Hi Robert,
Jack here. Long time no speak, hope you’re keeping well.
We released a major version (3.0.0) that included breaking changes for Fathom Lite users. We updated the changelog (see here). The logic we had was that there was no reason for OS users to update to 3.0.0, and 2.0.4 was running perfectly. We don’t have a way to email all of our WordPress users, unfortunately, so the changelog was the way we chose to communicate this change. I’m sorry you ran into problems here.
Additionally, my offer to help you move away from Fathom Lite still stands, as I know you’ve been unhappy for the last 1-2 years. You’ve made multiple negative comments about Fathom over the last few years, and that can’t be fun for you, and it certainly isn’t fun for us. We’re not a faceless corporation, we are two indie makers who have been working hard at making Fathom a full-time business.
We’ve spoken on the phone in the past, you gave your input (which I truly appreciate) and we’ve chosen to build a sustainable business instead of give Fathom away for free. And we’re now able to work on it full-time, making it better than it ever could have been.
With regards to the open-source aspect, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but the original developer stepped down from Fathom in 2018. The monthly revenue was under $1,500 when he left. When I joined, we built a completely new company, incorporated in Canada, and we just kept the name. From my perspective, it was a new company, so there was never any “bait and switch” from the start. We made a mistake in saying V2 was going to be open-source. We’ve publicly acknowledged that in writing and on our podcast. We are human and we make mistakes. Overall, looking at where we are now, and how we’re able to build a better product due to having full-time capacity, it was the right decision to make. The only regret we have was the poor communication when we launched V2.
So with that said, you’re clearly entitled to be unhappy, but I wish I could help relieve you of this negative burden. How can I make this right? Can I help you move to another product?
Thanks,
Jack
