Hey everyone,

the beta tests on Messenger Plus! 3.60 have started and this new awaited version of Plus! is scheduled to be released sometimes in September. Everything is going fine, however, as I already stated in previous messages during the past months, it's becoming harder and harder for me to find new good stuff to add in Messenger without bloating it for no reason.

Because of that, I'd like to have your honest opinion about the future of Messenger Plus!. What would you think if version 3.60 was the last real update of Messenger Plus! ? I'm talking hypothetically here, I don't currently plan to stop after this release but I want to know what you would all think about it. Isn't it better to stop while the program still looks good instead of trying to push too hard for new useless features? maybe some of you already think that of the latest versions and in that case, I want to know.

It's been more than 4 years already and there are many other projects I'd like to start. As long as there will be good support for Messenger Plus!, I'll continue to maintain it, too many users seem to depend on it today and I won't let anybody down, however it may be also time for me to move on and start something fresh.

Let me know
Patchou

If 3.60 was the last real update, that would be completely fine with me. The current version already does everything I want it to, and then some.

If you do stop developing, I think it's be better to do it when you're all burned out of ideas and still amazingly popular. Just make sure there's compatibility updates

if msgplus stops....does that mean the forums will stop?....if not then its up to you and if you cant think of any more features then how will you continue?...if you stop all you need to do is check the forums for little features that are wanted to be added with the next campatability update.....
* dylan! remmeber the meeting with microsoft
* dylan! thinks they paid patchou to stop making plus!

Patch,

iv'e been using it  since 2.0 an think you have done a Great job, but if you feel you need to start another project, , i think everybody should be happy with 3.5x release aswell as 3.60 release . its prolly best you do stop at 3.60 before you do get burnt out on Plus an start a new project so whatever  that is i'd support it

quote:

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Originally posted by dylan!
* dylan! remmeber the meeting with microsoft

* dylan! thinks they paid patchou to stop making plus!

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quote:

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Originally posted by dylan!
if msgplus stops....does that mean the forums will stop?....if not then its up to you and if you cant think of any more features then how will you continue?...if you stop all you need to do is check the forums for little features that are wanted to be added with the next campatability update.....
* dylan! remmeber the meeting with microsoft

* dylan! thinks they paid patchou to stop making plus!

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* Chrono wonders which kind of project will be next

I think Messenger Plus! is a great add-on to MSN Messenger and for me, and most of my friends, it was the only reason why we started using MSN Messenger.
I like all the features Messenger Plus! has right now and honestly don't know what we could add to it at the moment.
I, personally wouldn't have a problem if MsgPlus 3.6 was the last major update as long as you would not drop it completely. That means, if there are new really great new features to be added or improved at some time that that will be done.

One thing that I'm afraid of is that this great MsgPlus! community that built up around the Messenger Plus! program will collapse at some point, because fewer new members will join and the older ones will leave once they finally found a life.

My hope is that Messenger Plus! will continue to evolve just as MSN Messenger does, when they introduce new features, we will certainly find new features that can be added, or ways to improve MsgPlus!.

I would love to see Messenger Plus! and it's community to develop further because I can't see a limit right now, as I said when MSN adds more features to their program there will be new possibilities for Messenger Plus! to enhance them and to add even cooler ones.

I would sure hope to see Messenger Plus! 4.5 along with MSN Messenger 8 sometime in the future.
Really, MSN Messenger isn't the same without Plus!.

But in the end it is your own decision, if you think you can't continue Messenger Plus! anymore and want to tackle new projects, do so.

Btw, my guess is that MSN asked you to join their MSN Messenger dev team

quote:

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Originally posted by andrey
One thing that I'm afraid of is that this great MsgPlus! community that built up around the Messenger Plus! program will collapse at some point, because fewer new members will join and the older ones will leave once they finally found a life.

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It would be fine for me, but ONLY as far as it would be promised to be compatible with all future MSN Messenger builds (at least MSN Messenger, if you decide to *forsake* Windows Messenger), and be promised to give plug-ins full access to Messenger interface...*

Personally, I still want to see some more to be added to Plus! such as rich-text-format chat logs and built-in Personal Message logging... but softwares have always got their limitations, so I think I'll be able to live with it.

Don't worry, Patchou, that you will lose user support... Microsoft, I believe, is getting new Instant Messaging users every day, and there is no doubt when 100 people download MSN Messenger, 99 download Messenger Plus! too (the rest one is mysteriously murdered by Avada Kedavra after he installs MSN Messenger). The number of downloads you have in your statistics is growing and that explains everything, innit?


