My "spam" button does not work : it has been desactivated.

[TrustFire]

. . . . . . . . . . I'm a long time user . . . . . . . . . .

Which version did you purchase and which version are you using right now?

[Sidewinder]

Hold on ... wait ... are you telling me that FireTrust wants an ANNUAL fee for me to continue use it?!?! Are you serious?? This things just deletes bad email... it's not FEA code!!? And even there: ANSYS requires you to pay an anuual fee for MAINTENANCE ... not to continue to use a product you've already purchased.

Sadly I will have to part ways with FireTrust. I'm a long time user, but I shan't be shoveling $20 a year into a deep hole. Unbelievable.

First you did not "purchase" the software only the right to use it. In this case it was for the period that you paid for.
Second, I guess that you go to work everyday for free.

[kozayagi]

Hey don't get me wrong: It's a great product.

But then so is my car, yet Honda didn't hold me hostage after a year for me to keep using it.

[racker]

Hey don't get me wrong: It's a great product.

But then so is my car, yet Honda didn't hold me hostage after a year for me to keep using it.

You're quite right.. But to stick to your comparisation: if you BOUGHT the car, it's yours and you wouldn't have to pay extra after a year, as you said. But if you LEASED it, well... of course if you wouldn't pay the lease when it's due, you'd lose that right and worse: they'd probably come around and repossess it!

Now with MailWasher, like so many softwareproducts these days, you either "buy" a license for a fixed periode or a lifelong one that'll last you during the natural lifespan of the product.

I don't know how it is with you, but personally I do not like the idea of leasing or having limited licenses one bit. So, if possible (both financially and practically), I buy material objects and take a lifelong license to non- material things (like software), wherever available.

That said, I really feel FireTrust should have been a lot more specific about their licensy policy when they launched the new MailWasher Pro 20XX. Just like you and many others I was under the impression, the upgrade fee was for a lifetime license. Having read their website though, (as I should have done in the first place) I found out that I was wrong. I don't blame FT for their policy (as posted earlier: FT employees have to eat too) but I do criticize their lack of communication in this matter. I think, the way they handled this will surely cost them customers as well as a lot of goodwill. Pity, because IMHO MWP 20XX really is THE ultimate antispam solution and, if explained correctly, I'm sure most people would happily pay the extra amount for a lifelong license.

[kozayagi]

But is there a lifetime option? When I looked at the review webpage it brought me to, there were only the 1 and 2 year options.

I'm not looking forward to the day it locks me out permanently, as that's the day I'll have to revert back to the old version (which does everything I need).

Not to flog a dead horse here... but I believe there is a moral repugnance to creating some code, and then sitting back while the cash rolls in indefinitely from that 1 achievement. Continued payment is warranted ONLY when there's continued development IN COMBINATION WITH a customer who agrees that they are willing to pay an annual fee for maintenance. If someone is perfectly happy with the software as they bought it, and is OK with going it alone without future upgrades, then they should NOT have to continue to pay. I don't care if it was (buried) in the agreement. Not only do people not read those, but most of us trusted FT and certainly believed they were above anything so shady as an update with strings attached. I don't know how to express it more clearly: If I am shocked that FT wants an annual fee, it's NOT only because I was misled, it's because I never expected it. I own A LOT of software, personally and professionally. This is the ONLY one that requires an annual fee.

Imagine if users were expected to pay an annual fee for Windows... it's not because SW is useful that it's OK to expect an indefinite stream of cash from it. FT has taken a huge risk here, and we'll see if it pays off. Certainly $20 a year is not a lot of cash, but if people stop to think about why this is wrong they will dump it on principle, as I have. To me it feels like my wallet's been taken at knife point by a trusted friend.

This is surely Guy Francon morality if I've ever seen it.

[Sidewinder]

[quote="kozayagi"](/quote]
There are some of the affiliates who may still have an inventory of lifetime licenses left.
Search this topic and/or Google for possibilities.

[racker]

But is there a lifetime option? When I looked at the review webpage it brought me to, there were only the 1 and 2 year options.

http://1networkdirect.posterous.com/?tag=mailwasher

I'm not looking forward to the day it locks me out permanently, as that's the day I'll have to revert back to the old version (which does everything I need).

