This works great
If you donāt do the procedure ASAP (before the next update), I will consider that you are no longer interested in getting future minor updates.(This procedure is not mandatory for people who contributed to my support packages as youāre in my distribution list by default).
- Please ālikeā or post some positive comments at my ST community forum thread about My Ecobee device.
So in order for paying customers to receive minor updates you are forcing them to publicly express a particular opinion about your software?
Thatās super duper shady, and the only people it hurts are your actual paying customers. Let the software stand on its own merits.
Imagine if a company like Amazon gave you a $5 gift card for every positive review, but nothing for reviews they deemed as negative? The result would be a complete lack of credibility in the entire review process.
Imagine if a company like Amazon gave you a $5 gift card for every positive review, but nothing for reviews they deemed as negative? The result would be a complete lack of credibility in the entire review process.
Exactly.
Hi Jeff,
Thatās my policy. Iāve been working on this DTH for the last 3 years and itās required a lot of hard work.
Itās all explained under the terms of services at my store.
And, I already posted the reasons here. There is nothing more to add.
For most contributors, they are happy to do it after trying the ST stock device (and all its derivatives) with its frequent disconnects and limited capabilities.I donāt necessarily ask for posting positive comments, but some people do as theyāve recognized the hard work done. A lot of contributors just ālikeā my thread, and itās fine to me.
P.S. @SteveWhite, you already expressed that you donāt want to CONTRIBUTE to my developement project for Ecobee, so your comments are superflous here. Enjoy the stock ST device with its limited capabilities.
Regards.
My comments here are to ensure those reading these āpositive reviewsā on this thread and others you spam here understand they arenāt to be trusted at face value. I will continue to do that as I see fit, whether I choose to contribute to your bottom line or not.
I donāt force anybody to post positive comments. They can ālikeā my thread or do more. Some people do more, because they really enjoy the codeā¦
This is a hobby for me, and I want to have fun with IoT technologies. If somebody else enjoys my reliable and comprehensive integration code for a modest contribution, then itās a win-win for those community members (and there are more than a thousand and counting). And, if they want to have the minor updates, they just need to do some simple steps to do so, and I avoid spamming the rest with updates. Some people donāt want updates as they are happy with the original code (as itās reliable). As you may know, there is no ST AppStore for developers like me to submit my copyright code and updates, so each update is manually submitted (it takes my time and resources).
After 3 years working with the ST platform, this is the right balance Iāve found for my family and myself (whether you like or not, thatās not my issue, itās yours).
Hi Yves,
Iām a new customer of yours who has not seen the entire thread, and have (I think reasonably) not seen your past reasoning as to the way you want to do business, since that would require reading an entire 627 post thread going back more than a year, so please allow me to share some observations:
-
The Terms of Service are in no way obvious on your store page. Terms of service are usually called out at checkout time. Until you said that they were on the store page, I had never noticed them. I honestly had no reason to think that the
(*)
next to every item was meant to point to some other text because itās next to every item. ToS applying to everything would usually be called out at the top of the page, not the bottom, if it canāt be integrated into the checkout workflow. -
Iāve been trying to think of another ISV or commercial software vendor with the same update policy. I canāt. Updates usually fall into three categories: (1) buy an app and get updates forever, as is the case with most mobile apps; (2) buy an app and get updates for some period of time, potentially with an ongoing subscription for maintenance (which is not actually your method); (3) buy an app and get free updates until some major change (e.g. all 2.x updates, but pay an upgrade fee for the 3.x code), which is by far the most common approach for ISVs. You do not fit the model of (2) because you are asking people to pay for ongoing maintenance at a cost that is double the actual purchase (e.g. a 12 month maintenance contract would run $40 a year when the original software was $20, making the original purchase actually $60 in order to get support on it). The closest thing I can think of that fits your model is free-to-play mobile games with in-app microtransactions, where there is some kind of in-game currency that can either be gotten by grinding or paying. All of those will pop up some kind of ālike us on facebook/rate us on the app store to get free gold/space dust/laser batteries/whatever!ā
-
The claim
Some people donāt want updates as they are happy with the original code (as itās reliable).
is demonstrably false by your own words. From the latest update email:
Summary of Changes
- Made some changes in MyEcobee device (v5.9.9n) for better temp handling under Samsung accounts (datatypes correction for temp attributes).
- Corrected setParentAuthTokens() in MyEcobeeInit (v3.3.2) for even more resilience in auth tokens logic.
Iām in software development too, and all software devs know that all software has bugs. But it feels dishonest for you to claim that itās reliable at the same time that youāre also claiming that more resiliency is needed. I donāt blame your software for having issues/bugs ā itās normal! But donāt paper over it, own it.
I get that this is how you want to do business, but many parts of how you do business fall outside of industry norms. As a result, new customers (like me) come up against a set of requirements of which there are no reasonable expectations, and discoverability is poor (hard-to-find text on the store page, policies stated in random posts in a long thread), so they are certainly requirements that I was unaware of when I purchased the product. An attitude of āyou should have knownā when discoverability is so difficult does you no favors. An attitude of āIāve spent X hours developing this so your money should only go so farā when this commonly known as the normal course of product development also does you no favors.
Compounding all this is the fact that thereās no limited version available to try out, so anyone jumping in on the product is taking a leap of faith that it works ā and if it doesnāt work, actually getting it to work could end up costing between zero and some unknown but high amount of additional money.
