Thread Tools Display Modes
11-14-13, 12:44 PM   #1
spiel2001
nUI's Author
 
spiel2001's Avatar
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 7,724
An open letter to nUI "users" and supporters...

This is a hard letter to write, but one I nonetheless feel I must.

I have been a WoW player and modder pretty much since vanilla WoW. If memory serves me correctly, the first version of nUI released was for WoW patch 1.2 – or maybe that was the first big nUI update? -- What I remember of the early days of WoW was the sense of gamer community… guilds were large and players worked closely together to help one another achieve their levels, dungeons and instances. There was no shortage of jerks in those days, but they were the outliers and largely ostracized by the community.

The nUI community was much the same… large, active and quick to help one another.


I have long sensed that the game was different after the introduction of the dungeon and raid finder… there was less need for a guild among the average players and only the hardcore raiding guilds really had a purpose. The game changed. There was really no need for cooperation and dungeons and raids became a place where it was a race to see how fast it could be completed, no one spoke to anyone and rudeness and crassness were the norm. In this environment, the jerks thrived and multiplied.


Sadly, the last few weeks have led me to believe the same has become the case in the nUI community. While there remains a select few truly wonderful and caring people in the community, the vast majority just wants free software and free support and couldn’t care less about anything else. And if the crap I have had to put up with in my email inbox over the last few weeks is any indication, a non-trivial segment of the nUI user base are “users” in the crassest form of the word. The volume of expletive laced, crude, insulting, vitriol I’ve read has put me off in the biggest way. I won’t quote the crass things that have been written to me.


nUI has well over 1 million downloads in its history. Likewise, it has had well over 100,000 unique users over the years. At present, it has close to 14,000 subscribers to the newsletter. Each and every download, unique user and newsletter subscriber is someone who has used nUI… they play the game using the fruits of my labor, send me forum posts and emails asking me to solve their problems using nUI, fix bugs, add features, etc. This I have happily done for many years during which time I have rarely asked anything of them… I ask only that they consider making a donation to support the time, energy and resources I invest in keeping nUI alive. Historically, when I have reached out to the community over one need or another, they have responded with kindness and consideration and come through for me.


Recently I undertook a cause that was very near and dear to me on the most personal level. It isn’t about global warming, or socialism, or even political. It was about a lifetime desire to conserve something precious, create a legacy, a place for education, research and relaxation and a place from which I could work in the future. I asked just three simple things of the nUI user community in regard to that…
  1. Please look at my link at and read my storyhttp://igg.eco-geeks.org
  2. Please consider supporting my goal with a contribution… if only because it is important to me
  3. Please share my goal with people you know who would appreciate the intent
What I got in response to emailing that request to over 13,000 users of my free software was two people who wrote me to say thank you for what I was doing, fewer than a dozen who made a contribution (for which I am eternally grateful) and more hate-filled rhetoric than I could stomach or cared to respond to anymore… there were many times more people who sent me hate mail than there were who showed any sort of support or appreciation. Day after day new emails written specifically for the sake of punishing me in one way or another for having the audacity to ask those who use my software to read an email or give a crap about something other than precisely their free software and support.

The common thread being that I had no right to ask the people who use my software for free to read an email from me about something that was important to me and “not about nUI” – well, I have news for these people… I am nUI. I write it and maintain it for the enjoyment I get from the challenge and for my love of the nUI community. Trust me, I make next to nothing in donations and I don’t need my ego stroked. I do it because I love(d) the community of nUI users and WoW players.


Sadly…I can no longer make that statement. I am disgusted by the (a) apathy and (b) hatefulness I have been witness to over the last couple of weeks.


At present I am traveling (in support of the eco-geeks.org project) with very limited data access, so I have had a great deal of time to contemplate these recent events. In addition, each time I have gotten access to data, my email box has filled itself up with more hate from the people who use my software.


It leads me to ask myself a singular question: why am I bothering to do this anymore?


The answer to that is, at first, “because I have loyal and caring supporters” – then I realize there are so many more people who are willing to call me expletive filled names and yell at me than there are caring supporters and I left with the answer “I don’t know why I do this anymore”


So, there it is.