* That means you can never drop Plus! when MSN Messenger is still gaining popularity

Well I find your program very rich in features, yet it consumes almost no system resources at all, so you'd have to add an awful lot of stuff befor it'd be bloated, lol. But personally, I can't think of anything that's missing.
Oh, actually I forgot... one thing I would like to see, if there could be the option of having the Plus! emoticon window open when the default emoticon button on the Messenger convo window is pushed, instead of the default emoticon window. That'd be cool.

quote:

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Originally posted by Chrono
the forums would still be here for a long time i guess, because people will always need help, wether Plus! has new features or not

I kind of agree that Plus! has too many features, and obviously it's getting harder to create new stuff. As long as you keep it compatible with new versions of MSN, i wouldnt mind but people would be very dissappointed when they notice that their favorite MSN's add on stopped including new features .

* Chrono wonders which kind of project will be next

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* Joe also wonders which kind of project will be next

I think as much as i like Msgplus Patchou you are indeed correct that it would be better to stop developing on a high note instead of adding useless features as MSN Messenger becomes a better more featured product.

I think you've reached a point where Msgplus has most features that people need? Unless some other people start suggesting features that everyone would like (elsewise it could be done as a plugin)?

Plus i think it would be good for you to start developing other projects which you are interested in . You can always come back to msgplus for compatibility updates and adding minor features/ correcting errors.

But overall its your choice , you'll have to see what the users of msgplus think and any possible features a majority of people would find useful - possibly another thread on this?

If you decided to do this i wouldn't even necessarily call this "finishing development" as you'd still be releasing compatibility updates and possibly fixing minor bugs/minor improvements - you'd just be spending less time on Msgplus.

* Dane wonders if Patchou's ToDo.txt file has been emptied completely.

Anyway, I am currently satisfied with Messenger Plus!'s features, and it has grown a wonderful community as well.  I'd be interested to know what other projects you are considering (AIM Messenger Plus! , j/k).  I'd like to see Plus! continue as a Green Product (a.k.a. Still in Development, New features/updates, etc.), but if you feel you need to turn it into a Brown Product (a.k.a. Only compatability updates and fixes) I would understand.  We'd all deal with it.

One of the primary concerns would be that the community would indeed implode like it did in the "Absence of 2001-2002".  Anyway, just my two cents.

Your primary concern Dane though is about the community not the actual program itself - it will still be widely used and i don't think the community will dissappear. Its Patchou u've got to think about - i'm sure he doesnt' want to spend his entire life coding msgplus! Its his choice, i wouldn't weigh my decisions on the fact that if patchou indeed turns msgplus into a Brown Product then his forums would implode - i'd weigh it on what Patchou really wants to do for himself.

I would be extremely sad to see that Messenger Plus! has stopped in production, I think there would be a decrease in users on this forum and things, and it would eventually close down, it scares me to think about it lol...

The new beta is great btw

If the development would stop, I'm sure the community wouldn't die anytime soon. There are far too many bells and whistles in Plus! for people to give up on it just because the development stopped; think about all the other "old" programs that people still use, support will always be needed. Of course the community will shrink a little I suppose...

Anyways, as for Plus! itself, I can live with the current version. Plus! is in a stage where it is "complete" IMHO. Besides some small issues ans some GUI fixes, I don't expect much more from it (hence the surprise each time when there are new features ). If development would stop after 3.6x I wouldn't be dissapointed at all, unless there is some major stupid bug in it of course And I think many people feel the same...

As with all things, life goes on and there are many more things than Messenger Plus! once you step out that door What I mean is, I can perfectly understand that you want to start with other stuff also. And working for the past 4 years non-stop on a single project is something not many people are willing to/can do...

So, if you feel it is time to take a break, or even stop development, that's totally up to you. No hard feelings at all. Plus! has come a long long way and is a very mature product already.

Of course, I do expect a big Plus! farewell party once you decide to quit

(since Plus! is your child and has matured, maybe it's indeed getting time to kick it out of the house.... so you can make some room for other children (with Fraisie) )

Well as many others have previously said, Plus! is a great product and I can see your reasoning for wanting to finish off on a high when it's the most popular Messenger add-on around full o fuseful features.

If you want to do stop develpment and work on  a new projects then we will all support you in your new path ( as long as you provide us with periodic updates to Plus! )  and I wish you the best of luck in making what must be a difficult decision.