If you want to continue to operate outside of norms, go for it! Be your own person, and do what works for you and your time and your family. But I think you will be more successful over time by trending towards industry norms and being more customer-focused, because ā and I am brand new to both the Ecobee and SmartThings ecosystems and had no knowledge of you or your work before seeing it on the wiki and purchasing it and no prior skin in the game ā the whole experience as a new user has left a really bad taste in my mouth, and most of that is not from the software itself, but from the experience around it. Thatās not good for word of mouth; trust me on this as a new user who could potentially have recommended it to others.
Instead Iām left feeling rather hoodwinked about support/update terms and just today was lied to about the state of the software. Far from word of mouth, thatās potentially not good for your bottom line. Remember, credit card companies tend to favor their users in disputes.
Hi, in IT, itās very common to pay for maintenance & support for COTS (Iām sure that you know it).
And, as I wrote earlier, itās a hobby, not a full time job.
Donāt worry about my bottom line, Iām doing very wellā¦
Iām sorry, but I wonāt reply on this topic anymore as I have to help my high school kid study algebra (which is a real challenge)ā¦ I gave all the required explanations, and the explanations are everywhere (in this thread, at my store, at the ST community wiki and at my github)
The code itself is no longer challenge, and I just make incremental changes to itā¦ The previous version was already reliable, I just made a minor change to make it even more resilient.
Your reply speaks volumes about who you are.
I can say the same for you.
P. S. Just browse this thread a bit, and youāll read that some contributors have been using my code for the last 3 years, and are really happy with itā¦All this for a mere $15 or $20 contribution, and all that time, theyāve gotten all minor updates provided that they would follow the update procedure (but you decided to do otherwise).
I have an Ecobee and was looking at this thread.
The worst part about it, and after you have read all the posts from so many people in the forum, you still think this is everyone else and not you. As I stated in my post to you the other day, you just donāt get it.
Whether it be:
- Your continued condescending comments and attitude towards people, whether paid customer or not.
- Your delusions of grandeur
- Your high and mighty attitude that you are better than everyone else.
- Your āeh, I donāt care, Iām not here to please everybody attitudeā
- Posting negatively in other threads for any of your competitors that are bringing something free to the community.
Nobody is doubting your expertise as a developer or the product that you have brought to the masses, but you should not interact with any of your customers or the general public, because your people skills suck and you do not know how to communicate with people. You are your own worst enemy, and whether you care or not, it will catch up with you. Most people know how difficult it is for a developer in the ST world and to reap a little reward from it, Iām all for and wish you the best, but if you continue to be a dick, and want to ignore that fact and want to continuously say you donāt care, thatās on you. Itās pretty sad to see that you can have something as great as this built and then jack it up because you canāt deal with people appropriately. Get someone else to do your customer service, marketing and support to be represented in the community.
Again, I know how much in denial you are in and itās everybody else but you. All these negative posts are just a conspiracy from people in all different walks off life just to sabotage you. Wake up and smell the coffee! āEh, I donāt careā.
Your quick 30 second thought process and reply to me the other day speaks volumes about you as a person, not a developer.
And then your comment in the other thread that was flagged:
This is something you have created yourself and yourself alone. If you are that blind to see that even paying customers of yours could do without your superiority complex and demeaning and condescending attitude, we can open this a little more visible across more threads until you do get it.
Personally your product looks great, but because of you, who you are and the way you speak to people, I would never install your product for that fact alone, and I am not alone in that thinking. You might have 1000s of paying customers, but even they shouldnāt have to be subjected to your personality flaws. You should really look in the mirror and take some time to think about how you interact with people. And if you donāt care or you just canāt see that itās not you to blame, then I feel really sorry for you.
Most people wonāt say it, but they are thinking it, and if you want to blame this messenger, go for it, but quit treating people the way you do or find someone else to speak on your behalf that can communicate in a more positive way with people. āEh!ā
You do not have any right to tell me where I can and cannot post on this forum. Iām not going anywhere so get used to it.
Me neitherā¦
Pretty sad man! I have plenty of time when I see someone taking advantage of people the way you do and charging for it.
I am a software developer in the world of ITSM (Help Desk / Change Management / CMDB) and I share a lot of the same complexities and complications with customers as you do, but the difference is, I know how to treat my customers, as they are always right, even when they are wrong, as they are the ones paying me. And as far as my hourly rate goes, lol, you can take your little pittance of what you make for this product.
And your quick reply again with the negative connotation that I work in Support, lmao just speaks more and more about who you are.
If you want to continue being this person, I will make sure that more and more people are aware of you and your character. I was speaking the other day to help you, but if you want to keep it up, I will make sure to keep making people aware in your thread. Read all the negativity you have created in all your threads. Itās not one or two or 10 people. It happens frequently and itās because of you. Keep it up!
@VB70, @SteveWhite, keep up the good workā¦ This brings more attention to my robust products and superior designā¦
Itās called superiority complex. Not something to be so proud about!
They have been warned b/c of you!!! Wow, what a nice shrink youād make.
The reality is that you donāt know me and I donāt want to know you.
Dear lord, you two just need to get into the ring and have it out. Very unprofessional for someone wanting code. Personally, I am looking for a better device handler and something that incorporates my 3 remote sensors.