I have come to the sad conclusion that I will no longer support nUI publicly. I will no longer make public releases of nUI, either. The vast majority of the nUI user base has made it perfectly clear they don’t give a crap and a non-trivial segment of those users have gone the extra step to kick sand in my face and tell me to piss off about what’s important to me and to just keep giving them their free support and updates.


Well… in the real world, when you kick sand in the face of those who help you for free, you can’t be real surprised when they tell you to go pound sand. And that’s where I am.


To the existing nUI supporters and those who have contributed to my campaign at http://igg.eco-geeks.org, please know that I will continue to support you and I will continue to provide updates in the supporters only (premium) section of nUIaddon.com and that I will not abandon you. Sometime next week I’ll send you direct private email on that subject. However, if you feel that my decision to stop providing free public support and updates to nUI is in contradiction to your donation to nUI, please e-mail me and I will gladly issue you a full refund of your donation, no questions asked.


As already noted, I am traveling with limited data access, and therefore cannot respond to emails or posts until next week. Nor can I implement any of the changes I’m calling out here. However, after I get back to the States next week, I will be closing the public nUI support forums on both WoWI and nUIaddon.com and setting up a single-support forum for the past nUI donors and those who have been contributing code changes and fixes. I will also be discontinuing all new public releases and will not respond to any public or email requests for support from anyone outside this select group.


I would like to remind everyone that nUI is NOT public domain software… unauthorized distribution of any future nUI releases or modifications to the existing publicly released versions of nUI is strictly prohibited from this date forward. I will actively protect my intellectual property rights and work product.


I’m truly sorry it has come to this, but I have, frankly, never been so offended by so many and I cannot rationalize any reason why I should continue to freely support tens of thousands of people who couldn’t give less of a damn about the person who provides them the software and support they use daily, or worse, see fit to ridicule, harass and offend him.


I’m sorry… but I’m done.


Again, I thank every single person who has supported nUI over the years be it donations, contributing ideas, code fixes, or helping others, and I assure you that I will continue to support each and every one of you in private. To the rest, I will say only that in this world, you get what you give. If you give nothing, you get nothing and have no right to expect otherwise. Consider this a teaching moment.


For those of you who saw fit to email me with your hate, insults and vitriol… you have much to learn about life and you also now have a large community of people who think you are dirt bags. They are not wrong.


And on that note, I say a sad and somewhat heartbroken goodbye to the WoW community. This is the last newsletter I will be sending and the last public statement I will be making in regard to nUI.


Scott
__________________

What people don't get is that I am, ultimately, an artist at heart.
My brush has two colors, 1 and 0, and my canvas is made of silicon.



Official nUI Web Site: http://www.nUIaddon.com
Official nUI Support Forum: http://forums.nUIaddon.com
My day job: http://www.presidio.com/
 
11-14-13, 01:01 PM   #2
bumfletch1
A Kobold Labourer
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 1
This really makes me sad. I haven't played WoW in two years but I still get my nUI newsletters. While I was playing, Scott made my life easier with his interface. I'm sorry you feel this way Scott, but I definitely understand your reasoning. I'm glad you are going to continue supporting nUI for the few who have helped you along in your journey. Good luck in your future endeavors!
 
11-14-13, 01:09 PM   #3
todd0168
A Frostmaul Preserver
 
todd0168's Avatar
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 290
Scott,

Let me start by saying how very sorry I am to hear this. When I first received your email regarding your new endeavor I was not offended in any way. You were expressing your concerns over something you obviously hold dear to your heart. And I commend you for that. For everyone who felt the need to berate you in any way for that, sucks to be them. It's sadly still surprising to me to see how many people get offended at other people for no reason at all. If you don't like that he sent you it, fine, just delete it, and, if necessary, remove yourself from the mailing list. But to personally attack him for that just shows how childish and immature you really are. I totally support and understand your decision in this matter. I would probably do the same thing. As a paid subscriber, I appreciate the fact that you are going to continue to help support this addon. I don't play WoW nearly as much as I used to, but, when I do, I can't imagine playing it without nUI. Thank you for not hurting those of us who do a little more than just ride your coattails in this endeavor. While I was not able to financially support your new endeavor, I do hope that you manage to succeed on that project. I know it will make a big difference to many people.

