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So, this morning I received an angry email from some guy pissed off that I wasn’t responding to his emails requesting support on the Customize Your Community plugin that I paid to have developed and had given away for free (that says it accepts donations, but of course, he didn’t donate) right after I had it developed. His email said:
“Rae Hoffman-
I am confused your website comes off as really credible and you seem to be connected some what to the blogging/internet arena but you have ignored 2 different emails sent telling you that we are having a problem with your plugin…I wonder what your community would think of that?
James Cook
www.kawink.com”
Well, my thought is that folks might think that people running a real business should hire a programmer and not send a blogger emails threatening to expose them for not providing free support. So, my response was:
“I think my community would be kind of surprised at the audacity that you demand I help you troubleshoot a plug-in I paid xxx dollars to have developed that I no longer support because I no longer need it that you didn’t bother to donate anything to but feel entitled to receiving support for.
In short, don’t threaten me asshole.
Rae”
So what say you community? What do you think?
UPDATE:
He responded to my email with the following:
Rae-
I will not even lower myself to start slinging names back and forth however tempting it might be. Who threatened you? Myself and others who use word press ‘QUITE” often will email developers of plugins if they have issues and in “MOST” cases will get emails back fairly quickly “ATTEMPTING” to help “OR” simply saying WE DON’T OFFER TECHNICAL SUPPORT after all who would know the plug-in better than the person who built it or paid for it in your case….In any case most fellow Bloggers try to help out their fellow Bloggers. Your a real piece of work Rae it took the last email in order for you to respond back within minutes yet you could not take the time to help someone reaching out to you for help…which ironically is why the world is in the exact shape that it’s in right now is because of selfish people just like you.
I have 50 niche blogs and I will make sure I attached a post to ALL of them with our communications and your choice language as a lady…and even if just one person pulls up this post and sees you for your true colors I will be pleased. People dont email you nor any other developer knowing how much the person paid to develop thier plugin or any of that other stuff “RAE” or even with the “AUDACITY” in mind you spoke about they email you because they simply may need your help…and our IT person tried to trouble shoot it first but the next logical step is to contact the developer????????? Here’s a tip take the down the plugin OR post the contact info of who developed it before you crash or ruins someone else’s blog since your not updating OR supporting it…we lost 100’s of would be registars on just 2 of our blogs because your plugin most likely does NOT work with current versions of word press and it was NOT until someone took to the time to email me saying your captcha IS NOT WORKING….
Get a clue…with your attitude it’s amazing how you have done so well…but then again I was just telling my wife how it always seems to be the most arrogant and selfish people who rise to the top, sometimes it really makes everyone else scratch their head in disbelief…
I will email you a link to the post…
Have a fabulous day fellow blogger glad our experience with other developers has not been like this…
We wish we could take back our vote for you as we had voted for you thinking how great your blog was and all the other yada yada stuff thanks for flashing us your true colors now your marked and we see you!
CEO SMEECEO…
Note: Spelling errors and typos are obviously his, not mine.
Guess I should send him the link to mine…
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{ 83 comments… read them below or add one }
He needs a new IT person.
Once he finds that, maybe he’ll be able to spend some time on finding some gratitude, some manners, and a brain stem.
I’m guessing that James hasn’t read your blog very much. Certainly not your Twitter feed. :D
I have a bunch of plugins that I’ve released for free. Sometimes people ask me if I’m going to bother updating them, but I’ve *never* had anyone send confrontational emails like that. What would motivate me to update something that I’m giving away for free if the person asking is being a jerk about it? If you want me to do freelance work for you… hire me! :)
Oh oh James… You just missed the cluetrain.
Umm I see both points. I must say though that I have also emailed asking questions about plugins or seeking help and in most cases was pleased that someone emailed me back offering to help (not with any of your plugins). Maybe you should remove the plugin if it’s not up to date and causing people issues. With the way the economy is I am sure more and more people will be looking to start blogs and the last thing any of us needs are outdated plugins that slow not only the blog down but waste your time while you trouble shoot for days…
That’s my 2cents!
LOL – Obviously he’s an avid reader and follower :)
Rae you’ve gotta update this when he emails his link through! Funniest thing I’ve read today!
I donated AND I had a small issue when I installed, but I figured it out and I cant code my way out of a paper bag.
