A proposed operating model for BackStop Themes
My name is Tim Hibberd and I am the founder of the BackStop Themes community...the home for theme users abandoned by MySiteMyWay.
My day job is Managing Director of a start-up company that founded a concept called Managed Office Clouds. Managed Office Clouds are based on 100% community open source such as Debian O/S, Turnkey Linux VM, Docker Containers, WordPress, other software and, of course, BackStop Themes (a fork of the abandoned GPL licensed MySiteMyWay themes).
BackStop Themes is my contribution back to the open source community.
The purpose of this project issue is for the community to discuss my proposal for a sustainable business model to ensure BackStop Themes grows and endures for years to come.
With this in mind I propose an initial set of operating principles for the community to discuss and comment on.
NOTE: The SkyBind division of my company OnePressTech, will absorb the cost of fulfilling operating principles 1 & 2 in a similar fashion to how Automattic underwrites the basic costs of supporting and evolving WordPress (though at a much much smaller scale of course :-)
Proposed BackStop Themes Operating Principles (single & multi-site):
| # | Charge-type | R&D and Support Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NO CHARGE (by core contributors) | - Major Bug Fixes - Core Enhancements - Plug-in Compatibility Testing (MOC Suite Only) |
| 2 | NO CHARGE (by community contributors) | - Minor Bug Fixes - Feature Enhancements - Language Translations - Touch & Mobile Device Compatibility Testing |
| 3 | CROWD FUNDED (by donations / crowd funding site) | - Accelerated time-frame for Charge-type 2 items - Non-MOC Plug-in Compatibility Testing |
| 4 | CHARGED | - Site-specific problem debugging - Site-specific design tweak advice - Custom Themes / Skins |
Managed Office Cloud Plug-in Suite (MOC Suite)*:
| Core+ | Admin+ | Business Pack |
|---|---|---|
| Better Notifications for WordPress | Add Admin CSS | AdRotate Professional |
| Captcha by BestWebSoft | Add Admin Javascript | Formidable Forms (Free & Pro) |
| Link View | Admin Columns | Formidable MailChimp |
| List Category Posts | Admin Menu Editor Pro | Legacy Google Calendar Events 2.4 |
| Simple Tags | Tabify Edit Screen | S2member Framework (Free & Pro) |
| Unconfirmed | User Switching | S2member Secure File Browser |
| User Role Editor | WP Crontrol | WP Courseware |
| User Domain Whitelist/Blacklist | WP Security Audit Log | WP Courseware S2Member AddOn |
| WordPress MU Domain Mapping | WordPress Toolbar Editor | Yoast SEO |
| W3 Total Cache |
*The Core Managed Office Cloud Plug-in Suite may change over time but has been 90% stable since 2013
Kind regards,
Tim Hibberd
Managing Director OnePressTech Pty Ltd
BackStop Themes Founder