2sxc Patrons - Our Heros

2sxc Patrons help make 2sxc possible. Let's have a look at why you should become a patron, and how the strategy is in terms of support and features.

TL;DR (Summary)

1. 2sxc will remain free and open source forever. 
2. We're developing a Patron (supporters) program where people can support 2sxc and will get some bonus features. 
3. All essential features will remain free forever. 
4. New features which everybody needs will also be free. 

Examples of Bonus Features

1. Web Farm Cache and LightSpeed Caching
2. Certain features to automatically provider other image formats to browsers which can handle them
3. Exotic security features like ContentSecurityPolicy tools which users could also develop themselves, but we hope to contribute value by automating things

Pricing

1. Patron features which everybody could benefit from (but are not essential) will typically cost around 10 USD per month.
2. We hope that many patron features will be so valuable that people actually save money by supporting 2sxc. For example because they need fewer server resources or some automations save them many hours of work.  
3. High-end features like Web-Farms caches will be around 50 USD per month

Open Source Challenges

We've made 2sxc open-source from day 1, because we wanted it to reach thousands of developers and contribute to the Dnn (and since 2021 also Oqtane) ecosystem.

Ten years ago we believed that the kind of Meta-Module we created is essential for productivity and we were proven right. Today 2sxc is powering tens of thousands of DNN sites (we don't know exactly how many) but estimates from other Dnn experts are that at least 50% of DNN sites today use 2sxc. This absolutely rocks 🤘🏼.

But as with every open-source project the burden is carried by a few individuals. Most of the users enjoy the free ride (which is totally ok) but few actually contribute. And by contribute I mean:

1. Help with blogs, instructions, tutorials and videos
2. Support users on Stack-Overflow
3. Contribute code and documentation
4. Help integrate into other platforms (such as nopCommerce, Umbraco, etc.)

Without this, there is always the risk that free products die. We want to get rid of this risk. 

Big Organizations Fear Free Products

Big companies often have limit the use of free products. Because anything free is either a trick (like Facebook) or it relies on the good will of individuals - which is a risk big companies cannot take. 

If there is no business model behind a product, big organizations often avoid it. 

It doesn't matter what the business model actually is - if a product is generating a constant revenue stream, it's more likely to exist in 10 years than if everybody is just doing charity work so others can make money. 

Generate Revenue...

Using this new patron model we hope to generate revenue to help pay for our wages - which we are sure you also agree is fair. The model is skewed to ensure companies who care and can pay, will pay, but organizations who wish to go free (or simply cannot pay) will still have an amazing product for free. 

This is why most features will not cost much - like 10 USD per month. Such features often contribute so much value (like save cost on server resources) that they actually save money. 

But none of these features will be essential. You can create amazing solutions without paying. 

...and Incentives to Contribute

But we also wish to do something else: we can reward people who regularly contribute to 2sxc by giving them patron-points. This means people who regularly contribute value will be treated as if they are patrons, and will get points to use on such features without paying.

We hope that such contributors will then either benefit from the features themselves, or be able to charge their customers for features they themselves worked to earn. We think this helps all of us. 

Questions?

I hope this clarifies most concerns and helps you enjoy 2sxc even more. If you have any questions, please reach out to us using the contact page. 

Love from Switzerland, 
iJungleboy