Demanding assistance for something that was free (in this case it was because there was no donation) in the first place does take some audacity. That’s like saying say, “Thanks for the free food, foodbank peeps – now I demand you cook it for me and feed me too!” There is some onus on the user of free things to do some work for themselves. Reach out to a community to ask for help POLITELY or something. It was free, if it doesnt work – try something else.
hahaha
idiot
How can you definitely lose 100s by something that MAY not work…
Julie, first, if people read the plugin page, they’d see users have troubleshooted a lot already. Secondly, I won’t remove the plugin – 1. it still works for many people and 2. many sites, including some big name sites (I know because they’ve emailed me), have taken the CYC code and adapted it – gives a good headstart for them.
People relying on blogs due to a bad economy is their problem – why punish tons of people who get good use out of it for a few trying to cut corners to save some cash.
Lastly, I have been on vacation in the Dominican and then Ohio for the last two and a half weeks. I’m not his employee nor am I required to answer to ANYONE on “their” time-frame.
@Julie: I think people should check the date and comments on any plugins before installing them. Sometimes things don’t work properly on *every* setup, but that’s no reason to pull them down completely. I’ve been able to download and modify older plugins to work perfectly well with the newest version of Wordpress. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if the author had taken them down as soon as they were outdated.
Looks like the guy did reach out politely at 1st…AND he said that his IT guy tried to trouble shoot it…and I disagree with the whole free thing the bottom line is if your having a problem with a plugin that you want to keep using and you cannot figure it out the *NATURAL* thing to do is reach out to where you got it from FREE or NOT. I am a little disappointed in this blog as I would have expected you to be a lot more professional being a seasoned blogger. From the way the email reads you did not include his first email which I am sure was not threatening but simply asking for you help..how would he or anyone else for that matter know that your not supporting it anymore…I am with him get a clue…I will not be frequenting your blog anymore as you have lost a reader and a fan… :(
Being the SEO of a company and sending out crap like that aint getting you anywhere. Its all fair and good if a plugin doesnt work, but sending of rude emails isnt the way to do it – if the plugin developer doesnt want to help then thats their choice – move on – find another solution.
I had an issue with thesis a little while ago – Rae took time out to fix the issue – even though she didnt need to – and especially since it was a really dumb oversight on my part.
“…get a clue…” – you should really know who you are speaking to.Never mess with a woman who can pull rank :P
Rick, he emailed me twice politely while I was in the Dominican and not working or checking email. He then proceeded to send me an email alluding to him “outing” me to my community for not helping him, for free, in a time frame HE defined. Emailing me twice politely does not warrant emailing me a third time acting like an ass because I didn’t give him free support.
“Reaching out” and “demanding” are not the same things. So, in short Rick, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
@Rick the fact is that it was Raes choice not to answer. Using language that implies that the site owner isnt credible because they chose to ignore you isnt the right way to get help.
Rae- Your missing the point did he say you were his employee…the bottom line is this could have simple been resolved by simple saying we do not offer support…How would the guy or anyone know that IF they don’t ask Rae. So leave the plugin up but be prepared for others who may not be programmers and know how to modify code which most bloggers don’t I might add…to ask for your help…are you going to call all of them asshole??? Makes no sense I think I am with Rick I am done with you and this blog….now what name are you going to call me…
I mean I have emailed shoemoney and johnchow who have really big blogs asking questions and have received fairly timely emails back with help…How could you as a blogger not even attempt to try and help where you could again if it got to much then just set up an email for support with an auto responder saying we dont offer support there has to be a better way other than calling names as it is very low class and juvenile!
James, ask your wife for your pants back!
Her name’s Sugarrae. Be sweet to her and she’ll give you sugar back. Come out swinging and she’ll treat you like Sugar Ray Leonard! :)
Tweet me to find out how easy it is to get a free Mac!
No seriously – What a dick, he should hire someone, and I’d love to see the rest of his responses and/or get a list of those blogs he was referring to. :-}
Break a bottle on his face.
Rae I wont I am already gone…your like a Sean Hannity or that other guy who just rants and raves cussing to get his point across and thinks their special…news flash Rae your not that special just because you can cuss and use foul language your pretty worthless…
>>>How would the guy or anyone know that IF they don’t ask Rae.
Julie, I repeat, it was not that he emailed me. It was that when I didn’t respond to him because I was away on vacation, he emailed me nastily asked me “what my community would think” in an offensive manner.
