Comments on: cForms Plugin Gets Removed From WordPress.org

By: ezywebsitedesign

ezywebsitedesign — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:04:39 +0000

What a shame i have been using cforms for a while now. hope they don't stop developing it.

By: jorgemiguels

jorgemiguels — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:15:26 +0000

All those hours of free, hard work… only to be banished. Looks like this is another case of “No Good Deed Shall Go Unpunished” to me.
That will teach him to do a good deed in a weary world.

By: King Rat

King Rat — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:37:25 +0000

The guy hasn't had a job for three years! It's hard to get more loserly than that!

By: aliplanning

aliplanning — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:59:47 +0000

Thank you to share

By: randyjensen

randyjensen — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:36:03 +0000

Hey Dev,

Good news! I meant to write another follow up post to this one, but Oliver has GPL'ed cforms. You can grab the plugin at his site here: http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-plugin

Of course after all this, I switched my contact form to Contact Form 7 which is half the man cforms is, but it does the job. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-for...

Good luck with the new blog!

By: Dev

Dev — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:10:35 +0000

Hey Randy, Thanks for putting up this post. I just installed a brand new blog and was looking for my favorite plugins. I was about to download some other plugin thinking that CForms was somehow renamed, but the bells rang. Googled it and found your post about CForms.
Certainly, its a great plugin but the way WP treated the author, it leaves him with no other options than stop development. But if there is a way we can all contact the author to keep developing this wonderful plugin, I guess, we can show some love in the odd times. I'm sure, others will follow their way here. So, if its possible to direct them to the CForms plugin author page, I guess, it will be great to do so. May be the development continues in future.. Lets hope
Regards,
Dev.

By: randyjensen

randyjensen — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:52:13 +0000

Well I can't argue with any of that

By: Piet

Piet — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:49:06 +0000

Hi Randy,

Oh, I fully agree with you that cForms is the best contact form plugin there is in the free world!

Calling "Rat' a loser has mostly to do with the fact that he could not figure out (by himself or by doing a proper search) how not to display the linklove AND by the way he (mis)handled the communication. Him being passionate about GPL is sth that he cannot be called a loser for.

I find it all way over the top, but nothing we can do now anymore but happily keep using cForms for as long as it lasts...

By: randyjensen

randyjensen — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:27:12 +0000

Hey Piet

I'm not sure that I would say "Rat" is a complete loser. He seems to be someone who is very passionate about Open Source and what the GPL means to it. He only sees things one way: Open. At the end of the day, agree or disagree, his argument is valid if you go strictly 'by the book'.

I completely agree that he could have gone about this in a much better way, however. Contact Oliver and see if they could work something out. There is no reason this should have even been an issue (or at least not as big as it has become ((that's what she said)).

I don't know about Oliver wanting out. This was one of the most developed plugins in WordPress. He was constantly released updates to this thing. If he really wanted out, he would have GPL'ed it given it to the community, it's not like he was making any money from it in the first place.

You're right, there are a ton of other contact forms for WordPress that are currently in the repository that people can use, but this one was the best IMHO.

By: Piet

Piet — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:41:43 +0000

I think it's all a storm in glass water. I'm commenting on your post because I don't want to give the "Rat" more than he's already getting.

Facts:
- I use cForms on all WP sites I develop for myself and third parties
- I use the display:none; in CSS
- I have purchased a book on Amazon from Oliver's wishlist and sent it to him
- On my personal site I have included credits for the plugin on a post about plugins I use

Opinions:
- I think the "Rat" is a complete loser; A because he seems to be a lousy web developer if he doesn't know how CSS works, B his reaction about the plugin being or not being GPL compliant and C for the way he "handled" his "issue" with Oliver.
- I think Oliver is highly overreacting and even get a feeling that he was looking for a way out and used this "story" to do so
- I think that most people serious about WP sites still will use cForms and already know how to find it
- I think people who are looking for a simple contact form for their 100% widgetized personal blog will not be able to easily find cForms anymore and eventually find sth else to suit their needs

Conclusion:
As long as WP keeps 2.7 we can use cForms and whether we still can use it under WP 2.8 is sth only the future will tell. If the plugin breaks in 2.8 we either have to look for another contact form OR don't upgrade...