Hi jdavidbakr,
I appreciate that MFN is a passion project and one that doesn't bring in nearly enough money for you to justify devoting substantial time towards its ongoing development.
What you have here is priceless - you have a passionate, knowledgeable and eager community who genuinely want MFN to thrive, and who would be willing to support you in this.
However, I've noticed that, until today, the most consistent concern among users is the perceived lack of visible progress.
This is entirely understandable from both sides, you are one man and as it stands, MFN struggles to fund its own development.
The recent billing changes have caused quite a stir, especially when coupled with the perceived slow progress. Change is never easy, and I believe things will settle down once a happy medium is found.
Your quick addition of a new ad-free entry level tier in response to the feedback is a positive sign. However, it also highlights that involving the community in decisions before implementing changes could prevent unnecessary disquiet. That brings me to a couple of suggestions:
- Form a group of trusted users, a sort of steering committee, to discuss changes and bounce ideas off before implementing them.
- Have you thought about bringing in volunteer developers? I know it comes with its challenges, but tapping into the skills of this community might just be the boost MFN needs.
I understand the complexities and risks of opening up the core project to multiple contributors, given that it has been running for so long and is an ongoing business aspect. Still, there might be alternative ways to welcome contributions.
We're all here because we want MFN to succeed. A few tweaks and fixes, especially addressing long-standing bugs, could go a long way in steadying the boat after today's announcements.
Thanks
Ed