>>>How could you as a blogger not even attempt to try and help
I do help. Tons of people. I write tons tutorials for FREE. I give away plugins for FREE. You aren’t ENTITLED to anything from me, nor is any reader of this blog. Got it? Not a response, not an auto-responder and sure as fuck not me dropping everything when I’m on vacation to answer your email. I respond to TONS of emails asking for help. Who the hell are you to say I owe him or you or anyone else a thing just because you show up on my blog and read or use the free content I provide?
So, I repeat, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
I agree with Rick and Julie 1st and last time to your site…
Newsflash Rick, it’s “you’re” not “your”. Have a nice day.
“are you going to call all of them asshole???”
I know which one I’m betting on. :)
“How could you as a blogger not even attempt to try and help where you could”
I don’t get this part at all. Being a blogger isn’t like being a boy scout. :)
Oh please this is NOT a spelling contest you have TONS of post which I have read with lots of spelling errors so let’s not get into that…your and idiot…just another dumb blogger…I find this interesting that your blog traffic dropped by over 42% http://siteanalytics.compete.com/sugarrae.com/?src=ff-tb probably because your lame attitude…ha ha I hope it drops another 42% until you have only a few hundred people on your blog hahahhahahah…that’s shit is to funny…
I really wish people’s reading comprehension skills were better… I get emails asking for help all the time – I don’t take issue with that… it’s the ones that DEMAND my help as if they’re fucking entitled to it I take issue with. Can’t say it much clearer folks.
Rick, oh spelling lord and analytics genius… my site traffic has dropped because this is the first post I’ve made in over two months. I know it’s hard, but try and keep up here ok? :)
@julie, @rick- Do you answer your emails when you are on vacation out of the country? If you do, I feel sorry for your boring workaholic lifestyles. Besides, a rude tone begets a rude tone in response.
Ok, maybe he was a little out of line for “demanding” but at the same time I understand his frustration as I have been there racking my brain trying to fix a plugin issue which can push even the sane over the edge…and to Stuart I think the point is bloggers should stick together I try to help each out…as It sounds like Rae has done on lots of occasions…it’s not about being a boy scout it’s just understanding what someone else is going through…something that you may have already gone through and been successful at and trying to offer some help…I am sure James was not privy to all this information only looking at this through his own frustrating situation…
PS folks – “Rick”, “Blair”, “Tony” and “Julie” are all commenting from the same IP address (hat tip to @designmeme for noticing the similarities): 97.89.17.122
“Rick” is apparently James Cook in disguise: http://whois.domaintools.com/payhalf.com – smooth.
@Tony: I help out lots. I’ve released lots of free CSS articles, free FF plugins, free PHP and JS scripts, and I’m one of the top Retweeted people on Twitter for all the free advice and links I share. I’d say I’m *very* helpful… but that doesn’t mean I *have* to do those things. If I’m busy doing somethinge else, or just don’t feel like it that day, I don’t need to give away my time for free. I like to be helpful, but that’s not the same thing as having to put up with people demanding that I stop what I’m doing and help them.
Why did you make me want to go to that website? *headdesk*
I agree that the guy was rude. You can’t be expected to use up your vacation w/ answering people’s questions. If someone asks for help, they are asking you to do something you don’t have to and should therefore not impose time-lines of “you better answer by” It’s like “please help me or I’ll threaten you” tsk, tsk, he should know you get more flies with sugar than with vinegar.
Oh man, the same IP address. What a fool.
I can understand being somewhat dismayed that you didn’t receive an email back right away, but why on earth would you take it to the level of threatening someone who paid to develop a free resource that isn’t working the way you hoped?
Look on the bright side Rae; James has given you a cool idea for your next blog post. How to find out someone’s IP address and who’s commenting on your blog.
“Rick”, “Blair”, “Tony” and “Julie” – why don’t you try thinking for yourself for a change? The real problem with this economy is that everyone is trying to ride on the coattails of other people’s hard earned success instead of actually working for the things they want/need.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for some help on something you don’t understand, but to expect someone to help you is complete b.s. You’ll find out soon enough just how far this asinine thinking will take you. But I’m sure when you fall on your ass (again), it will be because someone tripped you, not because you haven’t learned how to walk.