^ read above ^



i basically agree with everyone here so far, that adding a lot of useless crap just because you can is pointless and will only lose popularity. just continue updating it to work with new msn versions and maybe even occasionally surprise us with a new feature

and i wish you good luck with your future project(s) whatever they may be, be sure to keep us informed

I agree with most of they who have answered already. MsgPlus! is a really, really great program. I perfectly understand that you have other things to fill your day with, but I indeed hope that there will be compability updates to MsgPlus! as long as MSN Messenger continue to develop. And I also hope that you consider to add new features according to new versions of Messenger, just think of the features that has been added to the last major updates of Messenger, and imagine what could be added in Messenger 8, Messenger 9 and Messenger 10! But there is no need to add new features to MsgPlus! just to add new features!

What about a poll in this thread?

Msgplus! is a perfect addon for msn messenger.. but as einum said that if there will new features added in the new msger release then there may be some new feature added in the msgplus! .... BTW more important is compatibility updates.. keep updating msgplus! for the new builds of msn msngr....
BTW wats will be ur next project.. will that be with microsoft.....

maybe add mdx features without all the bugs. We would love webcam recording pacthou without the dodgyness

My honest opinion,

I think that plus is a great program which i just couldnt use messenger without, obviously you have so much talent and im sure your other ideas and projects would be extremly popular too, i think if thats what you feal you need to do then you should.
If 3.60 was the last major update i really wouldnt mind, i would just be really pleased if you continued to support and update plus! with things like bug fixes, and when there are new builds of msn messenger, compatability issues and maybe an opportunity for new features may arrise with new builds of messenger, which i would be happy to see.

I think its definatly a good idea to not add any more features into plus! because i dislike when programs become overloaded with features, of which alot can be useless.

Anyway patchou, bottom line is, its your life, your creativity, and your future. You should do what you feal you need to do. Youll have the support of myself and the other plussers around the forums with your future projects no matter what they might be.

p.s. wow could you really be bothered reading all these opinions?

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Originally posted by Absorbation
maybe add mdx features without all the bugs. We would love webcam recording pacthou without the dodgyness

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Its all been said.

Have fun on other projects and I hope you great succes

add more sign in accounts to the front menu of msn. I use 3 msn account and i'll like a sign in button for each of them



dodgy screeny lol

i completely agree with scone and all others who posted above, it's your decision, as long as compatibility with new msn versions gets added i think everyone would be happy.

any programmer can make this, but patchou makes it bug free, clean, easy to use and looks great. Some need comands and look dodgy and that's when they lose people. e.g tabbed msn. Patchou makes it look better than tb and adds more features, dispite tb making it look good anyway

bad example i know

I agree I think if msgplus! stays compatibility with future msn messenger versions then i'm happy. Patchou has done so well with MsgPlus!

I wouldnt like to see plus going to just bug fixes and compatability updates. But if your out of ideas you could just slow down development until you had ideas, that means plus gets some cool new features but you could still work on other projects.
I also agree with some others, if the development of plus is going to die then could the plugin api get a revamp with more functions. That way the program will remain popular with loads of plugins adding more and more features.

Its complete for sure. 'slong as you occasionally clean out the bugs, and try to keep up with messenger versions, its fine

In fact, a lot of plus' features I dont even use because I've got all I need from it

I'm happy with whatever Patchou wants to do.  But I hope we can all help with his next project!.

Aslong as it stays compatible and upto date with newer MSNM functions i suppose its ok. Right now i can't think of anything i would like to see in Plus! that isn't already inthere (tabbed convos is something i wanted for some time and it's in the new Plus!). Plugin makers can add functionality to it too and this way Plus! itself won't get too "heavy/bloated". I personally can't do without Plus! anymore.

Support will stay, you can always count on us! Just don't totally leave us Patchou.

If you think it's time to go do something new, go for it. It's your life afterall! I for one will be very interested to see your "future" projects. Ohh and don't forget about Fraisie, will we get to see lil Patchous and Fraisies, a wedding?

I suddenly thougt of features regarding Personal Message. MsgPlus! 3.5x don't have any extra features regarding this Messenger function. Maybe at least include PMs in Event Log, if possible?

I think Plus! pretty much has everything in it. Except for a log viewer. I know there is one out there but it is fairly buggy. If it was built into Plus! it would make it a lot easier to view logs of each contact. It is sometimes pretty hard to read with all the codes in it.

