SketchUp 2013 Gripes & Bitchin' ONLY ;)
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@vojo said:
Keep in mind that only a small fraction of plugins here or elsewhere actually deliver the advertised function let alone actually solve a problem. Unless somebody either starts to enforce plugins (delivers as advertised) or Trimble states clearly "ah ah ah....I know what you are thinking...does this plugin actually do anything or not....well being sketchup and the plugin community is basically the wild west...you got to ask yourself one question....do I feel lucky"
Seriously, I am not going to call out specifics....but there are authors here that have 10 or more plugins that range from the "gee that was false advertizing" to the "it works some of the time" to the "this just does work at all" My favorite is the plugin (wont say exactly what it is attempting to do) that does 2 things. First, it apparently swaps or inverts ALL the geometries in the Z direction. Second, totally disables selection of any kind (and corrupts the file...only way back is to use an older version of the drawing and redo the work hoping it doesnt mess things up again). And this plugin is highly regarded on this site....nice!!!!
That's a little harsh.
When I used Sketchup (since version v.3 and stopped using it half a year ago), I heavily depended on some of the plugins here on Sketchucation.
To name one :Fredo's Surface Operations (in combo with CPhillips' JointPushpull)
Without it ,and disregarding it's limitations, it would have been impossible to draw roads/siteworks on curved sites.
I would not have been able to do my work in Sketchup without it.And there are many more examples.
Yes, there are a lot of B class plugins too, however isn't that why the Sketchucation plugin store and EW are now intended for ? To sort them , assess them and create guidelines for new plugins so underperforming plugins won't make it? -
Dojo.
There is normally a disclaimer in the plugin like:
@unknownuser said:
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.That is no JOKE!
That doesent mean developers should be arrogant and ignore best practices while developing the plugins (we often get hints if off target around here).
But as long as the developer hasent broken any golden rules the "as is" clausul means it is up to YOU to take a risk at testing if the plugin does what it is intended to do.I don't think it's a good idea to start generalizing about plugin performances here at this community since we(devs) all have such a different level of knowledge and experience.
Some are longtime proffesionals and some are quite new to this.
Ruby is slow, the API and it's documentations is a bit sketchy so problems are bound to happend like it or not. -
Mmmmm ..... this is not exactly a 'gripe or bitch' about 2013. Its more about the folks that gripe / bitch about some of the not so great plugins.
Most of these plugins are available for free download and use. Donations are hoped for and gratefully accepted BUT from my research not even 5% actually make a donation and this figure is more than likely 3%!
Maybe when the freeloaders get a little conscience and make some effort at supporting the developers financially these developers will be able to allocate more time and rectify any short-fallings their plugins have.
I personally would be very slow to criticise the efforts of folks that produce donation-ware. I think if a particular plugin user sees potential in a plugin but finds it not working properly, they would do well to send a few bucks to the developer with a request to fix the problems ....... I'd say the developer would bend over backwards to facilitate if few a few more did this.
I know what I'm talking about in this regard as it often gets tiring facilitating freeloaders that just take, take, take and make no efforts to give anything in return. Still, its the small percentage of generous minded folks that make going on worth while.
Mike
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Don't think it's even a percent...
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1/1000 !
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I'd much rather someone set a price, at least then I know I have not insulted or offended them by innocently undervaluing their work.
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@unknownuser said:
Mmmmm ..... this is not exactly a 'gripe or bitch' about 2013. Its more about the folks that gripe / bitch about some of the not so great plugins.
Yes, sorry. I had a strong desire to respond Dojos post. In a polite and factbased way if possible.
In my experiences frantic topics like this always brings up a wealth of other issues deep buried within our souls
Thomthom I would guess it's even less than 1% ? (OT again, d#mit!)
edit: gees.. this thread is moving fast.
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ooooops....i'm off topic
i'd better have a bitch
....second thoughts, i am happily single now, and there is no room for a bitch...!!
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@gareth said:
i am happily single now, and there is no room for a bitch...!!
you still got 99 problems though....
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I stand corrected! Wow, 0.1%
You guys would be better off getting your cup out and going on the High Street. I imagine you would get better support there
Still, its the 1 in a Thousand that makes it worthwhile
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@gareth said:
I'd much rather someone set a price, at least then I know I have not insulted or offended them by innocently undervaluing their work.
Gareth, I think many may feel this way and end up not supporting. The non commercial ruby developers for the most part do not do the work for big financial rewards but they do like to have their work appreciated and 'tipped'!
I think that an awful lot more than 1 in a 1000 would gladly buy TIG or ThomThom a cup of coffee or a drink if they met them out and about!
So, the simple answer is to cover them for the price of a coffee or a drink if your flush! I can guarantee they will not be in the slightest bit insulted
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Wooooooaaaah.......i just checked one of my favourite Plugins, Shapebender
it has been downloaded more than 34,000 times (no doubt there are some plugins which are even more popular)
even for a very modest $10.....that would have been a nice little earner
but what is it really worth ?....much more I would suggest...!!