Yea, can we get a free plugin for that, please?
Wow. Talk about taking your spat to the mat.
If you know a little about Rae, you know she is extremely conscientious, helps tons of people (often for nothing), and has a lot on her hands at all times, running a business, working round the clock, etc. And if you are following her, you might have noticed she was on a (probably much deserved) vacation recently. Here’s my admittedly biased takeaway…
Rule #1 – don’t mess with Rae
Rule #2 – don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
We’ve given stuff away for free and try to support folks when they have a problem. The vast majority of them are really nice about it. For the ones who are not, it’s not uncommon to find out that it’s user error. At the end of the day, you have a duty to take care of paying clients first. If you are not one of those, waiting politely and patiently in line will usually get what you want. If you are having some kind of serious problem, uninstall.
Rule #3 – Real players don’t need fake names.
Use your real name or real handle, at least, when posting online. What are you saying that you can’t stand behind and defend? Fake names, shill comments, fake testimonials, etc. demean you and the discussion and totally undermine your argument. I think it also helps prevent the next day “wish I hadn’t said that” when you use your real name.
Rule # 4 – see Rule #1.
I wish we could publish all the absurd details of the totally BS heavy handed threatening letters, phone calls and e-mails I have occasionally gotten. I love that Rae took it to the blog.
At the end of the day, Rae gave James and Kawink a bunch of free air time to a relevant audience, publicity probably worth more than whatever the plug-in cost (oh yeah, also free). Those who want to abandon this blog are only hurting themselves by missing out on some good information (and entertainment).
Rae helps out people all the time, including me. What she doesn’t put up with are complete fucktards. We all help when we can, sometimes we don’t have time. Get over it and find something more productive to do, like punching yourself in the face.
@Darren
>>>At the end of the day, Rae gave James and Kawink a bunch of free air time to a relevant audience, publicity probably worth more than whatever the plug-in cost (oh yeah, also free).
Don’t forget the free lesson in online reputation management he is about to learn within the next few days. :)
Thanks much guys… I try to help as many peeps as I can, but emails like this are the ones that make you want to fold up shop and hit the underground LOL.
I love it! I have been reading your blog for some time now. Never had an urge to leave a comment, even though I find your content of utmost quality! Thanks for that.
Forget James and his free-loader mentality. Look at the positive link equity you will receive. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say – “The best link bait ever!”
Thanks for the GREAT content.
This was pretty amusing to read. You know that when people start judging each other by their spelling, someone has lost an argument.
Free stuff is free stuff. If you dont like it, dont use it. if you use it, be grateful and dont expect any support…..that is afterall why its free.
Amazing Post , I don’t know how he get time to write such long emails when he was suffering huge loss in the blogs. Lolzz
I really liked that he is going to post about this on 50 blogs. Lots of publicity for you.
Enjoy
Fancy thinking that being a blogger is your main job.
Still 50 links from niche blog sites……..a link is a link.
Is the plugin written in PHP? All James needs is this
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=learn+php&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq= and a brain.
Love it! Rock on chica! The guy is outta order!
If the plug in was free he got what he paid for.
Gotta love the absurd sense of entitlement displayed in those emails. Seriously. The program is FREE. What more could you ask for? What he did was completely uncalled for. They need to get a clue. I’m curious, did those 50 links ever surface as promised?
I’m not sure who’s attitude is worst, the one in the email or the owner of this blog. Rae’s success appears to be success born out of ignorance and arrogance, something that will eventually cause a crash and burn. I’m sure that customers of yours appreciate the attitude.
Sitting her in Ottawa and was recommended to have a look at your company for possible SEO / SEM work. Boy was I surprised at what I’ve read and seen. Professionalism is the foundation of true success. Rae will never reach it.
Greg, I’ve been in this business (and self-employed) for ten plus years now – my success is a result of a lot of hard work, a lot of long days and a lot of perseverance.
>>>was recommended to have a look at your company for possible SEO / SEM work. Boy was I surprised at what I’ve read and seen.
And you’re entitled to your opinion. Anyone who uses a gmail address to make snide semi-anonymous remarks about a person’s worth and professional career based on reading a single blog post isn’t someone I’d want to be involved with. You’re the type of client I don’t want to work with, so we’ll have to call that even.
>>>I’m sure that customers of yours appreciate the attitude.