But, you are the author of this wonderful program. It is up to you.

Messenger Plus! has become a great add-on for Messenger. However, we move on. Members of these forums have left before because they found a new thing in life, so if you would wish to move on with new projects then that's totally understandable.

All the other good things have already been said before

Well My 2 cents is what everybody else is saying,
please keep msgplus! life and kickin' with all the msn update's.
But focus on a new project give yourself a new and bigger target to do an conquer. Think of something else for the community (other client support, no ehmm other OS support )
And when time comes and msn offers you an uppertunity to make a new future for Plus! just do it and make a new plus version then when it's needed so you don't have to brainstorm over little things we don't use.

btw new poject idea java based msn client for mobile's with plus functions

Greetz,

I think when Patchou says new projects he means ones completely unrelated to MSN Messenger Simple Me

I would be happy if you left it at the next version, so long as you update the bugs, make sure it's compatible with the new MSN versions, etc.
I seriously doubt the community would die out. Come on, how many people would still be viewing MsgPlus.com/net, and downloading, and getting problems, etc. People don't just view the page because it is being updated, people view the page because they discover it, no matter what version. And so long as we, the people of the community, keep spreading Plus! and keep posting, then, it wouldn't die out.
I look forward to seeing your future projects, I am sure they will be as good, if not better than Plus!. I understand that you can't always be working on the same thing forever..

With new versions of msn, comes new features with it, as long as they keep upping msn, plus! should keep boosting as well.

Allright.. well i simply want to say what I think.. I belive Msg Plus! already contains a whole lot of options, and except the tabbed convo coming up, I don't see anything else that should be rlly needed to add.. The only thing I belive is some details that could be made better for future  release.. EG: the desktop contacts could show emoticon and so on.. But as for new features.. msg plus already has a lot... and you are totally right, adding too many useless ones could make the application a lot less interesting..

so ye.. I don't know, I guess it's your choice afterall.. if you don't see like here's a lot of new features to ad.. maybe just stopping and if you ever think of something adding it up l8er..? I don't think you should rush updates just cuz it's been a long time msg plus! wouldnt have gotten any.. I think you just need to update when there's a valid feature/reason to do so.. so if you done with 3.60 and then drop it for a year or 2.. I think that should give you time to work on other projects and also to make msg plus! better if you think of something..

Last but not least, I'd just wanted you to know that I rlly appreciated not only plus! but this whole community, wte you do man, youll always have had done something huge for everyone here.. So if this is in fact the last version of msg plus!.. Well.. thx for these many yrs of programming man

I think at the point Plus! has come to it may well be time to end it's run of terror so to speak. I think that anything that anybody could well want that isn't allready in Plus! could probably be achieved via plug-ins & therefore people can't really complain (unless all the plug-in developers called it a day aswell). I remember you telling us all before you do have a company you made, is this the start of Patchousoft? Will we be seeing the discontinuation of Plus! but the start of a not just a add-on for a existing product but a all new one? And maybe now that you have friends at Microsoft if ever there is a compatibilty problem they could update Plus! for you? The possibilitys are endless. But your worries are understandable, but I think you may underestimate the understanding nature of your community.
This is The GiantSpider saying "2 Cent's ain't enough in this world"

That's all good and useful feedback for me, thank you very much . And btw, don't worry, I'm not about to stop maintaining Messenger Plus! anytime soon.

I just saw this thread, Plus! is a great software indeed.

I wonder if  "Auto-hide at screen edge" & "Auto save password and login" is possible in the next version?

When I discovered Messenger Plus! 2 years ago, I realised that it was going to change the way I used Messenger forever. I got my whole family to download it, and use it. And I thank you Patchou for creating such a great product.

I understand that you have spent 4 years of your life developing a product which is well known and has made you well respected. I respect you alot, you've inspired me to learn to program so that one day I can hope to be a programmer half as good as yourself.

I hope you enjoy working on new projects and I wish you good luck in your life.

We don't know, with your reputation, you could become the next Bill Gates.

I find plus to be perfect as long as it is maintained for MSN then i'm going to be happy besides, plugins will always add that little extra functionality

You may seem a drop in income from the sponsor though due to lack of installs.

I'm awaiting new exciting projects

If you want to go out into other projects, then I think you should. You should take a break, I have never seen a computer programmer so dedicated to his 'baby' as you are.

If you just maintain it and make sure it still works. For about a year, then maybe you could start the code sharing thing you did a long time ago but with the latest version of Plus!, and let Plus! splinter out.

