Revenue generating features in Pidgin

Tim Ringenbach tim.ringenbach at gmail.com
Tue Feb 12 19:04:20 EST 2008


On Feb 12, 2008 1:56 PM, Etan Reisner <pidgin at unreliablesource.net> wrote:

> I have on more than one occasion suggested in #pidgin that if any feature
> like these was to ever make it into pidgin it would need to be done as a
> plugin. As such they would be entirely optional, but function as
> feature-additions as well as cost-free donations to the project. I am
> quite certain that if were able to come up with plugins which actually
> added usefully to people's IM experience in pidgin they would find users,
> other issues notwithstanding.
>
> I remain incredibly in favor of such plugins, for any and all comers, and
> incredibly against any built-in (that is non-removable) features of this
> sort.
>

That's pretty close to my opinion on the subject. If there was a plugin that
added a search bar to pidgin and pidgin got kickbacks for using it (doesn't
firefox have an arrangement like this?), that's fine with me as long as it's
disableable.  The debate then becomes on or off by default. On by default
gets you more people using it, which leads to more money. But some users
will probably be horribly offended.

Of course even if it was a 3rd party plugin that you had to compile by hand
by typing "cat | gcc -" and manually typing in the C code that consists
mostly of inline assembler, some loyal users would still go out of their way
to use it.


--Tim
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