Open-source my vendor kits or add new features first?

Open sourcing my vendors will happen, regardless, in a couple months.

My vendor includes 3 kits -
1-prim
regular with arrows
hologram rezzer vendor

It is a non-notecard driven vendor, low-lag, and since I released it in August I have had 0 bug patches needed. For the mall owners that complain about listen-vendors, I have shown them my vendor and they have approved my vendor for use -- That's how reliable and low-lag this vendor is. It's used all across SL and people usually have very little problems setting them up.

My question is - should I open source them now, or should I develop more features, and stave off the release for a couple months?

Possible features are mostly minor upgrades that I've been putting off for months because I've been so busy... the functionality is pretty much there. At one point I considered developing an XML-RPC interface and charging for access to a website, but I simply don't have the time in my life to follow this venture.

Let me know what you think

/bump

Can I get some more votes, please?

Excellent, Hiro! Thanks for doing this. If your existing vendors have an Email or IM upon sale option, then that is all I would need.

On a totally separate note, I'd like to chat with you in-world about a multi-owner vendor product with remote update capabilities. I'll look for you in-world over the next few days.

Hiro, I would stab out my eyeballs if you could include the following features before opensourcing your scripts:

Central server-object which could communicate to all vendors grid-wide; single-object updating of all servers, or of classes of servers; email reports of activity (potentially including logging "browsing, but not buying" or "nearby" activities.)

Easy-to-setup multiauthor items with profit-sharing.

Will edit with more ideas; I had something else on the tip of my mind but then forgot.


Oh, yes, that was it. Don't know if it is possible, but keeping track in the central server-object who has bought what item, and implementing a "send updates to all customers of item X" when bugfixes are implemented or upgrades installed.

I think it's a wonderful project already, hiro, and even if you never opensource the scripts it's a noble project both because of it's easy to afford (ahem, FREE?) prica and resource-friendly operation.

Thanks for the consideration, Hiro. If you have an opensource vendor that can centrally update, it would be great. Ex: all the objects, notecards and photos are placed into a central server object. New vendors, when rezzed, look for this object and communicate with it, ask "What am I supposed to sell? What images do I use? And info notecards?". The central object responds, "filling" up the new vendor with the material. When a new product is added or updated in the server, it sends out updates to all vendors grid-wide.

If copyable, different server-objects could be used for different lines of vendors, to keep them "themed", clothing, vehicles, toys, etc.

(edited to add)

Hiro, i would also put something in your vendor to "suggest" a donation for people who find it useful. Perhaps $50 or $100. Some will pay and some won't, but it at least gives people a way to recognize you for your work. Also, your vendors are in such wide use that if even a portion of the users "paid" you for the kits, you'd have a noticeable stream of income from them.

That is an awesome idea! I suppose that'd be a much more advanced thing, requiring a webserver, but perhaps at the very least I could create a module that accepts email from a server and parses the same command I'd use to update prices, but with some sort of verification code.

I like it!


Pffft. I think a decent vendor should be part of the SL interface. I don't like the idea of charging for what should/could be part of Second Life. Though, I considered making the XML RPC interface and charging for access to the website and stats, since that's added value.

While I respect other folks' right to do it, fair enough warning - I'm going to try and make it tough for you to compete with a free vendor.

A few people have donated, I appreciate it, but I'm not out to earn money on what amounts to a hundred lines of code.

Does your vendor do these

A) Give correct change
B) Give any product in a Folder
C) Cut profit any number of ways
D) Updating a New Item being nothing more than dropping in a Box
E) Emails to each Cut Reciever
F) Unlimited cuts based on percent
G) No active Scripts
H) Does not Use Note Cards
I) Does not Use Listens
J) Does not use that X server thing that causes lag.
K) Anti Light
L) Can be updated in minutes
M) Boxes can be used as standalone away from the vendor
N) Does not use ANY channels for chat

If so Id be curious to see it.
As JJW already has and uses the above.

Shadow

I say release it now. I don't use your vendors any more, but I've really only got nice things to say about them.

Besides, you go an add a bunch of new features we are only gonna end up debugging your code before we can run it anyway