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Originally posted by netwhr
"Auto save password and login" is possible in the next version?

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Well whatever you decide to do Patchou, I wish you all the best in future.

Hi,

I can understand what you mean, as you need a fresh new challenge in life.

It's a bit disappointing you feel this way, as Messenger Plus! is a great add-on and has became a way of life for the hardcore Messenger user, but we all stand by you in this decision and hope you the best for the future..

Hmmmm is this anything to do with your visit to Redmond?
Are you going to stop maintaining it after a while and then sell it to MSN?

Also, when you move onto another project, is it something us geeks can look forward to, any ideas we can have?


I know this is a little big, but havnt you ever thought of hiring people to work on projects etc? And start off a big development company, you could start off a few projects on your own, and then hire people to continue their development, and you could make loads of money off all of them, and whilst developers are putting the most into the new projects, you could be developing more new fresh ones...

That way you still own copyright to all the applications and are a big hit to the developing world

Sorry, stop babbling on LoL


Kind Regards,
XM4ST3RX

his not going to another one, but he wants to know what we would do if we did

Well PAtchou I like that idea of a company lol maybe some courses for people to learn to program? [Im a hopeful] but if Plus is always compatible, even without new features, I'm one of the lot that will keep using it for sure...Msn messenger just isn't the same without plus installed..it really isn't...

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Originally posted by Regexp

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Originally posted by netwhr
"Auto save password and login" is possible in the next version?

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Search on the forums for Wouter's Pass Reminder plugin.

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but however, it doesn't work in MSN 7.0.0816. there is no any password saved...

I think a couple of redundant features could be removed to reduce the size.  For example, MSN Messenger can now log conversations.  I realise some people prefer having Plus! do it, but it's just a matter of getting used to the xml logs and how they work.  The logging feature in Plus! could therefore be removed.

I also hope that one day Patchou gets enough money from other sources so he can remove the optional sponsor.  This would reduce the file size further and eliminate all the confusion over it.

Other than that, I hope Patchou keeps updating Plus! for new releases of MSN Messenger and adds a new feature from time to time when he thinks of something new and cool!

I wouldnt mind it tho id miss it. Cause it already does so many things.
Id just like it to have updates with new versions of msn to maintain compatibility and prolly remove any annoying features that would be introduced (if any )

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Originally posted by John Anderton
annoying features that would be introduced (if any )

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Originally posted by Animal


it already has annoying features an  useless ones, IMO. Voice Clips, who needs those?. not Me,  patchou's Sounds thingie is a lot better, who needs Winks? Not me, , Filetransfer could be better , thats where i love ICQ still, never tried AIM file transfers but im assuming they use the same method

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Originally posted by ~Fusion~

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Originally posted by Absorbation
add more sign in accounts to the front menu of msn. I use 3 msn account and i'll like a sign in button for each of them



dodgy screeny lol

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i have always wanted that

anyway, i think you've done a brilliant job creating plus. And are one of the most dedicated programmers i have ever seen . But it should be your choice whether you continue with plus or not. Either way, good luck with your future projects, i cant wait to see them

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*skips through the whole thread*

The only features that I use are:

Word Filtering;
Quick Texts;
Messenger Lock;
Chat Logs;

and I'm sure I will use the new tabbed chat window feature!

As everyone mentioned, as long as it keeps it's compatibility with future MSN Messenger versions then all is fine

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Originally posted by Myself
hmm first Plus! goes to Redmond, and then Plus! stops development, that could be a coincidence but i would hate to think that Micro$oft has anything to do with it....

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plus to many may have too many functions already but its functions that ppl will use some of them, others will use others funtions, etc. its user options and i dont think there are many functions at all

anyway for me there are some stuff that all the ppl will use (or almost) like the ones previous said here:

-> record camera

-> a built in Log viewer for the Plus! logs

-> file transfer with a check if the other user has plus start with it, if not use the standart msn one. I know i know there are already a plugin that does this but i wanted to see in Plus! already because many ppl that install Plus! dont install plugins like that (if any at all)

-> PSM recording in event log

-> and of course more power to Plus! API to build better plugins

Yeah sorry, I only read the first page and a half, so I'm not sure if anyone said this but..
One thing I've always wanted to see in Messenger Plus! is 'message prefixes'. For example you could have it so you could put a line of text for a prefix and every message you sent would have that before it. That seems sort of useless but for things like the Fader plugin and leet speak plugins, or background colour tags, it would be pretty practical.

