So disappointed with the adware

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tonicboy
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So disappointed with the adware

Post by tonicboy »

Words can't express how disappointed with the adware bundled with the latest version (3.62). I'm not disappointed in the adware itself - you've worked hard on this great product and you deserve to make some money off it - but I'm more disappointed in how it's presented to the user in a completely deceptive manner. Every effort is made to trick the user into installing this crap without fully realizing what they are getting into. Come on, show a little class. This guarantees that I will never, ever pay money for this product. And yes, I do pay for shareware when I feel it's a worthwhile product made by a deserving company.
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

I've switched to OC because its by far the most serious and during testing I was pleasantly surprised how it works.

Can you send me screenshots of deceptive offers? I've already disabled all adware I consider crapware completely. And the remaining offers I only allow the trustworthy ones to be checked by default.

So why is Bing toolbar checked by default? Because last time I installed Skype they did the same. And it was less obvious than the OC offer. If Microsoft / Skype does it, I don't feel too bad. You're welcome to switch to Ubuntu. ;)

All that being said. All the OC offers are fairly obvious and completely optional. There is always the option to opt-out.


PS: If I wanted to become rich I would force people to pay for this. Rather than give it away for free, which I've been doing for the last 7 years. And still do, as proven by me maintaining chocolatey install and the msi packages. Using OC does not even remotely cover the cost in time I spent on this but rather gives me some financial leeway to support the free web services and libraries filebot is built on (as well as the occasional coffee for me).

EDIT: Currently FileBot has about 60.000 unique monthly users. IF only 1 in 100 donated only $1 that would be $600 a month. I'd consider myself very happy, fully appreciated for my work and have no issues with spending time on development and support. So why do I use OC? Even though it make less than $5 per day? Because people willing to donate is more like somewhere between 1 in 1.000 in a good month to 1 in 10.000 in a bad one. Not to mention that for the first 5 years it was a total of 2-3 donations per year. And from what I can tell more than half the people that donate are OSX / Linux / Linux Embedded users. So why should the minority of OSX / Linux users support development of software that is mostly used by Windows users? It seems OSX and Linux users are willing to pay for software whereas Windows users are used to pay through advertisements and shareware trials and whatnot.

So people that support me and appreciate my work will always get the best support possible. You know who you are and you're the best! Any commercial software I may release in the future will be free to you guys.
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jayjay
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by jayjay »

Couldn't agree more with original poster. I too donate to free software that I find useful however in this case I will not use filebot, free or not given the adware. It is now gone. I wanted to trial this software as I haven't given it much of a run yet & updated to find it installed firefox addon (free games), search protect search redirection and angry birds shortcut appeared on desktop. Doing malware removal now so don't know the full extent of crap installed on my computer yet by this software. Thanks for wasting my time removing this stuff now.
Now don't give me the you can opt out line because I did opt out from installing a dragon game (don't know the name). There were no other boxes giving you a choice. All this was installed in a deceptive manner without my knowledge.
I'll stick to what I use now instead. I'll be happy to write a review on filebot but it won't be nice so I'll just not say anything.
Finally don't get me wrong, I understand your need to make some money on this work, just tell people first & don't do it like this. Give us the choice whether or not we want the adware included & certainly retain an option to opt out on everything. However I bet you'd find the people willing to try your software will taper off dramatically, wonder why that is.
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

The installer will display 2 offer screens, both of which are obvious and can be opted-out. As per TOS of OpenCandy.

If you send me a screenshot of an offer screen that is misleading I will disable the given ad completely and forever.
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Thomassp
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by Thomassp »

chose decline, still got adware.
this sucks
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

OpenCandy will not install anything unless you accept it. Please send a screen shot of that offer that's apparently tricking you into accepting and I will disable that product.
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Ithiel
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by Ithiel »

I've had some pretty bad experiences with OpenCandy in the past, and basically avoid any installers that require it. Mind you, since installing with an older version ages back, I've been able to update by just downloading the new .jar, so it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me, but still - I can see how it would freak a few others out.

Just a thought: it might be worth either offering a 'non advert' version for donors, or even having an option to register to remove adverts?

