I've worked with small providers who don't provide an SLA on support for a $9 tier, and I've worked with large providers with a 2 hour SLA - I can't say that the 2 hour SLA is alway better.
That said, if you rely on something it's incredibly naive to use a free tier and then feel indignant on a forum when you can't immediately get a response.
Not to this specific case, it is not as you imply a case of a single person having a problem and not having timely support, it is a widespread problem or policy somewhere (purposeful or accidental) that collectively harmed many free-tier users.
I don't see how this is any different?
He wasn't harmed in the sense that netlify drove to his house and stabbed him. He lost access to a free food platter.
If people are planning their near future based on what you've said you would likely be giving them, then at some point there is probably some inherited responsibility to at least give the user of that service a heads up so they can make other plans if possible.
If you’re not paying for it you’re not owed anything. Someone was doing you a favour at their expense and then they stopped. If you want something you can rely on pay for it.
While with Netlify the person is back at exactly where they started before Netlify was hosting w/e their project was. So they're in the same neighborhood with the same battery level as they started with.
The free tier is very clearly not for professional work so its really more like if your buddy said they could pick you up but they won't move a couch for you and you showed up with a couch and they just left.
Hmm, moving to a free service can take a lot of time, there might be lock-in?
I don't have specific experience of netlify.
I stayed with my hosting provider despite them doubling my costs just because it would take a long time to find another trustable provider with the offering I need and then a lot of time to move and make sure everything is working.
If it's just a white label service then yes, easy to switch back. If it's not directly comparable then integration costs (in time) can mean you've been "dumped in the road half way there".
Of course if the driver tells you directly "I might have to drop you half way" then that's fine.
It's hard to express how benign most of this is and I'm not trying to oversell the damages, but there is potential for it to be bad and thus at some point there's a responsibility to your users (that champion your product and give you indirect value) to do at least the bare minimum of giving them an email or something.
It certainly takes less time for netlify to send an email than it does for their users to change platforms.
In either case, they fixed the problem, but the expectation of immediate support on a free account is silly.
Which is why it's good to pay for the product to get support once you're dependent on it. It's why cloud providers give companies and devs free credit. Once you've built it on that platform, you're less likely to want to move, and might need to scale, and get support once you're making money. This is how free tiers work, they're basically a demo, and they can cancel accounts for abuse or get around to fixing problems if and when they feel like it. You're also welcome to find another service...that's free, that provides great support and hope they stick around.
Going back to the free sample analogy, you can get one for free, but if you want the full product (including support), you gotta pay.
"pay" is inaccurate. "Consideration" is the word you are looking for. It's silly to think otherwise.
Those are not people who need support. They were locked out with no warning and no explanation.
Netlify's own EULA states (https://www.netlify.com/pdf/self-serve-subscription-agreemen...):
> While we always make an effort to communicate clearly and well in advance if we decide a particular website project is not a good fit for our Free Usage Tier, we reserve the right to disable or remove any website project on Netlify’s Free Usage Tier without notice at our sole discretion
so every free user should very much expect "an effort to communicate clearly and well in advance". They were explicitly told they should.
"we reserve the right to disable or remove any website project on Netlify’s Free Usage Tier without notice at our sole discretion"
That's the promise. Full stop. Everything else is filler words to make that seem more palatable to people.
You are being misled because you are not reading the contract as "a list of things netlify MUST do". Making assumptions based on anything else is folly - you are trusting a commercial entity to be "nice" and that's a really, really bad thing to trust them to do.
I got locked out of the Vercel dashboard for a couple weeks due to a bug. For a $20/user/month paid account, mind you. This support thread feels similar, though unlike what happened to me with Vercel, it appears to be deliberate on Netlify's part.
Cloudflare seems more reliable but https://www.politico.eu/article/sap-cloudflare-enable-russia...
Just because you don't exchange money doesn't mean nothing of value is being exchanged. Netlify does owe people certain things for that exchange. "Nothing" is absolutely and factually false.
Free/Charity food is exempt from safe food policies in many jurisdictions.
That's why so many homeless avoid the local soup kitchens, as they consistently give them food poisoning.
Incidentally, I remembered his name recently and looked him up. I found an interview where he sold his company for "8 figures" and talked about the joy of "nurturing a team." Not sure the lesson there, but I found it funny.
We were the best deal in town (lowest price and user:line ratio for an unlimited service), so they would usually change their tune, but we had a 2-strike policy, so call and be rude again, and you're out for good.
We didn't end up having to do this that many times, but when we did, it was worth it.
Often your most difficult and abusive customers end up being your least profitable.
There's a saying I like to use: I'll bend over backwards to help you, but I won't bend over forwards.
The real problem is usually the small group of customers who are consistently abusive and excessively demanding and will fly off the handle every other week over some small thing.
Problem is I have a short fuse for disrespect, I just don't have the time to tolerate it.
Where are you getting the idea that they are locked out of support and not their main account, like they are saying in the linked thread?
These people aren’t being indignant, just frustrated. You can’t criticize them for expecting help from a support forum either, since apparently that’s the only place where Netlify expects free users to get support.
The headline is exactly correct. There is no editorialising at all.
Additionally, they're not locked out of support, but out of the actual accounts.
If a person pays for a thing they are more invested in making it something worthwhile and thus less attacks.
If something is free and any issue, it suddenly is horrible because they never associated value with it from the beginning.
It is a psychological thing and plays into many parts of the market.
Not only that. I would buy paid app only if convinced that it is worth it. I am willing to try free app - and in case that it is garbage, rate it accordingly.
Also, free versions often have strong limitation or massive amounts of ads: so they are worse than paid one.
There’s self selection, if you pay for something then it you’re more selective in what you get. “Free” apps are also worse due to inserting advertising.
I believe, based on other comments I have seen on HN, that my view is a pretty widespread one.
That may be a partial explanation, but I've also heard this frequently from people who sell to only retail customers.
If you're the low cost plumber, pressure washer, or lawn care, you're going to have a headache compared to the people who operate up market.