Other then that I think Messenger Plus! is practically perfect. You did an awesome job on it!

I love Plus!  I have had it ever since I have had MSN.  I probably would be on MSN without Plus!  Patchou, you have been doing a great job, and still are.  I will be very sad if you this is the last release, but I will understand why.  I am just worried about when microsoft copies all the features that plus will have, then no one will have need it anymore 

It's nice to know that Plus! and it's community are growing at a steady rate. We aren't going anywhere soon, and I'm sure that you could use Plus!'s fanbase to help jump start any other projects you might want to do. Good luck with whatever you do Patchou!

* Concord Dawn suggests Plus! Messenger as a project for Patchou to start working on. Maybe make it support AIM/MSN/ICQ?

PS I think making Plus! compatible with *nix would be a really nice treat for some of the more tech-savvy members of the forums, but I'm sure that'd be a daunting task.

You dont want to bloat Plus! sure..... but theres always SOMETHING you can do. think about it, I only got the Mess Patch last week or so and I had no idea people could do stuff like that. Plus wouldnt have support for plug-ins if people didnt make suggestions.......

...... but I guess I'd live with it if you decided to stop now.

I haven't read through the posts, but maybe some features you could add are:
-Easy skinning so each account could have a different skin. Something like the contact list being the same colour as the chat windows or having a complete make-over (if you are allowed to do that).
-Contact list tab so it scrolls up/down/sideways when docked to the side of the window.
-Desktop Contacts: Conversation windows minimize to destop icon and when a message is recieved it flashes.

-I like that idea and look.


This would also be a good idea with the icons on the side to quickly switch account in one window.

As you said, you don't want to bloat Plus! for no reason. It's better to keep it looking nice and simple.

Anyway, you've done a very good job on Plus! Don't stress out trying to add all the features and if you think that it's time to start something new, you do that. It would be good if you could still spend a bit of time here though.

P.S

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It's been more than 4 years already and there are many other projects I'd like to start.

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its your life!
we'll all be here to wish you the best for your future though

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Originally posted by TazDevil
[b]Now if 3.60 was the latest real update for Plus! i would wish that Patchou would give greater control over to plugin developers, because after all, plugins are the ones that will keep Plus! alive (like winamp's long story) after the main development has ceised

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* Alpha Binary strongly agrees

I think u may stop developing, but...

• if there are new public versions of MSN Messenger which are incompatible, try 2 update Plus!
  
• if u got a great idea 4 a new feature, add it.

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Originally posted by Supersonicdarky

quote:

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Originally posted by ~Fusion~

quote:

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Originally posted by Absorbation
add more sign in accounts to the front menu of msn. I use 3 msn account and i'll like a sign in button for each of them



dodgy screeny lol

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i have always wanted that

anyway, i think you've done a brilliant job creating plus. And are one of the most dedicated programmers i have ever seen . But it should be your choice whether you continue with plus or not. Either way, good luck with your future projects, i cant wait to see them

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I've made a better concept before Just search the forums

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Here are my concepts

It would be fine to me...

But, I was thinking in a way to make plus record a conversation with an offline contact...

I mean, if some one knows that a contact will talk to him when get's online to deliver some info, you can just leave your msn conected... And if in any case, the PC just shut down (mom, dad saving energy)... The info and "conversation" would be recorded in a log... Ofcourse, that if the person can deliver the info...

Damn, I cand understand myself xD... (My english suck's xD)

quote:

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Originally posted by Chestah
I think as much as i like Msgplus Patchou you are indeed correct that it would be better to stop developing on a high note instead of adding useless features as MSN Messenger becomes a better more featured product.

I think you've reached a point where Msgplus has most features that people need? Unless some other people start suggesting features that everyone would like (elsewise it could be done as a plugin)?

Plus i think it would be good for you to start developing other projects which you are interested in . You can always come back to msgplus for compatibility updates and adding minor features/ correcting errors.

But overall its your choice , you'll have to see what the users of msgplus think and any possible features a majority of people would find useful - possibly another thread on this?

If you decided to do this i wouldn't even necessarily call this "finishing development" as you'd still be releasing compatibility updates and possibly fixing minor bugs/minor improvements - you'd just be spending less time on Msgplus.

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Well, I have a lot of imagination, however, to be honest, I'm a little bit tired of public domain softwares. Things are just too different from what they were just 4 years ago, I won't event start talking about this .

