debraspicher

You're confusing testing with bug reports. Please stop.

Haha, no, "Deeply Disappointed" would be more appropriate now, but the enthusiasm for Affinity and the forum is dead. Gone. It actually seemed like a company that could live off the enthusiasm of its customers, even though AI loomed. Affinity was a fine investment for many, so they could stay afloat above ridiculously clumsy programs like Inkscape, GIMP, and Scribus, and there was a sense of stability.
The stability is gone, and the way Serif openly and unsettlingly quickly threw itself into the arms of this without understanding the long-term consequences for the products, themselves, and the customers says so much about the company's character, which I might have always sensed, as it really broke the magic. But most of all, like you, I can't handle the uncertainty either, it's like witnessing young people's blind faith and naive dispositions as parents watch in horror. Now, naive Serif and naive customers are left with four pledges that warm people for a day, like when you buy a lottery ticket.
And now, people might have an idea of one of the reasons why serious and mature creatives subscribe to Adobe Creative Suite regardless of reservations about price and conditions. It's a safe investment in the short and long term, even more when creatives are job searching. It's not like rent or transportation are fun and fair expenses, let alone the costs of other tools. It's just easier for people to chastise Adobe than the world's inflation and the effects of capitalism.
Serif Software has publicly demonstrated why they have not had significant professional customers before, and why they are unlikely to get them in the future, owned by a company that delivers shake and bake solutions to the complete opposite audience. The incredibly predictable and unprofessional way of communicating the acquisition, and the crisis management with completely useless pledges are the last nail in the coffin of credibility. Free programs for schools, haha, OpenOffice was also installed in schools for a brief period. Then the market responds, and Affinity is out again. It's all been tried before, it works in PowerPoint slides, it fails in practice. And then Canva focuses on the market for 100-200 million customers, not Serif's 3 million. Affinity is just a strategy meeting away from being wiped out. It takes 60 minutes.
Let's see what Canva gets out of the investment, they may surprise positively, but with the incredibly many experiences I have with acquisitions throughout my professional life, where I've had to switch product due to shutdowns and mergers and everything possible, I can no longer muster any interest in Affinity. Canva is simply not the company that has experience in professional programs, and they are unlikely to be interested in seeing Adobe's response, if they against all logic try to eat into Adobe's market. Canva is a very young company, which by the way can be dispensed with and replaced with other alternatives if they fail completely.
Time and again, I witness people muster ridiculous hope when new politicians or businessmen enter the arena with utterly hopeless promises and dreams, and talk under hypnosis to me about what their idols say and think. It is part of human psychology that is played intensely in politics and business. There's a different, sober atmosphere there, where one takes stock of "realizing gains," where only reality counts.

Oh look, more freaking moonspeak 🌙 ... Might as well be written by AI.

Exactly. Even if Serif announces tomorrow they are to reveal all our hopes and dreams will come true (in a future update, of course), it means very little in the grand scheme of things as they are the ones who have been bought out. At best they buy some time until Canva figures out what they will ultimately do with the software, but what Serif says itself is irrelevant. Canva can allow them continue to run as-is for a little while to maintain some semblance of stability, but the longterm is now uncertain and the rug can be pulled at any moment.

I'd already started packing my things before this announcement because I could see clear as day that the suite was not being maintained but superficially (unfixed bugs&features, patch updates, lack of polish). We now see why.
It's disappointing for its users, but it's literally a Tuesday for most other people in the design world. Serif does have its own employees to look after and if it can't go full steam ahead on its own, it is what it is. I don't take it personally.

I appreciate that the effort was made and that we got this far. It's been a pleasure watching development, but at some point I'd like to just get on with reality. I do also appreciate that we can now take a moment to again review our own individual decisions in terms of where we invest our time and energy and go from there... so there is that.

In the end, our tools do not make us, but rather we are what make our tools great and that the growth process involved there is what makes us better designers...

You have fun hobbies. I feel like we could be friends.

For me, the number one improvement I hope will come from this is elimination of the plethora of bugs on the apps.

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed to know.

Probably watching on as a software enthusiast because let's be honest, history is being made here. We've played our part in whatever this ends up becoming.

