Umbraco Life Experiment: Feedback

Posted on October 29, 2019 in umbraco , life

A few weeks ago I started an experiment, and promised to be transparent about it, so... here is some feedback.

The ZpqrtBnk General License has received a few orders, totalling about 3% of its financing goal. Though other more significant participations have been considered, they will not turn into real orders.

What Happened?

A broad range of people discussed various topics, such as the value of the General License and what it could deliver, the outcomes of the recent Umbraco Community Roundtable, how "Umbraco has changed", the role of a community, and the general direction and agility of the CMS project.

To make it short, the consensus is that it would probably not be possible to achieve much in the current context. And that it may be time to acknowledge what we cannot change. As a usually discreet community member puts it, it may just be simpler to pretend everything is all right—and reconsider expectations and commitments.

The web publishing landscape is quickly evolving, new projects and new ways of building sites appear, new momentums form, safety may require diversification, life is too short, we all want to move forward, all those things.

What Does That Take Us?

I am now terminating the General License experiment. I will not issue licences, nor invoice anyone.

To all of you who have encouraged the experiment or raised concerns, offered perspectives, placed or considered orders or explained why you would not: a massive thank you, #h5yr. I owe you a lot, you truly are a community.

As far as ModelsBuilder or Umbraco are concerned, I am back to full Open Source mode which, as Bruce Perens states, is all about generosity¹. I will happily release new versions and contributions, if and when I have the time and motivation to do so.

❤︎

Be seeing U!