Title: WordPress Plugin Site Cleanup.
Last modified: August 21, 2016

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# WordPress Plugin Site Cleanup.

 *  [arcain6](https://wordpress.org/support/users/arcain6/)
 * (@arcain6)
 * [12 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/)
 * I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but i think it’s time WordPress starts to separate
   plugins a bit further.
 * It’s annoying crawling through all the plugins to find one that ” might ” suit
   your needs, and usually, when you find one that seems to fit your EXACT need.
   It turns out to be GIMPWARE.
 * What is gimpware you ask.. It’s where a developer of a plugin, or software intentionally
   makes it less useful in the hopes a user will buy the missing or ” gimped ” functionality.
 * How would you feel if someone gave you a free car.. only to find out you have
   to pay for the doors, seats, tires, engine, windscreen, mirrors, turn-signals,
   and seat-belts separately, at 5times a reasonable price. Or worse.. you had to
   pay for each of these bits monthly.
 * That is what these new plugin developers are doing. They are senging out Gimped
   versions, wordpress is hosting them for free.. and they get all the money. Seems
   like a bad deal for WP, and it’s users.
 * Some of the worse offenders are people like WMPUDev, with their myriad encrypted
   plugins that are gimped, and nag the user all the time.
 * There’s no sane reason for wordpress to keep this going. It costs WP bandwidth
   by hosting their plugins for them, but doesn’t get wordpress any funds.
 * Here’s the proposal.
    Normal opensource, free, non-gimped plugins goes onto the
   plugins page under category: **FREE **– No strings attached, free to distribute/
   edit etc **OPENSOURCE **– has GPL or other opensource license, and isn’t gimped.**
   Licensed **– Free, but has license for branding removal (otherwise fully funcitonal)
 * Payed / gimpled plugins go on a totally seperate page, using categories such 
   as:
    **Subscription **– monthly fee to use full version **Teired **– you pay 
   for each bit of functionality **commercial **– one time payment for ungimped 
   version
 * **Free **– Doesn’t cost the user anything
    Any plugin that isn’t gimped, limited,
   or otherwise hobbled unless paying extra goes in this area of the site.
 * **Commercial **– Costs user money.
    If the plugin has any sort of paid ” premium”“
   extension” or otherwise paid-for-usability goes in this area.
 * I’m sorry but just because you hand out an almost useless plugin for free so 
   you can sell all the ” bits ” that make it work as it should have from get go,
   doesn’t mean your plugin is free.. it’s **GIMPWARE**.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

 *  Thread Starter [arcain6](https://wordpress.org/support/users/arcain6/)
 * (@arcain6)
 * [12 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141193)
 * Perhaps also integrate a reporting feature so users can ” report ” the plugin
   to have to moved to the correct page / category
 *  [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/)
 * (@wpyogi)
 * [12 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141194)
 * >  but doesn’t get wordpress any funds.
 * WordPress.ORG does not get any funds from any plugins, and ONLY free versions
   of plugins are allowed on the WordPress.ORG repository.
 *  [WPyogi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wpyogi/)
 * (@wpyogi)
 * [12 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141196)
 * You might also want to see:
 * [http://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/](http://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/)
 *  [Andrew Nevins](https://wordpress.org/support/users/anevins/)
 * (@anevins)
 * WCLDN 2018 Contributor | Volunteer support
 * [12 years, 8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141373)
 * Btw I would be happy with the free car analogy.
 *  Moderator [Pippin Williamson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mordauk/)
 * (@mordauk)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141609)
 * I’d take a free car with no doors any day.
 *  Moderator [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ipstenu/)
 * (@ipstenu)
 * 🏳️‍🌈 Advisor and Activist
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141610)
 * You mean a Jeep?
 * > What is gimpware you ask.. It’s where a developer of a plugin, or software 
   > intentionally makes it less useful in the hopes a user will buy the missing
   > or ” gimped ” functionality.
 * On a serious answer, honestly it annoys me too as a user, but as someone who 
   wants to make a living in WP, I understand it totally. We do require plugins 
   be functional but your definitions of gimpware forgets services.
 * > Payed / gimpled plugins go on a totally seperate page, using categories such
   > as:
   >  Subscription – monthly fee to use full version Teired – you pay for each
   > bit of functionality commercial – one time payment for ungimped version
 * If everything in the plugin is in the plugin code and it’s locked down? TOTALLY
   frustrating. If you have to buy add-ons, well, okay, you deserve to make a living
   and I don’t mind paying for something of proven value (FWIW I bought some of 
   Pippin’s add ons for his EDD plugin).
 * But then there’s VaultPress, which is installed on my box (check) but calls back
   to THEIR server, so I pay a monthly fee for the service. And that’s not gimped
   at all I think, since it’s clear what I’m paying for.
 *  [Scott Fennell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scofennellgmailcom/)
 * (@scofennellgmailcom)
 * [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141611)
 * I think tagging a plugin with something that clearly conveys its payment model
   could be beneficial. Investing time into finding, installing, learning, configuring
   a plugin only to later learn that what you REALLY want is outside of your budget
   could be a bad experience, and one that leads people to view WP in a negative
   light.
 * I think it’s a little unseemly to complain about getting anything for free (not
   that the OP was necessarily doing that, though lots of other certainly do). But
   wanting to be clear from the outset about “how free” something is? I think that’s
   worth consideration.

Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)

The topic ‘WordPress Plugin Site Cleanup.’ is closed to new replies.

 * In: [Requests and Feedback](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/requests-and-feedback/)
 * 7 replies
 * 6 participants
 * Last reply from: [Scott Fennell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/scofennellgmailcom/)
 * Last activity: [12 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-wordpress-plugin-site-cleanup/#post-4141611)
 * Status: not resolved

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