Anyway, back on topic, I can tell you that this new MS Anti-Spyware story gives some more weight to my original post. What do you want me to do? if this makes Microsoft happy, I'll surrender, pull the plug on Plus! and let them deal with my users. Sometimes, it certainely feels that it's all what they're waiting for.

dont give up that easy!!

quote:

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Originally posted by Patchou
Anyway, back on topic, I can tell you that this new MS Anti-Spyware story gives some more weight to my original post. What do you want me to do? if this makes Microsoft happy, I'll surrender, pull the plug on Plus! and let them deal with my users. Sometimes, it certainely feels that it's all what they're waiting for.

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man microsoft sucks patchou maybe you can change something to your source that it doesn't detect it anymore or that if you start msgplus that it quits MS antispyware for 5 minutes or something

i think that would make em think its more of a threat

quote:

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Originally posted by lordy16

quote:

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Originally posted by tristanj
man microsoft sucks patchou maybe you can change something to your source that it doesn't detect it anymore or that if you start msgplus that it quits MS antispyware for 5 minutes or something

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i think that would make em think its more of a threat

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maybe patchou can contact microsoft that they stop it cuase this is going to far.
or maybe microsoft can buy messenger plus..

quote:

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Originally posted by tristanj
maybe patchou can contact microsoft that they stop it cuase this is going to far.
or maybe microsoft can buy messenger plus..

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hmm yes your right, the only thing we can do is sign the petition.

Please do not pull the plug on Plus! or I will go on hunger strike, and hunt you down and knock you out with my pet lemming Martha.

quote:

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Originally posted by tristanj
Yeah sure and then microsoft can fill it with a whole banch of crap, and ads, etc, and make the product useless, like all their freeware products... or even worse make people buy future "enhanced" versions

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Im new to all theis Messenger plus malarkey but i really enjoy all the forums and the messenger plus is good, well anyway i think youve done really well and i would defintiley love to see any thnk new in the future!

Honestly,

I wouldnt mind if you stopped making features for Plus!, It fufills every need I could possibly have, and tabbed messaging will just make it PERFECT. At this point, I dont think Plus! could use much more features. HOWEVER, you would need to continuesly update compatibility.  Id like to see what else you could make as far as software goes.

quote:

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Originally posted by Norma Jean
Honestly,

I wouldnt mind if you stopped making features for Plus!, It fufills every need I could possibly have, and tabbed messaging will just make it PERFECT. At this point, I dont think Plus! could use much more features. HOWEVER, you would need to continuesly update compatibility.  Id like to see what else you could make as far as software goes.

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I was actually hoping for a MsgPlus4. I think that 3 is a bit messed up after new features are added. In the preference menu, the custom sound emoticon is misplaced, as well as other things. I know that it is hard to decide where to put it, but I think that it'd be better if youy start a new user interface, instead of adding features to the old one with the same interface.

Furthermore, I think that the tabbed msn should get a good GUI that will suit the window without the frame. Also, there should be a button to create a new tab near the tabs, similar to firefox, which will ask you to start a new conversation. I know that talking about tabs right now many not be appropriate, but I think you should consider those if you havn't.

Other than that, I have nothing to say about MsgPlus!, though I hope that there will be upcoming versions of it, not just a plugin without anymore new versions. That would make the MsgPlus! community kind of dead.

I personally would like to see more features in Plus!. As long as Microsoft is releasing newer features into MSN, Plus! should follow along and adjust itself to that version's release.

I don't mind Plus! being bloated, as long as it doesnt take up more system resources

As I see it, Messenger Plus! is as good as feature-complete. However, you yourself said that in the recent beta you had made a technical step that would allow a whole new array of functionalities to be added in a future.

I would personally feel sorry if MP! was discontinued. However, I'd be proud to have helped as much as I could to make it better at some point of my life.

But: Messenger will continue evolving. Apart from all the compatibility issues that will be fixed, there may (and will) be new features to be potentially enhanced by Plus!.

But this shouldn't force you to stay. Actually, I think the community, the vast community this application has achieved, could take control of the development at some point, and while a certain reduced group of selected programmers do the hard work, the rest could be suggesting, critisizing and by all means taking the decisions on how to move on with Plus! (well, maybe not that far community-based, but I believe a group of selected users with proved common sense could judge what has to be done next). This is somewhat near to public domain, but doesn't actually free the code itself. Of course things can go bad, but we wouldn't know if we didn't try.