Todd
__________________
 
11-14-13, 01:24 PM   #4
reddrumjay
A Black Drake
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 85
Originally Posted by todd0168 View Post
I don't play WoW nearly as much as I used to, but, when I do, I can't imagine playing it without nUI.
This.


Scott, I can't blame you. Nobody deserves that kind of crap. Sad to see the declining game environment bled into the real world.
__________________
Murphy's Law of Combat: Always remember your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

 
11-14-13, 01:56 PM   #5
richwarf
A Chromatic Dragonspawn
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 199
I have also quit playing WoW, when I did come back for a month or two, the first addon I reinstalled was nUI. It seems sad to think that the next time I return (if I ever do), there will be no public nUI.

The sad thing is, the changes you listed in your public letter are the every reasons why I lost interest in the game. They are also the main reason which stops me paying for a game which will very quickly become a third unpaid job.

If I do ever come back to WoW, I will most likely (if you are still supporting) come and give you some money for access to my core UI.

P.S. This is the first e-mail I have had off you for about a year, so have only just know that you where trying to do good outside of the game. I will have a look at it now.
__________________
 
11-14-13, 02:00 PM   #6
nythil
A Defias Bandit
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 3
My jaw dropped when I read this email. To keep this very simple:

1. I was not offended by your emails regarding your eco-geeks project. In fact I visited the site and was impressed with your love of things outside the gaming community.

2. Although I'm not guilty of apathy, I am guilty of complacency. So in my small way, as soon as this post is finished, I'm heading to your eco-geeks site and making a contribution. I know this is a little too late, but my hope is that it relieves some of the disappointment and hurt you've had to endure.

3. I'm not currently a nUI premium subscriber, but cannot imagine playing WoW without it. Hopefully you will continue to accept new premium members. Your email mentioned supporting current members, but nothing about new members. Does that opportunity still exists for those of us who love nUI?

4. There are good people in this world, sometimes we just need a hearty dose of reality to spur us into action.

Best of luck in your endeavors.
 
11-14-13, 03:36 PM   #7
Bomyne
A Flamescale Wyrmkin
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 123
So I woke up this morning to a very disturbing email in my inbox. It is from you, Scott. And I'm shocked to read it.

The very notion that people can be so damn selffish... All you have done is ask people to read an email... for 5 minutes of their time. I personally have read the email you sent, and while I can't afford to contribute at this time, I think you DO have the right to ask for a bit of our time. After all, we use a software that you have spent hours upon hours working on.

There is no such thing as free software. Every piece of software out there, from something small like nUI, to Firefox, to Windows itself, all takes time and effort, and even money, to create. We should be grateful that you, the Mozilla foundation, and other companies, people and organizations, are willing to let us use their hardwork for free... I mean, at no cost to us, the end users.

I'd like to say thank you for your years of effort. I love nUI, I don't ever want to stop using nUI in my WoW interface set up. Please don't let the bad eggs get to you.
 
11-17-13, 05:31 PM   #8
Tanger
A Defias Bandit
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 2
I have tried your UI off and on for some time. Unfortunatly I have not been able to play much in the last year. I have been able to get a few friends to try your UI and I do not know if they have subscribed.

I have tried to subscribe. The wow-interface link to payment is bad. I went to the web site and found a payment method there. Something is wrong with the security because the pay-pal lit up like a christmas tree with secruity warnings and would not allow a payment. I am about to be playing a lot more and I would like to contribute. Perhaps you can take a look at what is wrong that would prevent anyone from contributing.
 
11-18-13, 12:23 AM   #9
Chmee
A Molten Giant
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 960
I'm still trying to digest all this.