I'm Adobe-trained, so that's what I've gone back to and for me it "just works". It's a big disappointment on so many levels, but it's been less drama than what Affinity has been lately for me as far as working. There's still tears, but they are over QoL matters more than problems that I can't find some way around. I'm still getting the output I need. So I've gone back to it and if need be, that's where I'll stay... at least until something better comes out.

It would be absolutely amazing if Affinity suddenly gets a much needed boost ASAP and starts crushing bugs and other long-promised feature updates because I prefer it when it was working well. I can't tolerate the drama of uncertainty anymore and reliability is very important to me right now with where I am in life. I can tolerate a price increase, even a reasonable subscription fee, but it has to be for robust and polished software, not for a business venture. I think many professionals feel that way.
 
One thing's for sure though, @Bit Disappointed will not be changing their name anytime soon. Even when the time comes for their name change limit to expire.

Probably watching on as a software enthusiast because let's be honest, history is being made here. We've played our part in whatever this ends up becoming.

I'm Adobe-trained, so that's what I've gone back to and for me it "just works". It's a big disappointment on so many levels, but it's been less drama than what Affinity has been lately for me as far as working. There's still tears, but they are over QoL matters more than problems that I can't find some way around. I'm still getting the output I need. So I've gone back to it and if need be, that's where I'll stay... at least until something better comes out.

It would be absolutely amazing if Affinity suddenly gets a much needed boost ASAP and starts crushing bugs and other long-promised feature updates because I prefer it when it was working well. I can't tolerate the drama of uncertainty anymore and reliability is very important to me right now with where I am in life. I can tolerate a price increase, even a reasonable subscription fee, but it has to be for robust and polished software, not for a business venture. I think many professionals feel that way.
 
One thing's for sure though, @Bit Disappointed will not be changing their name anytime soon. Even when the time comes for their name change limit to expire.

Ah yes: "pledges". Like the ones given when Zbrush was acquired by Maxon. Did not take long to conveniently forget about those after one slender release. Then full subscription.
Or past pledges given by Maxon and Autodesk. Or Adobe. Or Unity...
Pledges by companies mean NOTHING in contexts like this one (buyout).
Where were these pledges when the buyout was announced? Right, not on their minds. The community rears up in arms in response, which is utterly predictable.
Management and ex-owners of Affinity don't feel good about themselves. "People are mad with us!" "Look at all that negative publicity! Oh no!"
So "pledges" are conceived and published to allay public fears of the populous. Now small part of loyal user base quiet down and help quiet down most of the unrest. "Have no fear, friends! Management has explained that there is nothing to fear! All will be well!"
Two years later the first release without perpetual. And/or bloatware. And/or hardly any worthwhile updates anymore.
We will see. If history taught us anything so far: these pledges mean NOTHING. Only ACTIONS. And these actions so far have been...
disappointing.

+1 vector patterns

Exactly.
It is non-binding, and it is deliberately formulated to be non-binding. I can guarantee that a business lawyer has reviewed it before publication. When you, before too long (18-36 months), receive an email about changed plans and terms, you might get three months' notice. Which terms will change, I will not speculate on, but the four pledges you can use for a silly and childishly naive hope. Nothing else. But it's a calm-the-masses PR strategy that works. Just look in this thread. You eat it up. The world is full of promises and extremely poor in fulfilled promises. Grow up.
Example:
Why is Capture One Express being deprecated?
We're constantly working to improve our tools for you. And, to give you the best creative and collaborative experience, we need to focus on our main products. This means that starting January 30, 2024, Express will no longer be available.
How is it possible for you to deactivate my perpetual license?
For legal concerns, contact our legal team at legal@captureone.com for more in-depth answers.
Can I run Capture One Express on an old computer?
No, all Capture One Express license keys will be disabled and will not be valid, regardless of the hardware used.

This text is from the "Pledge" page ....

I wonder who wrote this. For more than 8 years the Forum is overloaded with feature requests - and still management "authorities" ask us for INPUT? It's all there -just read the forum! How far away can you be away from what goes on in real life? If all other statements are based on the same level of competence I doubt if anything is true ...

Uh yeah, they're not getting anymore beta testing from me either. No more testing of any kind.
(Edit: In case it's not clear for any reason, that does not count for bug reports. I'm just no longer willing to help develop software by testing it, whether that's beta or post-beta. I expect polished software to a reasonable degree.)