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@mike lucey said:
@gareth said:
I'd much rather someone set a price, at least then I know I have not insulted or offended them by innocently undervaluing their work.
Gareth, I think many may feel this way and end up not supporting. The non commercial ruby developers for the most part do not do the work for big financial rewards but they do like to have their work appreciated and 'tipped'!
I think that an awful lot more than 1 in a 1000 would gladly buy TIG or ThomThom a cup of coffee or a drink if they met them out and about!
[attachment=0:913hky15]<!-- ia0 -->Support Creativity - Buy me a Coffee.jpeg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:913hky15]
So, the simple answer is to cover them for the price of a coffee or a drink if your flush! I can guarantee they will not be in the slightest bit insulted
Good point Mike....and I'd be quite happy to provide them with a place to stay if they ever visit 'Down Under'....!!
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No amount of money, no matter how small, is an insult...
But 'Nothing' is the insult - even 'Thanks' is 'something'...I get donations ranging from ~£1 to ~£100 - but usually modest sums.
But if I get £1 from some poor student in Africa, then it is actually worth more to me that the £10 from a Western professional - who has probably saved himself hours of time/angst using one of my tools, but chooses to donate only a small fraction of his total saving... but then at least he gave something!I write 'commercial tools', often costing several thousand pounds... but you rarely see them, or perhaps you use them as part of other tools without realizing my involvement...
My 'donationware' plugins were never intended to make me rich anytime soon... but they are given in a spirit that sometimes I wish was perhaps more reciprocated that it is...
A 'Thanks' now and again is welcomed...
Occasional 'advice' is also welcome.
But the 'complaining' I can really do without
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oooops....sorry again for not bitchin'
....I guess i just can't get angry enough....!!
....I promise, I'm working on it..!
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@tig said:
No amount of money, no matter how small, is an insult...
But 'Nothing' is the insult - even 'Thanks' is 'something'...I get donations ranging from ~£1 to ~£100 - but usually modest sums.
But if I get £1 from some poor student in Africa, then it is actually worth more to me that the £10 from a Western professional - who has probably saved himself hours of time/angst using one of my tools, but chooses to donate only a small fraction of his total saving... but then at least he gave something!I write 'commercial tools', often costing several thousand pounds... but you rarely see them, or perhaps you use them as part of other tools without realizing my involvement...
My 'donationware' plugins were never intended to make me rich anytime soon... but they are given in a spirit that sometimes I wish was perhaps more reciprocated that it is...
A 'Thanks' now and again is welcomed...
Occasional 'advice' is also welcome.
But the 'complaining' I can really do withoutWell mate, the offer stands if you ever visit Oz...!
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@gareth said:
even for a very modest $10.....that would have been a nice little earner
but what is it really worth ?....much more I would suggest...!!
It depends... Some people use SketchUp and all plug-ins for professional or commercial reasons. They have benefit in having tools that makes their work easier, faster, more detailed etc.
But many SketchUp users - I dare say most of them - just use the program for fun, to play around with, to be creative. If they have to pay for plug-ins, they will probably not buy them and not use them. One group will continue using SketchUp with the limited features (without the additions of $$ plug-ins), others will see their creativity blocked or slowed down, and will stop using the program.Are some plug-ins worth more than $10? Probably. But they should be careful not to give an empty shell to "free" users, or to make people who already paid for a license pay even more for an optimal use of the program.
I think some basic plug-ins should be available for free for non-paying users, who can then buy some of the more sophisticated tools which are available for free for Pro users (since they already paid).
And why not keep it the way it is and ask developers to decide themselves if they want to make people pay, ask for contributions or give away the plugs for free? -
@mike lucey said:
Gareth, I think many may feel this way and end up not supporting. The non commercial ruby developers for the most part do not do the work for big financial rewards but they do like to have their work appreciated and 'tipped'!
Personally I always express my gratitude, when I download and use a plugin...
I have 'tipped' some of the ruby-guys (you know who you are) over time, but admit that I've failed to support others, although I do appreciate a script or two, which they've been making...I can only speak for myself, but I assume this is valid for many others as well...
'Tipping' is laborious - not much, but it is laborious... Sorry, but that's the fact...
Yes, if I met Thomthom, Tig, Fredo, Alex S., Didier, Rich, Whaat etc. I'd gladly buy a beer of a cup of coffee... No problema...!
However, whenever I donate a little to the authors for making my life a little easier, it's in the range between 10-25 EUR (depending on how much I feel the plugin is worth to me), but then I need to find how to make the donation to the author and then make the actual donation... Tiresome and laborious...
I agree, it's not a huge task, but it's laborious, hence I don't do it as often as I should...I believe that if I had to pay between 1-2 USD (or even EUR) per plugin, I'd do it...
To me the ideal plugin shop would be one, where I would need to pay an "entrance fee" and for this fee I'd get some credits which I could use to pay for the plugins I download...
Again I feel the plugin should then only cost between 1-2 EUR...
The plugins that are worth more, are already commercial, which is a different ball game...
When my credits are used, I can buy additional credits...
This way all authors would get rewarded for the precious time they spend making these gems...
But that's how I feel it should be...
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