When is drupal going to offer paid modules like wordpress?

You should listen to the most recent Lullabot podcast if you want to start getting into the pros and cons of such a system.

The immediate though is that it could be a great idea. But the more I think about it, the more I don't really think it works. The problems, as I see them

- The GPL that Drupal is distributed under doesn't really allow a developer to really license their code. They can sell it to you, but then you are within full right to then redistribute their code however you want. Including giving it away for free. Under that license, if you charge for it, people will give it away for free. This also makes it more prone to malicious use and it segments the Drupal community.

- You're making a big assumption that module developers want to make money selling modules. Though I'm sure they would be happy to, some of them like to just do this out of the goodness of their hearts. If you had both a free and a pay model, someone like you is always going to complain that the guys doing work for free aren't doing work that lives up to your expectation.

- Using your figures and your issue queue posts as an example. Let's say you were going to pay $2.95 for a module

There is no doubt that the most popular modules could earn some decent money. The problem is, as it currently stands, how do you break up that money between contributors? More importantly, what is the motive for you to contribute to a module if you're not going to get paid for doing so? FCKeditor is a great example of this. There is a lot of code in that module that was written because someone wanted just a little more functionality. For instance, the IMCE button.

- Expanding on your comments, once you've spent your $2.95, you expect a certain level of support. I'm sorry, but it is hard to make the argument that the "Link Intelligence" module can and should be able to provide support to you for that little. He simply doesn't have enough users to make the support worth it. So what does he do when the module isn't popular and he's sick of supporting it? Does he kill the module, leaving you totally in the dark? And since it is his module, it's unlikely anyone is going to try to take it over when they can sell their own stuff. So now, as a user, you're even worse off.

- I also think your costs are way off. Sure, it's nice to think that $2.95 is what you would pay. But this is software we're talking about. Particularly software that is typically being sold to you, so you can turn around and sell it to someone else to make money. Stuff like that is never licensed for that little. As a result the cost of many modules would have to be much higher. Go look at how much it costs to license software with similar functionalities to something like FCKeditor. It certainly isn't $2.95. And in most instances it is at least 100 times that cost. Would you pay $295 for FCKeditor? More importantly, would you pay that much to find out if it 'fit' your site?

- Which leads us to another related point. If you were new to Drupal, and you started asking around to see what modules you would need to build it, even at the unrealistic cost of $2.95 per module, getting to $100 to build your first site isn't unreasonable. Would you have really decided to drop down $100 just to 'try it out'? When I found Drupal, I probably wouldn't have. And that's not even thinking about people in parts of the world where $100 is a hell of a lot of money. If we had a primarily pay model, I think it is pretty obvious that our community would be a fraction of the size it is.

- And I won't even really go in deep about how if there were a module store, you also open up competition in the module space. It's already bad enough having to pick out an image gallery. Now imagine if you had to pay for each of the 10 options to see if they will work for you. Or imagine you are a developer and have to deal with being undercut by your competition. Ugly.

=====

So how can Wordpress be successful at it? Well, I think the thing we tend to knock Wordpress about is it's strength.

How often do you hear "Wordpress is great if you want to make a blog". It's true and it's easy to do so. They do a single thing really well out of the box. Drupal isn't designed to be like that. Without a specially-crafted purpose out of the box, I don't think Drupal would be successful in a similar environment.

People start with Wordpress to make a blog. They then drop a few bucks for some additional functionality. They come to Drupal when Wordpress no longer fits their needs. Because it is designed to be a flexible system.

=====

The solution? In my opinion... Obviously I'm all for everyone involved in the Drupal community being successful. Figuring out how to get money into the hands of module developers is important. To me, the only method that makes sense is for module developers to offer optional premium support and other services.

This way, the devs who want to be in the business of making modules, can actually make money. It still allows for people to feel free to contribute to module development, since their code is still being put out to the community.

The problem is, support services don't cost you a measly $2.95. But when you really want immediate help, you have the option to pay for it.

Fusion theme kind of falls into this category. They are giving back their theme code, so they can remain in control of it's distribution. They then are able to use that awesome code + their great design skills to sell the themes they make.

Mollom gives every free services, but you have to pay as your site scales up.

That is how you do it, if you want to make a living off your modules. That isn't saying other module developers don't want or deserve to make a living off their work. Just that I think a module store is the wrong approach.

That ended up being a lot more typing than I had originally thought it would be...

They also invariably violate the terms of the GPL and risk being redacted at any time.

Anyone is free to offer paid modules and themes, and there are already some out there on the net. Feel free to sell them, there is nothing stopping anyone.

Most of those module sellers are in direct violation of the GPL-- i'm not sure why they're allowed to sell in the first place. I guess it's a matter of someone being responsible for enforcing the terms of the GPL as it relates to drupal modules.

Not sure that gives a pass on violating the terms of the sale though-- best consult a lawyer.