Open RealRaven2000 opened 1 year ago
Gecko (the firefox html engine employed by Thunderbird) still seems to have a problem with CSS animations. So on the one hand I would like to draw attention to the fact of the expired license but definitely not impact performance or distract my users from more important tasks. How about we add an option to switch it off (which must work for users with a valid or expired license).
I also want to get away from an impression of my Add-on "bullying my users" in order to make "bank" - hence I removed the history tab recently. Note that it is still important to signal an opportunity to users (especially the ones that have no license currently) of being able to monetize the Software so that it can continue to exist.
My main oportunity of doing license sales is when I update my Add-ons and show the abriged (and translated) change log - but I am sure the majority of users couldn't care less they just want to learn the minimum functionality of the Add-ons and use them without distractions, and I understand that too. let's streamline the experience, once again.
My "two cents" worth of opinion...
I understand you are concerned about users' perceptions of "bullying", etc. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. If somebody thinks that your s/w is bullying them, they need to readjust their thinking.
You have created, and are putting a lot of time and resources into maintaining, an extremely valuable and useful piece of software. Users who complain about being reminded that it would be nice if they paid for what you have created ... perhaps don't deserve to use what you have created. That you offer a free version is completely up to you. However, in my opinion, I would not worry for one moment about reminding all users of the benefits of the paid version -- and reminding them to get / renew the paid version.
I know that you also place a lot of value on having a large user base and I understand in this environment many users don't want to pay. (They should try not paying their rent or for their food or for their car...) So, the question about "bullying" is decision that only you an evaluate based on how concerned you are about expanding the free user base vs increasing your revenue to cover your own expenses and to pay for your time.
I will continue paying for the full paid version. Anything less would feel to me like I am cheating you. What you have done is valuable and does deserve compensation!
Thanks for listening.
I would like to draw attention to the fact of the expired license...
Use a bright color?
(I haven't observed this specific performance issue, even though I have experienced a performance hit from these animations in the past, so I'm generally in favor of avoiding them.)
Here is a version that delays the animation by 60 mins, you can just install it to test whether the CPU load is lower on startup (or when you reload QuickFolders)
QuickFolders-mx-5.13.2pre31.zip
installation: download zip file and drag the file into Thunderbird Add-ons Manager without extracting contents
Add an option to disable animated shadows on the "Renew License" button:
it has been reported that on some systems it may significantly slow down Thunderbird in its performance