Personally, I had no problem with the rainforest thing. Haven't donated there yet, but I probably will. As for the people who went into attack mode, they aren't worth consideration. As my grandfather the coal miner would have said "not worth the powder to blow 'em to Hell." Scott, I'm sorry you were subjected to it, but frankly I'm not surprised. Our entire society is losing any semblance of civility, and not just on the internet. :-)

Anyway, I just donated via Paypal (well, I used a credit card there) and had no problems. The page did "light up" but that was probably me hitting the enter key at the wrong time. I just finished filling out the form and went on. At the end, I hit the "return to spielwerkz" button and got a message that the donation had failed. About 5 seconds later I got an (automated, I'm sure) email from Scott saying it was received okay, and I should log out and and back in at nuiaddon.com to make sure it 'took'. It did.

I haven't played WoW at all in several months. Keep intending to get back to it, but life intervenes. If I came back and couldn't use nUI, i'd probably just bag it and go back to other games. But I'll hang in there for now.

Take care, Scott, and don't let the bastards grind you down!

Kazei Stormcaller
 
11-21-13, 03:25 PM   #10
Seer
A Molten Giant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 649
Well, small donation done.

3000+ raised. Not a bad ammount I guess.
__________________
Take it as you want or leave it as it is.
 
11-21-13, 05:05 PM   #11
Warlocksareawesome1
A Kobold Labourer
 
Warlocksareawesome1's Avatar
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1
I don't even know where to begin on this.
How people could ever be so disrespectful to something that you clearly care about is disgusting enough..
that its coming from people who you've actually been writing this addon for is just hideous.

If this is the reaction your getting from people I'm really not surprised you've had enough.
I'd just like to say, obviously, that this is probably my favorite UI ever, and if i was actually working I'd have contributed to your cause.

Utterly mortified by the people who play this game.
__________________
A man may fight for many things. His country, his friends, his principles, the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd mud-wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a sack of French pron.-Blackadder-
 
11-22-13, 11:11 AM   #12
Seer
A Molten Giant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 649
Originally Posted by Warlocksareawesome1 View Post
Utterly mortified by the people who play this game.
Nothing to do with people playing this game. Just people.
__________________
Take it as you want or leave it as it is.
 
11-24-13, 11:47 AM   #13
roplusbee
A Kobold Labourer
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 1
Scott:

I just recently started using your interface and WoW what a difference it had made. I still have xPerl installed, but disabled. Once I test drove 5.07.xxxx for a few days, I went ahead and subscribed. I can't see why someone (namely the thousands of users of NUI+) would NOT donate a few buck to your cause. From casual forum browsing, I can see that you support the UI AND help people in N00B moments. Good job man...........don't let the haters and such discourage you!
 
11-25-13, 09:54 AM   #14
azrath
A Defias Bandit
 
azrath's Avatar
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 2
Late to the game

Just saw your past emails and was greatly displeased that anyone would treat another person in this manner. I haven't played WOW in a few years now, but still remember NUI being my favorite UI replacement. I was considering returning to WOW and was looking for the latest download when I came across this posting. While I had nothing to do with the negative, I wanted to add my positive response and a heartfelt thank you for creating and maintaining a great UI and for being so giving of your time and efforts to a community, which I suspect for the most part is fully supportive of you. Please don't let the negative responses get you down and go where your heart tells you to go. If they don't get it, thats their loss.

Thanks again for a great UI. If and when I return to WOW, I don't know, but I will look into your chosen cause and if I am able will make a contribution.

Thanks
Scott
 
11-25-13, 11:07 PM   #15
lairdofdeath
A Theradrim Guardian
AddOn Author - Click to view addons
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 63
just saw this post (as i only have limited time nowadays with school and work) i am real sorry to see this addon go but you have to do what you have to do it just sux have some people can screw things up for a lot of others
 
11-30-13, 09:51 AM   #16
dbarron
A Defias Bandit
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 3
I'm sorry Scott

I'm horrified (but not surprised) at the reaction you got. I can't donate at the present (unemployed), but I did want to make the effort to speak up...and to also say I think the cause is near and dear to MY heart too. I've a biological background and find the losses of species and habitat to our planet, heart-breaking.
 
 

WoWInterface » Featured Projects » nUI, MozzFullWorldMap and PartySpotter » Support » nUI: Announcements » An open letter to nUI "users" and supporters...

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off