html

and if something will be based on existing GPL licensed code (certainly not unthinkable):

viewtopic.php?p=13856376

[wintstar]

A community does not thrive on building a business model to make money. At least not for me. There were times when the community developed extensions (mods) and styles together.
As soon as a paid extension/style is in circulation, the source code is rewritten, copied in places and offered for download as “own” in the hope of receiving a “donation”. This has happened very often. With some styles from Talk19Zehn it has also happened with some of their styles.
Yes, there are licenses, lots of them. But who sticks to what it says? The fewest.

This works with the paid forum systems. Care is taken to ensure that there are no 'pirated copy' of extensions and styles 'on the way'. But not in free forums. Who cares if it's a 'pirated copy'?


This is what I think about it, my opinion.

[Talk19Zehn]

Yes, in the truest sense of the word - not only some of my styles but also small extensions (phpBB-Ascraeus, phpBB-Rhea) were stolen.
Without asking the lead developer at all and without naming him or having his permission/authorisation in principle. Style from a human point of view is not a question of ignorance.
Open source software:
In my opinion, open source stipulates that anyone who continues to work on a free product, rewrites it in a minimalist way and even renames it, must state this fact in the source code.
It is quite unusual for thieves to rest on the developments of others, even sell them or collect donations for them, with their own CR on top of that.
Under phpBB-Proteus I have voluntarily passed on some of my phpBB styles to phpBB stylists.

Maintaining almost 70 or up to 100 styles, editing updates and maintaining 21 databases took a lot of time and energy ...



Back to the initial topic: @manarak

My recommendation to the topic starter is: please clarify the licences, please clarify the possibilities that are / should be given carefully. In my opinion, this is also important with regard to a possible future business partnership with the developer of your desired extension.

Best regards