As far as ways to integrate the adverts, there are alternatives to OC (preferably one that doesn't trigger alerts in most AV programs), and maybe even having an advert window in the app itself (like the window that's in the bottom right of the newer uTorrent versions).

I donated about $10 a while back, but if given the option between 'FileBot Free' (ad sponsored in a non horrible way) vs 'FileBot Pro' (pay $X*, get no ads, forum badge, maybe priority support or access to a VIP part of the forum... token gesture/value add stuff).. I'd happily hand over a few quid again :-)

I think that by bringing in a monetization model that's both respectful to the community and to you as the developer, it'll be better for everyone: you get a fair kickback for all your hard work, and that then helps you make a product that's better for us as well.

* For the Pro/VIP/Whatever fancy name version, you could either go with an upfront 'Pay $25 once' or whatever, or a smaller but more consistent 'Pay $4.99/Year' sorta deal. I think a smaller annual subscription (with, say, an initial/limited 'lifetime membership' promo for $19.99 - like what Plex is doing with their PlexPass) would probably be better though as it's a lower barrier to entry, gives you ongoing revenue, and is an encouragement for you to keep adding new features (such as making it a little more newbie-friendly by including some templates or maybe a 'Episode Format Builder' tool or something... which would be epic).

Long story short: if you can give people a good enough reason to sign up for a paid version in a way that will add to their experience, people should signup in droves - I know I would. :-)
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

I've set everything to Opt-Out (since last month) and everything that seems like adware is completely disabled (since always).

With the settings it's about 100$ per month, which is slightly less than what I make from the Ubuntu Software Center (about 40 installs per month 2.5$ each). I'm not in it for the money, but even if I was, the OpenCandy income wouldn't matter. This is just to make vast majority of Windows users that generally don't contribute at least contribute a little.

Also since I require users to consciously opt-in I don't see an issue. And most importantly the OpenCandy/NSIS installer is completely separate from the actual MSI package and my code base. ;)

Hint: So you can just download the MSI package directly. ;)

Hint 2: Ignore Hint 1 and use the chocolatey package that I maintain. Just type cinst filebot and it's done, no manual download, no manual install, no manual update.


PS:
I actually did try InstallMonetizer before I got accepted by OpenCandy, and they did pay ALOT better, but they only do questionable adware, always somewhat hidden opt-in by default, and worst of all it works by dynamically downloading and executing an exe file in the installer. This is scary stuff, and I removed that again before a few months later I got into OpenCandy. From what I can tell, the OpenCandy teams takes their TOS seriously and will ban violators. There is no viable alternative that is even remotely as credible as OpenCandy.

PS2:
I am steering toward a complete UI rewrite. But it'll be written exclusively for Mac AppStore (and possibly Ubuntu Software Center).
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Ithiel
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by Ithiel »

rednoah wrote:I am steering toward a complete UI rewrite. But it'll be written exclusively for Mac AppStore (and possibly Ubuntu Software Center).
UI Rewrite - great.. Leaving out Windows - noo! *sobs*

lol, my Windows 8.1 laptop(s) & tablet, Windows Phone 8 (Lumia 920), and Xbox One all highly object to your Mac preferences :-P

thou shall not have apple products within the confines of this home!
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

It's gonna be all JavaFX so I'll work best on Windows Desktop, just no user-friendly way to sell it! :D (So I'll make sure to just give you a Windows bundle once I got something ;))
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Ithiel
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by Ithiel »

woohoo! *does a little dance*
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

What happens to the blood money I make with OpenCandy? I forward-donate it to the massively under-appreciated API projects! :mrgreen:
2013-12-31 09_32_54-Receipt for your donation to Boris Brodski.png
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rednoah
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Re: So disappointed with the adware

Post by rednoah »

I prefer forum posts over ratings, especially shitty ones, and especially not ones that add feature requests to reviews when a feature request here in the forums makes so much more sense.

Also I actually check the forums more than once a month so if you post here I'll actually be able to reply and fix it. And especially with OpenCandy I have no issues with disabling shady ads, and it seems to work cause earnings are down to $1 per day! :lol:
2014-01-13 01_03_07-OC.png
UPDATE:
Gonna turn on OpenCandy completely and just to get some statistics on how well it could do if nothing is disabled, for a while, before I completely remove it from the installer for the next big release.
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