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ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

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Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#161

Post by sidewndr46 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #55

I just want to state outright that OP was wronged, and I side with them. That being said; I dislike both full subscription (i.e. breaks on expiration) and lifetime licenses. Subscriptions are too expensive for software that rarely gets major investment and lifetime licenses are dishonest (e.g. company cannot work for free, so their funded is based on unlimited growth, which isn't realistic for most). My current favor…

I think you're out of your mind if you don't think a lifetime license is practical.

The default license for almost everything, including software, is lifetime. I do not pay Ford an annual fee to advance the timing of the ignition sequence when I need to accelerate into traffic. I do not renew a subscription for the thermostat on my wall every winter when I need to put it in heating mode. When I was young, I bought a license for Epic pinball from then Epic MegaGames. I still have a license to that & can still enjoy it.

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#162

Post by dwighttk »

Someone1234 wrote: post #55

I just want to state outright that OP was wronged, and I side with them. That being said; I dislike both full subscription (i.e. breaks on expiration) and lifetime licenses. Subscriptions are too expensive for software that rarely gets major investment and lifetime licenses are dishonest (e.g. company cannot work for free, so their funded is based on unlimited growth, which isn't realistic for most). My current favor…

I just want to buy it and use it until I need to upgrade… if I’m issuing it I’ll usually upgrade every major update, but a subscription happens every 12 months (or whatever) no matter what… I can’t say “I’ll update next month when I have some money set aside” and forgo the amazing new features for a month… or I’m not really using this very often and the new features look non-compelling so I’ll just keep this version for the quarterly use I’m getting out of it.

Agree on services but not if it is merely a service to justify a subscription

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#163

Post by leokennis »

tescocles wrote: post #53
nelox wrote: post #41

The OP states “the reason I tell all my CTO coachees they need everything in writing from their boss in their contract, a new boss will probably only honor what is written down, not spoken promises.” However, he seems to have ignored his own advice and not understood the ManyCam EULA. “… This license is in effect until one of the parties terminates the license. You may terminate the license by no longer using the Man…

I don't know the contract law in the relevant (presumably US) jurisdiction, but surely an asterisk in the contract that's basically: Lifetime perpetual licence!* *but we can cancel any time without any penalty lol teehee is not enforceable? I don't think it would fly in court where I live, it doesn't matter if it was in a signed contract if it's preposterously unfair. edit: and I don't even necessarily think a lifeti…

Exactly. If this was really legal, I do not understand why Ford would not market it's newest pick-up truck as "now with flying ability!" and then just add in small print "it can not actually fly at all".

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#164

Post by mannykannot »

mh- wrote: post #145
emodendroket wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact they were pumping these for only $39 kind of suggests the reason they never should have made such a commitment in the first place.

They eventually went down to $20 (from $199!), which is when I pulled the trigger, according to the email receipt I just found. January 2021. I archived the email's "view in browser" link here: https://archive.is/y23DN

I wonder, was there was ever a time when buying the lifetime license turned out to be a better deal than a fixed-term one?

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#165

Post by crazygringo »

dahart wrote: post #158
crazygringo wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's dishonest in the sense that a company knows the probabilities are such that they can't actually ever truly support a lifetime license, so it's a lie from the start. At the end of the day, companies usually go out of business or else sell themselves to another company within a certain number of years. And a new company (like in this case) may change their mind about lifetime licenses, because it's a total…

Ugh, please don’t make it worse and escalate to “lie”. You’re blaming the wrong source, and have it backwards IMO. The previous owners weren’t lying, the new owners are the ones to blame for breaking a pre-existing contract with the company. Breaking this contract might not be legal, and in that sense they may be only the ones lying.

If the previous owners were truly committed to upholding the lifetime license, they would have never sold the company without an ironclad legally enforceable guarantee the new owners would uphold the lifetime license as well.

They clearly didn't. They either didn't care, or it would have decreased the sale price of the company (or the ability to sell it at all) and they preferred the money.

So I absolutely hold the original owners equally responsible. They made the promise and they created the conditions for it to be broken. Which was an entirely predictable outcome, which is why calling it a "lie" doesn't seem inappropriate.

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#166

Post by dahwolf »

qikInNdOutReply wrote: post #12

The problem with such betrayal is, that companies names are all but smoke and mirrors by now. The reputational damage should be tracking with the leading employees. One customer betrayal travels along with the manager who caused it, to whatever company s/he touches. No matter how the company is named, no matter how much branding, one linked in api roll call later you know what you got.

Sounds like cancel culture on steroids.

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#167

Post by xattt »

noirscape wrote: post #91
xattt wrote: post #3

Wondering the last few years how long my Plex lifetime pass will last now.

Plex' lifetime pass is iirc tied to major versioning. You'll have lifetime for as long as 2.x is the version they're on, but if they ever release 3.x, it's time to open your wallet again. No promises were made at the time on if you can stay on 2.x forever. Extremely scummy move, they changed those terms in 2017 if I recall and got a ton of flak for it.

Interesting. I bought in around 2016, so I may have dodged the bullet?

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#168

Post by fnordpiglet »

SturgeonsLaw wrote: post #130
fnordpiglet wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can’t wait for the social credit score determining people’s career prospects!

The direction that it's coming from matters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousveillance

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosedive_(Black_Mirror)

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#169

Post by sowbug »

A "lifetime" purchase is really the lifetime of the product or its manufacturer, whichever dies first. I've never heard of this company, but it died when it got bought.

I'm not saying this as a lawyer or having scrutinized the license terms. It's more of a life lesson. Before you fork over your one-time fee, ask yourself: are they offering a great deal because they're a great company with a great product and a great business model? Or are they trying to hoover up money because they're on life support and the bills are coming due?

Side note: one company seems to have gotten this balance right. There's a music product called FL Studio that sells lifetime licenses. I've had mine for over 20 years, and it's still updated. The license was expensive (good to keep the company going), they sell DLC (good incentive to keep the product fresh), and the product itself is inherently a platform around which a strong community has formed (good because the company knows their product effort translates directly into word-of-mouth advertising).

Re: ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license

#170

Post by maushu »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #161
Someone1234 wrote: post #55

I just want to state outright that OP was wronged, and I side with them. That being said; I dislike both full subscription (i.e. breaks on expiration) and lifetime licenses. Subscriptions are too expensive for software that rarely gets major investment and lifetime licenses are dishonest (e.g. company cannot work for free, so their funded is based on unlimited growth, which isn't realistic for most). My current favor…

I think you're out of your mind if you don't think a lifetime license is practical. The default license for almost everything, including software, is lifetime. I do not pay Ford an annual fee to advance the timing of the ignition sequence when I need to accelerate into traffic. I do not renew a subscription for the thermostat on my wall every winter when I need to put it in heating mode. When I was young, I bought a…

The difference with your Ford car is that no one is changing how the roads work every year. Compared with other areas IT is really unstable.
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