Oh boy here we go yet again. I'm astounded by people's inability to read or even understand the basics. Let me help.
1. The pricing model has been used for as long as Stardock has existed. Yes prices change.
2. Stardock is NOT every other company. Saying crap like <Insert my fav company here> would never charge me blabidy is moot.
3. All of this is spelled out quite clearly and has been forever (See 1. above).
4. Not only is it publicly available it is all over this message board at least 50 times. If you can't do a simple search then i don't know what to say.
5. Define what constitutes "Arbitrary".
6. I suppose Neil and the gang should just keep working for free forever.
7. And finally suggesting piracy is the single most asinine and dumbest thing you could ever do. Or were you just not aware of that policy being clearly spelled out as well?
The pricing model HAS NOT been used for as long as Stardock has existed. Even if I ignore their dubious use of the term "lifetime," it was never a subscription model and now it is. You purchased and that was the end of it.
If I never update past 5, why should I have to continue paying every year? What continual service am I getting that justifies continual payment? Updates? Like I said, the updates are rare and bugs have existed since Fences 3 (probably also existed in earlier versions), so what exactly is the justification that I continue to pay? I remember only getting 2 updates for Fences 3, and then they came out with 4. It's not like they are rolling out updates every week or even month.
Also, What happens when Fences 6 inevitably comes out after barely updating 5? Do I get to stop having to pay for 5 annually? Does my subscription automatically transfer to 6? Considering Stardock's "This version only" mindset, I'd hazard a guess that I'm expected to continue to pay for 5 forever even if it never gets another update. How is Stardock justifying that I pay continuously for a Software they stopped supporting because they decided to put a new number after the word "Fences"?
On the subject of "arbitrary" consider what are the actual differences in the "major" versions of the software? They changed the menu and renamed some of the features, maybe fixed a bug or two. I mentioned one bug that's existed in at least 3 "major" versions now at least. There are probably others, so we know the code probably isn't rewritten from scratch each time. So ask yourself, what exactly constitutes a "major" version to Stardock? What major changes were make that aren't bug fixes that makes it worthy of being version 5 instead of 4.whatever? Slapping a new whole number onto something with pretty minor changes seems pretty arbitrary to me.
When did I ever suggest piracy?
I've made my point. The subscription model is dumb and pretty unjustified. Not going to waste my time here or on software by this company anymore.