The ones I work with do actually. They know I’m always honest and always upfront and that I am good at what I do.
The difference between me and most others is I’ll say you’re (the “you” being general) an asshole if I think that, under my own handle you can relate to an actual human being – they’ll just think it and smile in your face (or leave blog comments with a gmail address). Just sayin’ :)
I really enjoy blog fights. Good traffic for both of you.
Anyone want to pick a fight with me? ;-)
If he publishes 50 blogs and can’t navigate a free plugin incompatibility following a WP upgrade? Internet Darwin will take care of him soon enough.
Another clue — publishes 50 blogs, holds the demonstrated level of awareness of how the Interwebs work, and not one of his supporting people helped him out prior to his contacting you. He’s probably not paying anyone a respectable wage, and/or doesn’t respect their abilities.
Nuff said.
One of the things I adore the most about Rae is her “straight to the point, no bullshit” communication style, so I will try to do her proud by getting to the point. Just 3 quick ones:
1) James, Greg, Julie and similar minded people – when you get something for free you say thank you. When you need even more FREE help, you say pretty please and you wait. Patiently.
2) James, it’s sad that your parents didn’t tell you the world does not revolve around you and your schedule. We’re trying to help you with that now.
3) Why waste time and countless words when you can use just 2 to say piss off?
Rae, please continue to speak your mind because we all appreciate you for it! :)
Why am I always freakin’ late to really good smackdowns? Damn.
@Rae – the rumblepup part of the community says to tell the guy to shut the fuck up and clean his baby diaper. Of course it’s the same IP!! Reminds me of one of those old forum fights with the same dood logging into 12 accounts just to be missy prissy.
I will note, that I do know how it feels for something to break that you where counting on to work, but just going apeshit will never help you out in the long run.
no one forces anyone to write to a blog, to use its free software, to do anything really. I dont understand why people get arsey if they dont get their way.
Ah well, i think everyone got what they wanted in the end ;)
This situation seems entirely avoidable. I don’t think the guy really meant to be offensive by saying “what would your readers think.”
I can understand how it can easily be taken that way though. A simple “I was on vacation so I apologize for the delayed response, but we don’t offer support for that plug-in” would have probably ended the situation amicably. You could have handled much better, but he could have worded it in a way that would not have been potentially threatening. I can understand why both of you could have gotten upset. I guess I just don’t get into playing swords with my ePenis…
Damn, I have never been into a real blog fight. I personally think that people asking for support should always consider that many of us are doing it for free. We don’t request anything in return, we just help. What’s the point of negatively criticizing us? We even give you all our content for free so please understand that support is only optional.
First post in two months is an awesome ninja attack against an entitled blogger…
…Excellent.
Glad to see you posting again!
Cheers.
Being brass is one way to do it.
Rae <—–
You have a given right as a human to do whatever you like.
Congrats for giving out plugins and sharing.
Thanks for being bold enough to have a real opinion.
But I think you kind of miss out on a chance to change a bigger picture when you deal with people and call them out.
Yes, it’s nice to put people down in the ground sometimes, but really… was it worth all the effort?
What post or article could you have give back to your followers instead?
Again, I am an asshole with an opinion and feel free to toss my personal comment out of your blog.
Great work, would love to see more of it.
P.S.
(yeah, you might have a million things going on…but that’s a choice!
There may have been a time in your life when you would have wished to have this much traffic and attention)
Hahaha this guy is riddiculous. He acts like he’s somehow entitled to help from everyone on the web despite not showing them any respect in the first place (not donating at all even though he planned to use the plugin to make money from numerous sites). He acts like a 12-year old kid…
Free is Free. No strings, and guess what…no support.
some people just need a hug.
Now more than ever – it seems the global village has MORE than it’s fair share of idiots.
I love the fact that this guy is threatening to take you on. He has no idea who he’s dealing with, does he?
He now has a blog post on a PR 5 blog post with HIS name in the title earning what will no doubt be a PRIME SERP when someone Googles the term James Cook – or worse yet – James Cook of Kawink.
Nice going James. Talk about pulling the pin on the grenade and discovering it’s super glued to your hand!
LMAO – Kathy of Virtual Impax told me about this, so I had to come and check it out. I get some really annoying email but this guy sounds an irritating little shit.
