paying for bug fixes (was Re: [ANN] Installer Maker Plugin 1.7.8)

[Tim Jones]

On May 4, 2012, at 12:13 PM, Dar Scott wrote:

> What would you hope for, look for, in bug fixes when you buy a product?  In particular, if I put something into a storefront window and, in some fit of insanity, you bought one, what would you think is a reasonable bug-fix policy for your purchase?  Or your niece bought one?

If the product is advertised to offer a feature, and that feature is missing, incomplete, or doesn't work as expected, I would expect a bug fix.  This is an "update".

If the product is not advertised as having a feature, and you add it, I would expect it to be a new version.  This is an "upgrade"

For my products, I use a 3 place version identifier - major.minor.bug

If I release a new project - it's 1.0.0
If I fix a bug or two - it's 1.0.1
If I add a simple feature or improve an existing feature - it's 1.1.0
If I add a new set of major features - it's 2.0.0

My customers "always" get bug fixes and minor updates as "updates"
They only get "upgrades" for free if they have a support and maintenance plan otherwise they pay a 50% upgrade fee for the new version.

This has worked for over 22 years and our customer base is very happy in how we treat them.

Tim