This is my final post in MSG.

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Symbiostock's greatest strenth is also its greatest weakness: Its mostly free.
 
 The most crucial and advanced features come in the basic free package. Some specialized features come in the optional packages.
 
 Many of you do not understand the developments that occur - some good, some bad, so today I'm going to write the final words on this subject before going back to illustration. I'm going to address you the same as I speak to the professionals behind closed doors, otherwise you will not fully understand the truth of why this project barely survives, although being quite loved by the majority of users. Forgive me if some of you are insulted.

Free and Open Source - Its greatest strength is it's greatest weakness

 For those of you who do not remember, the infamous Google deal that had spawned this project. It was the proverbial handwriting on the wall, evidence that our profession was deadly near to a close. That deal sent a multi-tiered message to people. Things have never been the same since.
 
 Symbiostock was started as a simple "life boat" system for when the big ships started to sink, or professionals could no longer work in Microstock. Symbiostock sites would form the alternative, theoretically. My site worked for me. Another one I had designed did great -- why not introduce the concept to the microstockers?

Yuri - Microstock Not Sustainable. "Professionals work with Professionals"
 
 "Professional" is a vague word, its definition varies among cultures. Yuri realized there was no future in the current agency system for professionals, and spoke concerning "professionals" making correct decisions, and was ridiculed for 20+ pages.
 
 Nonetheless, things taking shape, Symbiostock was seeming like a timely idea. Yet the culture that spit on Yuri would also be the downfall of the Symbiostock project.

Love it privately, hate it publically
 
 There are a few particularly strong voices which have slandered to this project to the point that people are afraid to get involved. These people know who they are. When things are going great, they are missing. When something goes wrong, they "vent" saying what a waste of time this has been. Their ignorance is their ally with their imagination being their main window to reality. The more extreme cases painted this out to be a scam. They killed it for everyone. They are like the virus that keeps the whole working body sick. Although the majority are happy, the angry have the loudest and most influential voice.
 
 You see, although I never expected to get rich, it was never expected that a project like this could be so badly misrepresented by angry entitled people that it would become almost completely a volunteer work. So even the modest income I made to support my work on this was killed. I had hoped to make this into a paying situation for the greatest supporters and developers. The problem is there are far too many agendas and distorted visions of this business, along with preconceptions on how things should be, vs what they are.
 
 
But for that silent, happy majority? ...
 
 The original invitation that started this entire project was this:
 
 "Open Source Platform For Selling Images: Authors and PHP Developers Wanted" ( http://www.microstockgroup.com/symbiost ... 8ced1532ae )
 
 Notice the title "Developers Wanted". The idea was that a good number of developers could get involved. Everything in this projected idea was achieved except the title. We have a few developers, but due to constraints we are all badly limited. Our work was dependent on growth, but growth is compromized due to distorted horror stories of Symbiostock involvement. Its almost as though the whole project was concieved with a virus in it -- microstock thinking.
 
 Many developers who get involved do not stick around. The ones we had at first were treated insolently and left. I'm happy for them.
 
"It looks like your only interested in getting more contributors..."
 
 This was the knife that entered my creative artery, and I gradually bled out. That was the day Symbistock died silently. I stumbled for a few weeks trying to get up again, but this was the end of it. After a year of trouble and drama creating Symbiostock, things had become stable enough where I might refine the main website and make good on my year's time/money investement.
 
 When I finally unveiled it, it was disappointment. People expected a mock-microstock site. What they saw was a queen bee for laying Symbistock eggs. And what came was the most hurtful accusation to date: "It looks like your only interested in getting more contributors..."
 
 People, how do developers profit on this? By getting comissions? A sense of making the world a better place? Symbistock is largely free. In the long-run it leaves the smallest financial footprint on a "contributor" of all Microstock and Direct-sell methods. The only way we (developers) could possibly profit on this is through expanse.
 
 Yet somehow despite that the ENTIRE purpose of Symbistock was to lay a giant catch-net for customers (and indeed it works) I was also expected to take my one income source and dedicate that to the network's customer base as well.
 
 While there have been some major attacks, this one was the worst, because this one got through the armor. It told me I was welcome as long as I worked for free.
 
The only way development continues
 AJT and Cascoly are the network's (development-related) unsung heros. If AJT held the same philosophy as many the network would not be connected. I would have loved nothing more than to pay them. But this project was engineered to be a perfect alterative at as small a financial investement as possible.
 
 The only way development will continue is through expanse. Photographers are a highly disadvantaged group. I can't keep making plugins for sale, and finding new ways to charge you. Illustrators have a great advantage, being much less competed against.
 
 I can see that there will be ways they can monetize this, and they are both very competent. Its my personal hope that they succeed greatly in their investments of time. I've given them permission to give the premium upgrade to those who hop onto their server space to take advantage of their expertise. That is how much I appreciate their work.
 
The Future
 Its not that I hate the network. Its as we stated. Its greatest strength is its greatest weakness. Its mostly free. Its also trafficked by a few angry who have the most distinct voice. My experience with Symbiostock is like pushing a rock up hill, where the hill gets steeper, and the rock gets bigger. And every ten paces or so one of a few angry people come out and shoot insults at me. The few projects I've tried to organize as a "community" were trolled and destroyed before one productive person got involved. The Twitter game was the only successful coordianted project of the 3 attempted.
 
 As you know I've been hired to do a plugin for VAT Tax. After that I will maintain Symbiostock with every Wordpress release.
 
Why we cannot keep these boards open
 I intend to keep this as read-only since it contains all needed reference. But having an open board is one more thing for me to monitor. Right now my time must be invested in the final plugin and doing illustration full time without distraction.
 
My Advantage is Your Advantage
 The strange irony of this is really something you should take home from this thread. The main reason I could afford to carry a project like this for a year on it's minute profit: Because of my own website. What am I going back to as a sure redemption from a year walking through the desert? Illustration, on my own website.
 
 The thing you have is the thing that I have, and the main advantage. We have our own website.
 
 This is only a small fraction of the issue regarding keeping this network afloat. For me its a dead-weight. But our individual websites are really the achievement. Perhaps a few of the people I have spoken to privately can expound.
 
 But the basic note is this:
 
 1. It was killed by angry people.
 2. It is easy to maintain on an individual level, which is why it has a future.
 3. I'll be back after I recover from a year of financial breakdown and stress.
 4. I'll update the theme to remove branding and correct issues that occur with Wordpress updates since that's only a few minutes work.
 5. There is a VAT Tax plugin on the way, well developed.
 6. Symbiostock was a pet project. But some pets bite and should be left in a cage.