(...)If someone is perfectly happy with the software as they bought it, and is OK with going it alone without future upgrades, then they should NOT have to continue to pay. I don't care if it was (buried) in the agreement. Not only do people not read those, but most of us trusted FT and certainly believed they were above anything so shady as an update with strings attached. I don't know how to express it more clearly: If I am shocked that FT wants an annual fee, it's NOT only because I was misled, it's because I never expected it. (....)

I agree... and so will many others here. I sincerely hope FT will change their policy and "just" disable the upgrades/updates instead of disabling MWP when the licensed periode is over and the customer chooses not to renew.

[kozayagi]

Done! I've purchased a lifetime license. It was not the product I was against, it was the notion of perputual payment for use of...well...ANYTHING.

[michaelkenward]

Done! I've purchased a lifetime license. It was not the product I was against, it was the notion of perputual payment for use of...well...ANYTHING.

Did you get a refund on your first payment?

If not, looks like suckers who bought first time around get shafted by the ever changing pricing regime at Firetrust.

[racker]

Did you get a refund on your first payment? If not, looks like suckers who bought first time around get shafted by the ever changing pricing regime at Firetrust.

Just as you'd get your rent refunded, the moment you'd decide to buy your rented car/appartment/whatever?! Here in the HollowLands by the sea reality might just prove a trifle different, I'm afraid..

[TrustFire]

Done! I've purchased a lifetime license. It was not the product I was against, it was the notion of perputual payment for use of...well...ANYTHING.

Congrats!!!

[michaelkenward]

Did you get a refund on your first payment? If not, looks like suckers who bought first time around get shafted by the ever changing pricing regime at Firetrust.

Just as you'd get your rent refunded, the moment you'd decide to buy your rented car/appartment/whatever?! Here in the HollowLands by the sea reality might just prove a trifle different, I'm afraid..

If you rent (lease) a car, you often get a discount over someone who buys a second hand car of the same variety. I suggest that you consult the lease agreements. Look at the bit about final payments.

You may also get a lower price in some countries if you want to buy a house that you rent. (In the UK that was the cause of a collapse in the availability of social housing.)

Looks like reality is not that good in the HollowLands.

But those are terribly silly examples in the first place. Yet another sign that the HollowLands may be on a different planet from the real world.

Feel free to carry on supporting Firetrust's egregious business practices. Someone has to.

[racker]

(..)Feel free to carry on supporting Firetrust's egregious business practices. Someone has to.

As you may have concluded from my other posts, I do not agree to a policy where software is de-activated when a subscription expires. What's more: to my opinion FT should have given more emphasis to the fact that their new product is subscriptionware; I deem it a grave mistake, albeit not a mortal sin, that they didn't. So... no, I'm not defending Firetrust's practices in this aspect.

BUT... Anyone in their right mind should realize, the development of this outstanding product did -and does- cost a lot of effort and, subsequently, money. So it's only fair if the makers get paid for their efforts, even if they have been unclear in their earlier advertizing.

To stick to the examples I gave: we too have arrangements as you mention; buying a leased car or a rented appartment more than often is lucrative as one's bound to get a nice discount. Claiming a total refund of the payd rent/lease however, would be "ludicrative" instead.

Critisizing is one thing. To keep on nagging about water that long since has passed under the bridge is another.

[stan_qaz]

Until enough folks tell Nick the new license won't fly and either drop MW or go back to v6 there isn't a lot of incentive for him to change. If he does change he has to go to something other than the v6 license as it has proven not to provide adequate income for support and continuing development.

Me I vote for:

A free, very limited version;

A paid unlimited version with a lifetime license but not updated beyond the first year;

A paid lifetime license to keep getting updates.

In addition adding in spam tools on a subscription basis, like FA used to be could provide more income. There are a lot of possibilities that Firetrust could offer that would save users time and hassle but wouldn't cost Firetrust an arm and a leg to provide.

[Sidewinder]

A paid unlimited version with a lifetime license but not updated beyond the first year;

That is a support problem nightmare due to creating the code version spread with each purchase.