Plugin Directory Rules

I believe you have misinterpreted…or I haven’t been clear. My premium plugins will be free. Anyone can download and use them without paying a cent. They will be functional plugins. For those who upgrade to a paid version, they will get more features, dedicated support, et al. To clarify: it’s my work that is premium, not necessarily the features in any given plugin I release. Subsequently, I will consider all my plugins premium, whether they’re completely free or not. :slight_smile: I think we’re essentially talking about the same thing, but I’m just moving away from the freemium terminology because I feel it’s gimmicky and implies that free plugins are lesser.

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That’s freemium. :grin:

I don’t mind moving away from that terminology, but then we need to think of some other way to describe the above that makes it very clear to the user.

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Like I said, it’s not the features that will make my plugins premium… it’s the quality of work, the attention to detail, the frictionless user experience, my stellar availability and willingness to help. Every plugin I write for the ClassicPress platform will be premium by this definition.

I understand this is not the standard interpretation and I’m not suggesting others adopt my thinking on it; this is simply how I will be doing it on my end. If my plugins aren’t allowed in the directory until a later time because I’m calling them premium, that’s on me and I wouldn’t find it unfair.

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OK, I understand. And I agree… premium is ambiguous in that context. So you’d be OK with a classification system that was something like?:
:star: = completely free
:star::star: = free basic version with some paid extras
:star::star::star: = fully paid, no free functionality

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Yeah, that plain language (without premium/freemium) makes it very clear and leaves no room for interpretation. I think I like it. :slight_smile: James mentioned there not being any premium plugins in the directory initially, but the first 2 items you listed do seem pretty good. It makes sense to me!

  • free – no crippled features, no consideration required
  • basic – usable free version, option to upgrade for more features/support/etc.
  • commercial – no free options; totally paid; devs might even pay for listing.

Just want to add: I’ll be fine with whatever taxonomy and terminology is ultimately chosen. I appreciate the discussion on it – thanks!

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6 posts were split to a new topic: Discussion on usage of polls

I’m not crazy about “basic”, but I think “commercial” is more clear than “premium”.

Right. Hmmm… not sure. What about something like Upgradable? Not even sure how that’s spelled…but it’s more inline with what those plugins are. I’m not feeling “freemium” for it, that I know.

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I feel like this is one where “we’ll know it when we see it.” Some more ideas: Shareware - Wikipedia

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From that page:

Freemium works by offering a product or service free of charge (typically digital offerings such as software, content, games, web services or other) while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services. For example, a fully functional feature-limited version may be given away for free, with advanced features disabled until a license fee is paid. The word “freemium” is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: “free” and “premium”. It has become a popular model especially in the antivirus industry.

Whatever terminology is used has to be widely recognised and understood. I’m not sure anything better is out there.

As much as I dislike using the term, I also can’t think of a better alternative.

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Agreed. Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? Everyone understands the industry standard:

Free > Freemium > Premium

Freemium is not an actual word, but a combining of the two either side. It infers by nature that it is not the first or last type, but an intermediate one.

Commercial is better than premium.

Then you lose the meaning of freemium. I pay for a premium plugin or update for my personal sites. They are not “commercial” sites. I’m not looking for a commercial plugin.

Are business sites not commercial sites? The term freemium doesn’t stand up because it’s just a lesser way of saying premium.

Look it up in the dictionary:

Origin

1990s (denoting a free gift given by a business to persuade customers to pay for other goods or services): blend of free and premium.

I give up :closed_lock_with_key:

We’re simply discussing it. Each of us making our voices heard. As I mentioned previously, whatever is decided, I’ll be happy to go with it.

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Personally I’ve never liked freemium (but then I don’t like cutesy, made-up words).

The only alternative I can suggest is free, semi-commercial and commercial (which is a bit of a mouthful :grimacing:)

I don’t think Commercial fits the context and am sure I’ve never seen it used in that way.

Yeah… I think I’m with Graham. No point reinventing the wheel. Probably best to go with whatever will be most easily understood, which is the status quo.