Facepunch Survey Results, Monetizing ULX

[Stickly Man!]

Someone ran a survey on Facepunch over the past week, and here are the results:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17lLEjmsthQj0L0rubOZxKA3ax4FqXcuMWqa6k0YE1ys/edit#gid=1010152477

Not the largest number of responses, but gives an interesting insight into opinions on selling scripts, etc.

[MrPresident]

I don't see the point of selling scripts exclusively.
Isn't the point of being a developer to get your product out there for as many people to enjoy as possible?

It's all about a legacy!
No matter what happens to ULX in the coming years, it will always be remembered as one of the best admin mods that gmod has ever seen.
That would not have been possible if Megiddo decided years ago that he wanted to be exclusive with it.

That's just my opinion on the topic though. Everyone has the right to be compensated for their hard work how they see fit. I choose the satisfaction of seeing people enjoy something that I've created. Some people might choose money. So long as they don't break any kind of licensing, they have the right to choose that. The only reason people would have negative or strongly negative opinions toward that is because they have come to expect everything for free and to just be given to them.

I kind of believe that the people who strongly object to having to pay for scripts are the ones who are unreasonable here. If you don't want to pay for a script, then make it yourself. If you can't make it yourself, then guess what.. You wouldn't expect a mechanic to fix your car for free. This is no different. Time is money.

I've run a server that costs me anywhere from $110-130 per month for the last 6 years or so. I've been blessed with a very generous community so the cost to me personally is very low. I don't do it to make a profit. I do it because I love doing it. I genuinely enjoy making things purely for the enjoyment of others. Every dime that people give me as "payment" for my scripts (which can always be downloaded for free here or on my site) or through donations to my server stay within the community to pay for server costs and such.

Anyway, that's just my rant on the matter. I guess I'm kind of neutral on the topic. People should be allowed to do what they want with what they create.

[Megiddo]

Hmm, it is interesting how negative most people view script market places. These are probably the same people that think that asking $1 for a game on your phone is too much, too.

[Stickly Man!]

Interesting points MrPresident- I definitely agree with you.

---

I guess I should bring this up now. Megiddo and I have been toying with the idea of monetizing ULX in some way for version 4. We haven't decided anything yet, we're currently just looking at options and ideas. I definitely don't want to put ULX or any commands/plugins behind a paywall- or charging for something that was once available for free.

My idea has been to rebuild ULX as it is now, for free. What we could charge for are any additional (advanced) features to aid in server administration outside of Garry's Mod. If you take a look at our Google Doc, these bits stand out as good candidates:

Flexible Configuration and Multi-Server Support
Web Configuration and Administration Interface

Essentially, ULX will remain free to use, but we could offer remote administration and configuration, database syncing, etc. that we could host on our own servers. This also has an advantage that it can't be "leaked", which seems to happen to any gmod script that's being sold. Additionally, these advanced features will likely take up a lot of development time which is hard to justify otherwise, as fewer people will find a use for it.

Anyways, I'm going to change the topic of this thread and officially begin this conversation with the following questions:
 - How do you all feel about monetizing ULX?
 - How can we go about compensating our time without compromising the free and open culture we already have?
 - What other ways can we potentially earning money from ULX? Brainstorm here- I'd like to see all possible options, even ones we won't agree with.

Thanks for your input, I am interested in seeing where this discussion leads!

Edit: Oh! Megiddo started a "Paid Features" section at the bottom of the Google doc with a tiny bit of information as well!

[JamminR]

Though it ties into multi-server support, I'd definitely suggest SQL integration of bans and UCL as a $ $upported "feature".
Though I of course don't have the code skill, perhaps a USQLoo .dll or .so for SQL integration?
In hopes that, this way, we as a team wouldn't have to worry about SQL libraries going out of style every 2 years.
Keep it in house. Charge for it (REASONABLE fee, of course), keep it up to date as a side-job.
Though I dislike DRM, I imagine we could keep some type of key or allowed host system so that anyone who managed to copy it couldn't just add it to any server the wanted.