Official Statement Regarding Pligg.com negotiations

[kbeeveer46]

Edit by Ash 2007/08/29

This thread / topic is starting to turn into a flame war so I'm closing. Please direct any questions to ashdigg@gmail.com. I will attempt to respond to all questions and make an official FAQ.

Sometimes to get attention you need to make noise. Although Pligg is listed for sale that does not mean that it is the only option that we are pursuing, but it's the one we thought would gather the most attention. I myself have spent almost 2 years with this project and I am not looking to just 'cash out and turn my back'. We are in talks with many people regarding the financial status of Pligg, and continue to receive more offers. We are keeping Pligg's best interests in mind. We don't know 100% what will happen yet because we are talking with many different people.

Unless anything is confirmed by myself or yankidank, it is considered hearsay.

thank you.

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Dear Pliggers,

As some of you may have noticed, Pligg is going through some changes. Recently, the administration has decided to open Pligg.com up for bidding. You can read more at the following links Mashable & Tech Crunch

Let me elaborate on what this means. In the last year and a half Pligg has grown well beyond our expectations and it is getting difficult for the developers to manage the business side of Pligg on a daily basis without slowing down development. Which consists mainly of advertising, support, and community management. We've seen many online businesses develop products to support Pligg recently. Selling everything from custom templates and modules, to support and installation. This should be a clear example of the popularity of Pligg. We believe by allowing more seasoned professionals take over the day to day management of Pligg, it will allow Pligg to flourish into realm's that we never thought possible.

Potential bidders will be bidding for Pligg.com + Forum/community and access to the Pligg code. There will be a transferring of SVN to the potential bidder. They would also decide if they wanted to conitue releasing the code under the Pligg name. Until we work out the details with a potential bidder there is not much else I can say about this at this time.

So what does this mean to you, the "Pligger"? Right now, not much, as we've just open the channels up for negotiation. Any transfer of Pligg ownership could take months. We believe this will bring a vast improvements the the Pligg community and allow the developers to continue working on the project uninterrupted.

As of right now nothing has changed. Keep up your Pligging and we will update you with any information we get.

[HealthGurl]

Originally Posted by kbeeveer46

We've seen many online businesses develop products to support Pligg recently. Selling everything from custom templates and modules, to support and installation.

Could you post (or PM me) a list of the 'many' online business which offer support for Pligg (excluding templates)?

I've been trying to get several things done regarding Pligg, and have only been able to identify 3 or 4.

I have several technical and feature-related questions regarding this platform, that I need answers to.

Thanks.

[dzone]

At DZone we have a lot of respect for Pligg and the community that powers it. We'd be delighted to talk with you guys to see if there's anything we could do to help out. I'm hoping that the community leaders are really looking for a way to stay in, rather than a way to get out. You guys make Pligg the great package that it is, so without you it would be much less.

Cheers,
Rick Ross
rick@dzone.com

[tbones]

As far as I understood the v2 code will stop development and (later) support of the current system. What kind of license will this code have? Is it part of the sale negotiations to stick to a (L)GPL-alike license?

I would be happy with an OOo/Star Office-like business model!

[ZeroHoursOfSleep]

I'm just hoping that it remains open source . . .

[cent]

Hi All,

Is the sale of Pligg an exit strategy or a way of putting it into someone else's hands to continue with development? I really hope other avenues are explored if this is not an exit strategy. The people involved with the development of Pligg has been one of the main reasons I've continued to be apart of it. It's also one of the motivating factors that has allow the community to grow and foster new ideas so openly.

Best,
Cent

[rebel]

Assets included in the sale are the domain name, website and control over the SourceForge account where people can download the current code... techcrunch.com

sadly this reads like a complete exit

[Simon]

I'm sure it would be possible to gather 2 teams together. A development team (already in place) and a management team. Keep the roles separate and then development can get back on track.

[beatniak]

Originally Posted by kbeeveer46

...and it is getting difficult for the developers to manage the business side of Pligg on a daily basis without slowing down development. Which consists mainly of advertising, support, and community management.

Let me translate:
Developers want to develop, can't handle business side of the project.

Example:
Some dude made digg.com >>> couldn't do promotions >>> asked some guy named Kevin Rose who had fans because of TechTV to do the promotion >>> Digg became famous.
No one remembers the name of that friend of Kevin who actually came up with it and build it. But digg would never have been the success it is now without mr. Rose.

The pligg team can't do both developing and marketing, so they let some business aware people do that, so they can focus on the developing.

If the buying partner turns out to be some evil party, i've just got three words to say: joomla vs. mambo

So if buying party just likes to cash and not push this OS project forward, we'll register www.fslsdkjvnbvnsrtnkasjhgsjnbjnak.com and develop pligg further under that name. (guess fslsdkjvnbvnsrtnkasjhgsjnbjnak isn't a very good name though, but you get my point )

[Yankidank]

Originally Posted by beatniak

If the buying partner turns out to be some evil party, i've just got three words to say: joomla vs. mambo

Funny stuff beatniak. For the most part your post hit the nail on the head. We don't want to just sell to the highest bidder, we are seeking a buyer who would help advance Pligg. As your example describes, someone to handle the business and some of the marketing. We'll keep you updated as we continue negotiations.