This is just my somewhat late 2 cents to the thread.

Id just like to know what are the future projects?

as long as its updated with newer versions of MSN Messenger im happy.

there is no pressure for a new feature for every update,,, just when u feel that a certain feature is a really good one, add it, otherwise dont..... dont just added features aimelessly,,, and dont think that we'll b disapointed if u didnt,, plus is doing its job at premium quality!

Although i havent been a part of the Msgplus community for long, I have been a loyal user of Plus! for a good couple years, and ive seen it develop from strength to strength.
Not one person i speak to on my msn list (over 150 contacts) hasnt got Msg Plus!. Thats quite an achievement, infact scratch that, Its effing brilliant
Plus! offers users all theyll ever need to get the most out of thier msn as present, but my concern is as microsofts technology increases, what will happen to Plus?
In 3 years time, will people still want this download? If you discontinue developing, will Plus! phase out?
At the moment, youve done all you can, and im sure on the next update, youll have shocked us all again and have given us something else to use on one of the worlds biggest IM services (If not the biggest). This is an invention to be proud of, and adding more silly things (which i for one suggested in my own thread) may "over load" Plus!, But it may also increase downloads, because lets face it, so far adding new features has been a "Plus" for you (geddit? )

Its amazing how much people actually DEPEND on Plus! these days, as much as they depend on MSN messenger i would say, and it would be sad to see you stop. But instead of trying to invent new stuff, let it come to you. If you see a really great feature, *shrug* add it.

Like someone else said though, its your life, and im sure well all be scrolling through another forum in 4 years time, staring in the face your new *top secret* project and thinking "Genius, how does he do it?"



LittleK

quote:

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Originally posted by riahc4

Id just like to know what are the future projects?

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im sure even if plus! development was halted we'll not regret it,, sure plus! rocks, but im sure patchou is a great developer and his new projects will gain equal if not more public interest..... go patchou creat new stuff to ur liking..... plus is amost complete now, so just do as LittleK said:

quote:

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Originally posted by LittleK
But instead of trying to invent new stuff, let it come to you. If you see a really great feature, *shrug* add it.

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i would be really sad come on mayby in the near future msn will bring out a new messenger that has new features then ull have to come along and put beter features on !!   ok what other projects u workin on?

I've used Plus! since the days of 1.x, and I'd never dream it would come this far. The support and popularity of this addon have litterally overwhelmed the IM community.

I can see the point of reaching a plateau as far as adding features. There's only so much that can be useful. Maybe it is time to move onto other projects, so long as you keep Plus! up to date with Messenger updates.

Of course, letting it rest for a while doesn't mean abandonning it completely. there may come a time, somewhere down the road, where Plus will have the chance to expand once again, possibly after MS further develops Messenger itself. If and when that time comes, The community will be behind you full throttle, ready to bring Plus! into a new era. In the mean time, maybe the world's most popular MSN Messenger addon needs a respite.

Whatever you choose to do, Merci beaucop for the last 4 years, and make sure to keep us updated on any other programming projects! We've seen how talented and driven you are, I don't beleive any bad software could come from that!

- C.O.

quote:

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Originally posted by Absorbation
Here are my concepts

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I see and I understand the whole point of what Patchou's saying.
Software can get to a certain point where it becaus too bloated.
Patchou has used up pretty much real good idea that's useful to add
onto MSN, but there is still lots on high demand, like a webcam
recorder, I think that if that was implemented, downloads would
go nuts.  And as long as MSN Messenger is developing you can add
on to their new stuff they have implemented, when a new feature comes
in from msn team, that builds more opportunity to add on.  I
personally don't want webcam recording that much, but it's at such a
high demand.


I don't know if you plan to start in another feild of software
development or still stick to adding on to msn messenger, or by making
another program.


I think that you should start another project, a fresh new start, another chance to earn big, and earn more.


I probably wouldn't be using MSN this day if it wasn't for MsgPlus,
thank you very much for making this program, it's revolutionized teh
way msn works and the messenger community's these days.

I think with Vista's dev platform coming up alot more can been done.

Have you tried looking at other addons and their features and see if you can somehow implant them in your software without it being dodgy or anything?

Plus he still needs to make a 64 bit version   lol

I somehow agree with u Patchou, but i would like to draw ur attention that maybe from time to time, if a wWOW idea appeared u can add it, i'm talking about little updates not a general so u just add 1 thing from time to time, and if it's only uselfull and new of its kind