Remember if it wasn’t for webmin many years of free development we wouldn’t have virtualmin.
If I am in a hurry, I disregard pop-ups, but may want to read it later. With your scheme it’s been and gone.
We already do this in Virtualmin GPL, where we show a non-intrusive alert on the dashboard briefly mentioning Virtualmin Pro and its features. It gives users options to learn more, dismiss it, or be reminded later.
I’m inclined to do the same in Webmin to introduce users to Virtualmin GPL. If shown just once, it’s not annoying or invasive—on the contrary, it can be helpful for those who don’t even know Virtualmin exists.
Not having this is actually a drawback, especially since both products are built by the same developers.
Plus, we haven’t increased Virtualmin Pro subscription prices in years—not even to match inflation. We need to cover costs and stay afloat, let alone think about savings.
And, again, there is nothing wrong to cross-promote our products in a way that benefits both users and the project.
I’ve just tried two browsers and didn’t see it. I leave Chrome specifically unmodified, other than clear cache on shutdown, so that I can test sites. More old habit than current need.
So do the message yearly or twice yearly. Webmin is free and it is a small cost. Obviously don’t have the .message for pro users if possible.
We show it once in Virtualmin GPL, and if the user dismisses it, it’s gone forever. For Webmin installations without Virtualmin or Cloudmin, we could—and probably should—do the same.
Now you mention it, every 6 months in virtualmin gpl is not a bad idea.
OK. I guess you switched gears on me here. I was still thinking about the website.
Are you suggesting that users have amnesia and need to be reminded? Or, that a little persistence isn’t a crime and can actually lead to positive outcomes?
A gentle reminder might be encouragement for some people to decide to go for virtualmin pro.
I would class this as soft advertising.
The first notice will probably get ignored instinctively, but maybe the second or third time a light will go off in their head.
I’m firmly against nagging.
The new habit software has of asking “Do you want to do X?” and the answers being “Yes” or “Not Right Now” is toxic. We should never do that.
I always have this gentle reminder.
Yeah, I think we’re doing enough in terms of making GPL users aware there are some extra features available if they want to give us a little money.
But, for the Webmin to Virtualmin pipeline, I honestly thing we solve 90+% of the problem if we just put it on the danged Webmin website (by “it” I mean an explanation of what the projects do and are for).
@Joe,
How about a feature comparison chart or something? Just like comparing VM GPL vs Pro, one could extend to a column including WM, so that people get a quick glance at how VM goes further to offer clean, simplified “Web Hosting” features while WM is a “sysadmin control panel”…
I mentioned this quite a while ago as it is a great marketing tool.
But the extra column of webmin could be useful. However for the 3rd column to be logical this tri-comparison needs to be on the webmin website. (P.s. I am definitely for merging virtualmin.com into the webmin.com website)
Agree ! It is bad enough getting nagged everywhere on the web about “Cookies and GDPR etc” - no nagging please.
They won’t get nagged if the software stops getting developed.
But the internet never forgets (there is always someone new to nag)!
Let’s just keep this as it is.
No reason to confuse nagging with a one-time, dismissible notification that the user has full control over.
A potential of the number of users who visit webmin.com
compared to those who would see it on the dashboard is incomparable.
While comparing Webmin and Virtualmin is possible, they are separate products, so it wouldn’t be a straightforward comparison—though we could try if we all agree on it.
Yes, nagging, i.e., repeatedly showing it over a given period even after a user has dismissed it, isn’t the best option. I agree.
And, cookie confirmations are a truly ridiculous and annoying part of the contemporary web experience.