Heard about this from Kathy of Virtual Impax too. Incredible how some people demand you must walk the walk THEY talk or posture or what have you. Love the comment about Internet Darwinism too.
Couldn’t stay away from this one…
…there is no right or wrong — blah blah — but come on, being anything but polite when you receive something for free is out of line. Being choked about the response you receive, whatever. People are people, and people are different.
Picking a fight and setting up multiple users for commenting = lame. Pick a fight, be yourself and lick your wounds afterwards. As many have mentioned already, everyone gets to enjoy the traffic.
If you don’t like someone, don’t work with them. Glad that people around here realize that, nothing worse than wasting time on making a great fit when it will never exist.
By the way Rae, you are ranking G1 & G2 for “James Cook Kawink” in my region. :)
Whew…it happens. I’m moving to the next post.
I kind of see both sides, however, I would have to take away a few points from Mr. James Cook, simply because, you don’t release new changes to a blog / site without “debugging” or “testing” them because it may end up in lost “subscribers, downtime, etc.” I have installed plugins and when they don’t work it could be due to version differences. You can’t expect every plugin that was created to keep updating. Some plugins are continualy supported, some are not. Software, Plugins, Programs, Products can die out. Respect that!
I got to the part of his email that said “and your choice language as a lady…” and then I just busted up laughing! LMAO Wow, he so doesn’t know who you are at all!
As part of the community I certainly don’t expect you to provide free support for something you provided the blogging world for free, and I definitely don’t expect you to jump every time you get an email.
It amazes me the sense of entitlement people get when they get behind a keyboard sometimes.
Heh, first time on this blog and the first post I read. quality ;-)
hmmm…maybe really good link bait by James??
I think this blog post will bring back the traffic level of this blog :.)
People frequently forget they should never say anything on email that they wouldn’t want prominently published on a highly popular website…because it just might happen.
I’m so sad I missed this when it happened. Stupid e-mail subscription to Sugarrae that has never worked… sorry, I digress.
I seem to recall having an issue with the CYC plugin last time it was updated. In fact, as would be customary for ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about FREE WordPress plugins and how to go about getting support when needed, I asked for help at the WordPress support forum.
Doing so alerts the plugin’s author – NOTE: NOT Rae – of the issue and gives them the opportunity to resolve it, should they so desire. See here.
I also happened to tweet Rae about it and it went something like this:
ME: Hey, Rae…what’s up with the CYC plugin. Getting a fatal error. :(
Rae: Huh…I’ll check into it. Hopefully Joost is feeling generous…
Me: Sweet. Thanks. :)
About an hour or so later Joost tweeted that the issue had been resolved and there was a new update. So, James…here’s the thing: you wondered what Rae’s “community” would think. Your answer: we think you’re a total imbecile.
I know the moment has passed, but I had to chime in…better late than never. :)
Trolls all over the world still being outed by ip lookup… the more things change, the more things stay the same.
I’ve jumped a few of the comments as there’s so many but heres my two pence/cents.
Blogging for some is a hobby, for others including James it’s a money making venture, I get that Sugarrae is a keen blogger and avid supporter of a community, but, as has been mentioned, this doesn’t mean anyone should do things for free. At the end of the day, providing coding etc is a generous offer, it takes time and therefore money to create a script, and even more time and money to trouble shoot it. I think Sugarrae is well within her rights not to provide support, and if James is as successful as he is, why is he using a free script? surely his budgets could extend to more techinally adept staff.
At the end of the day James is using your script to make himself cash, you’ve provided it for free, you haven’t force him to use it, he’s chosen to do so at his own will, he could have chosen a different script, so you’re under no obligation to provide free support to the greedy mongral. Logically, if this script was such a critical part of his business you’d have thought he’d have taken the time to create his own instead of using something free. I’m totally amazed he expects you to do free support for him considering we all have to make a living, it seems your good will was overlooked and I for one support Sugarrae in this.
I remember someone complaining about Google in the same manner.
If it’s free you can’t expect support. So I am guessing he upgraded his version of WP and the plugin failed, bug surprise.. I wonder how you have 50 niche blogs and don’t know how to work with plugins..
>>>I remember someone complaining about Google in the same manner.
