Refund question

[MikeyH (Mike Hembrey)]

@Pethical

I understand that the subscription is optional

But you said earlier…

@Pethical

I understand that it’s not a subscription

You seem to be fixated that it is a subscription service.

Perceived value- What YOU think it is worth.
Realized value- What I think it is worth.

Same product, different views. Buy or buy not, there is no subscription.

[Dskall (D Kallenberger)]

You buy the current software and get updates for a year.
After a year you can keep software as it is, or if improvements come out that you like you can buy those improvements and another years worth of updates also.
This seems simple to me. I look at each new version and if I see something that I’ve wanted or adds value I renew, otherwise I just use the one I have. I don’t understand your fixation on a subcription.

[JoeSpanier]

One of the big things that has been skipped over in this thread is that dev and release hasn’t actually slowed all that much. We just changed how we are going about the release schedule.

The 2.0 RC’s started going out a few months ago. If you look at the schedule and the features in them and compare it to how we have done release’s in the past the cadence is actually quite similar.

The big difference is now we have a wider testing audience and a less disruptive way to release new features into the wild. We have a lot of people depending on this software now and we take that very seriously. If we roll out a buggy update in an RC it doesn’t take down someone’s production environment.

This is one of the many things we are working on to address the issues you brought up @Pethical we honestly have very similar feelings to you internally and are working on processes to address it. LightBurn has gone from 2 Guy working on a passion project to over 30 people making 2 software products in the last 4 years. We are figuring out how to handle those changes.

Thanks for all the support in this thread and thank you for bringing up your concerns @Pethical I’m glad you felt able to speak your mind.

[RalphU (RU)]

@Pethical

I understand that the subscription is optional and the software is not locked behind it. However, if someone chooses to subscribe, it’s not unreasonable to expect ongoing improvements or at least consistent maintenance. In a business context, a recurring payment typically implies a continuing service or value.

If updates slow down or stop because focus shifts to another product, the subscription begins to feel less like a service and more like a donation — and that’s fine if it’s explicitly framed that way, but most users expect more than that.

This isn’t about whether the software works well right now, but about the implicit promise that comes with ongoing financial support.

You make some good points. LB (the company) is currently transitioning to a company that will provide 2 different programs to current and potential customers. This allows the company to create another revenue stream for Millmage. If they simply used LB as the design platform, and bolted on a CAM option for milling, the revenue stream would likely be less than 2 different programs. The user conference coming up soon should reveal more of the company direction. I have an idea of what will be unveiled at the conference. The company is evolving, and the future direction of the company will be most likely be revealed at the LB user conference.