The ocPortal/ocProducts business model - Comments

Succinct, and yes, a good referral point for when demands and expectations become unreasonable.

Only one observation: when did they become a 'company'?

"… offshoring to companies like India …"

 

haha. Good point .

Chris-

I am glad you wrote this as it summarizes and clarifies things quite well.

As a member of the third group, I have no budget for my project. But I started to ask myself what was the value that ocPortal brought me. As a result of that thought process, I decided that it was appropriate for me to sponsor some tracker items as my contribution to the community. Yes, I will benefit directly from most of the changes but I even sponsored one item (#137) I do not currently see a need for just so the catalog stuff got wrapped up.

I wish I had the skills of temp1024, Jean or Fletch, but aside from the occasional question I can answer, I do not. I have received so much more than I have given to this community. I have resolved that next year, I will purchase a certain number of credits each quarter  as my continuing support for the community and ocPortal. Does this make ocPortal less "free" for me? No. It allows me to give back to the community and to get the stuff I want done prioritized. I recognize that not everyone is in the position to do this, but the generous referral option allows those who know decision-makers with a budget to get free credits while helping others resolve their web presence needs.

One more thing I would like to tack on is translations. Everyone is busy (especially leading up to the holidays) but a collaborative effort to work on a translation will make quick work of these projects and will add great value to ocPortal just at the cost of a bit of time. The translations are probably the weakest area for ocPortal compared to the competition. Fortunately, they are also one of the easiest to address.

In the end, what I am saying echoes Chris's summarization: Try to find a way to give more than you get. It's a rewarding feeling.

Bob

This was forwarded to me. The fundamental subject was supposedly 'India'.

I had a good belly-laugh at first, then I pondered the fact that in another 15-20 years this little tyke will be competing for your IT job!

 

Hehe, cute .