JMI the problem with Google is they buy companies and then destroy the services they offer. If I’d bought a perfectly functioning and constantly improving product that charged a fee, removed the fee and then refused to support or improve it in the future (take feedburner for example, which I was a paying customer of when Google bought it), I’d leave a lot more leeway for anger aimed at me. :)
Hi Rae, my fist time reading your blog.. I’ve come into contact with many many ‘Ricks’ over the years… I work on a few commerical, social and hobby websites and there are a few patterns common among people with these personality attributes.. It’s very rewarding to operate a site purely for the education or general enjoyment of others but the effort is pretty much a donation. You don’t have to do it, you won’t profit from it and it will come with a cost.. If those critical of us were rational we’d probably be able to learn something from them, but this dude is clearly irrational. If the person seems completely irrational we don’t bother responding now, some people are just beyond meaningful communication. If the person is moderately rational we respond outlining our terms of communication and tell them we have no obligation to respond. Most times they come back with a fair response, otherwise we delete and forget. We get hundreds and hundreds of contacts everyday, the ‘crazies’ use to impact us emotionally but why give them any control over your state? Either way thanks for your contribution, I’ll be reading your blog over the next few months…
Rae, I think I love you :p
This was the funniest page i’ve been to in a while. By the way, I still haven’t thanked you for your help with Thesis.
Grr… that gets my blood boiling. He should know better than to mess with a blogger, though, they have an audience!
James Cook was out of line in his demands for support and for his unreasonable threat of “exposing” your purported lack of desire to support him. He has the typical over-inflated sense of entitlement that the modern age of instant Internet gratification has infected people with.
You were out of line for taking his emails and putting them in the public.
I look forward to your O’Reilly Factor-esque reply.
My 12 year old has better grammar and spelling than him and he should be ashamed of himself for sending it out like that, content not withstanding.
I’ve really enjoyed this thread though :)
Hi.
This guy reminds me a post I’ve seen on a forum for a free (mind you, free) wordpress theme (and a pretty good one, by the way) complaining that the developer wasn’t offering timely support and saying that he had blogs to keep. And the funny thing is that the developer in question (Jinsona) actually strove to answer questions – I know because I posted some myself, and he replied pretty quickly.
At that time I was struck by the nerve of the guy. I mean, he takes advantage of someone else’s work, without offering any kind of compensation, and he still feels entitled to make demands?
But your guy really takes it over the top. Some people really loose their grip on reality.
Rae, I think the funniest thing about this is that he’s threatening to promote you on 50 of his site (oh dear god … let’s hope he doesn’t offer you links too!).
btw, if you’re looking to shed yourself of some of your plugins, I’d be happy to take over the maintenance of them for you :)
Chris
This post is now ranking #2 for “Kawink” . . . and #1 & #2 for “James Cook Kawink” . . . I don’t think he bothered reading your Tagline: “Never Mess With a Woman Who Can Pull Rank”
Just started reading your blog. All I have to say is that you and it is just awesome.
Keep fighting the good fight!
I know I’m late coming to the party, but I thought I’d add my 2 cents.
Why can’t irrational people spell? And is Mr. Cook also unable to read? The CYC plugin blew up for awhile on my blog as well – until the world’s polarity changed, or something. (It’s no longer blowing up, but I’ve moved on to another solution.) When I noticed the problem, however, I checked the CYC entry in the WordPress plugin repository, which clearly says:
“Warning: This plugin has not been tested with your current version of WordPress.”
Hmmm. I figure if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, it probably isn’t going to. Since WordPress (ONE word, Mr. Cook of Kawink) periodically makes major improvements in the product’s architecture, I’m sure it would be impossible to make some plugs work; others become obsolete because the functionality has been incorporated into the core product. But I’m sure folks running old versions of WordPress are glad the WordPress team leaves these old plugins hanging around.
I wonder why Mr. Cook’s “IT person” (1) didn’t test the blogs after rolling out an upgrade to such a mission critical portion of Kawinkville, and (2) didn’t suggest rolling back to the previous version of WordPress until the problem could be fixed.
Also, the plugin repository clearly identifies Joost de Valk as the developer. If he was going to contact anyone, Yoast is the contact.
I can’t say that I would have replied in such a colorful (ahem) fashion, Rae. But thank you for what you have made available to the WordPress and Thesis communities.
hey Rae… i guess giving away something for free wasn’t much of taking the high road as I had hoped :) having a blog fight just isn’t worth your time. And… your fans outnumber your critics anyway.