How Google should have acquired EtherPad
blog.wolfire.com
blog.wolfire.com
Calling it un-google-like also strikes me as odd; after all, didn't the Omnisio acquisition take a similar path? OK, the site is still up to this day, but it's not actively maintained and you can't add new videos.
I'm pretty sure Omnisio had barely any users, so that probably explains why no one was that upset about it. It's also a different kind of product. People would be more upset if they couldn't use Microsoft Word for their work, than they would be if they couldn't watch a funny video on YouTube.
That's not 100% accurate. I think most people who really loved it, myself included, signed up for etherpad pro. You can make fully private pads, and it's free as long as you don't want private pads w/ more than 3 users on it. I can still make as many pads as I please. Obviously, that won't be true when they shut etherpad down.
I'm still not happy that they're killing it.
I'm hoping that they think if the Appjet guys help on wave for the next few months, wave will be a much better replacement by then. I guess we'll see.
Try to put yourself in the shoes of everyone else who love it as much as you, but suddenly and without warning are no longer able to use it.
If Google had given me even one day of warning, I would have bought a premium account as well.
Had they said pay us a few bucks or go without then perhaps I'd pay, but when they say pay us a bunch for a service you don't need just so that the service you do need remains free for everyone, it becomes a lot harder to whip out that credit card.
Even if everyone on HN who used etherpad paid them they'd still find "low 8 digits" pretty dang compelling.
1. Nobody's claiming entitlement. If there was entitlement there would be recourse. Asking for warning isn't entitlement.
2. You're implying that he wasn't looking to pay. He's said he would pay if he had warning.
3. You claim he 'depended' on it. I'm not sure that's the case. Not having warning is inconvenient, not catastrophic.
4. The company got its valuation in part from people who didn't pay. I think that entitles them to basic courtesies at least.
5. Companies do good by non-paying customers all the time because they care about goodwill. Google and Etherpad have lost some goodwill here by going against consumer expectations.
Basic courtesies aren't paid for and aren't bought. That's why they're courtesies.
I find this whole line of reasoning wrong-headed in multiple ways.
0. You're answering a strawman that nobody raised - that somebody regrets etherpad getting sold and is now 'complaining' because they can't live without it.
1. This whole point is orthogonal to whether I paid for etherpad or not. Even if I paid for etherpad I'm just as screwed as everyone right now. You're telling me that if I didn't want to lose etherpad I should have paid for it and convinced a lot of other people to do so.
2. Companies get acquired all the time because they realize they've run out of steam in the market. To blame 'you the market' for that is just ridiculous.
3. You're making an analogy with donation-ware. The argument makes sense when you say "if you don't pay us we'll die and won't be able to serve you." It's a lot less potent when mutated to "if you don't pay us we'll sell for $10M and screw you over."
4. Etherpad never even made the less potent argument. They never solicited pro accounts. They could have done what Pandora did a year ago - scream loudly that they were going to die. But they didn't.
So what was I the market supposed to do a) if it was that important to me, b) without knowing etherpad needed money, c) if etherpad even considered this option?
I'll repeat, all anybody wants is more warning so we can migrate out what workflows we've created. And etherpad seems to have allowed new pads today, so I really don't have any complaints. Except with your argument :)
Edit: even more interesting!