They can afford a whole warehouse of testers now. There's years worth of goodwill in this forum alone that still hasn't been reciprocated.
It is really inconvenient to change platforms, especially for major projects. On one hand, I'll have refreshed on my other toolset(s) and be looking at other options. Adobe has aged terribly, imo. It really should be easy to compete with the right polish but Serif's team has had a terrible track record with bugs and leaving features unfinished, so I'm not optimistic whatever "pledge" gets written in that the quality won't continue to slip. That pledge can go away at anytime.


Only thing I like so far is that this is very much sounding anti-Adobe. That should please anyone, customer or not.

Just stop.

You're confusing testing with bug reports. Please stop.

Uh yeah, they're not getting anymore beta testing from me either. No more testing of any kind.
(Edit: In case it's not clear for any reason, that does not count for bug reports. I'm just no longer willing to help develop software by testing it, whether that's beta or post-beta. I expect polished software to a reasonable degree.)

They can afford a whole warehouse of testers now. There's years worth of goodwill in this forum alone that still hasn't been reciprocated.
It is really inconvenient to change platforms, especially for major projects. On one hand, I'll have refreshed on my other toolset(s) and be looking at other options. Adobe has aged terribly, imo. It really should be easy to compete with the right polish but Serif's team has had a terrible track record with bugs and leaving features unfinished, so I'm not optimistic whatever "pledge" gets written in that the quality won't continue to slip. That pledge can go away at anytime.


Only thing I like so far is that this is very much sounding anti-Adobe. That should please anyone, customer or not.

Uh yeah, they're not getting anymore beta testing from me either. No more testing of any kind.
(Edit: In case it's not clear for any reason, that does not count for bug reports. I'm just no longer willing to help develop software by testing it, whether that's beta or post-beta. I expect polished software to a reasonable degree.)

They can afford a whole warehouse of testers now. There's years worth of goodwill in this forum alone that still hasn't been reciprocated.
It is really inconvenient to change platforms, especially for major projects. On one hand, I'll have refreshed on my other toolset(s) and be looking at other options. Adobe has aged terribly, imo. It really should be easy to compete with the right polish but Serif's team has had a terrible track record with bugs and leaving features unfinished, so I'm not optimistic whatever "pledge" gets written in that the quality won't continue to slip. That pledge can go away at anytime.


Only thing I like so far is that this is very much sounding anti-Adobe. That should please anyone, customer or not.

Just stop.

Uh yeah, they're not getting anymore beta testing from me either. No more testing of any kind.
(Edit: In case it's not clear for any reason, that does not count for bug reports. I'm just no longer willing to help develop software by testing it, whether that's beta or post-beta. I expect polished software to a reasonable degree.)

They can afford a whole warehouse of testers now. There's years worth of goodwill in this forum alone that still hasn't been reciprocated.
It is really inconvenient to change platforms, especially for major projects. On one hand, I'll have refreshed on my other toolset(s) and be looking at other options. Adobe has aged terribly, imo. It really should be easy to compete with the right polish but Serif's team has had a terrible track record with bugs and leaving features unfinished, so I'm not optimistic whatever "pledge" gets written in that the quality won't continue to slip. That pledge can go away at anytime.


Only thing I like so far is that this is very much sounding anti-Adobe. That should please anyone, customer or not.

A "Pledge" ist not a promise and "we are committed to" is very different from "we are going to" -- sorry, but while this is a nice gesture, I've heard this noncommittal language way to often (in recent years even from our gouvernment with their listening, their commitments and the famous "five pledges") to believe any of it.
As I have spend a good amount of time of learning Affinity and moving all my work to it I'll stick with it for the time being. Worst case is that my version 2.4 stays as it is and I'll use it until I don't find a computer that runs it anymore.
Given that Serif just got handed a large sack of money, I won't do any free beta testing from now on though, and only install further updates if they have something I need rather than looking forward to playing with a new toy and being happy about everything I discover.
The software has hopped from "a journey I enjoy being part of" to "a tool I use to earn a living". My feeling towards Serif has shifted from "fan" and "advocate" to "user" respectively "customer" with a simple business relationship that can be cancelled the moment "the product doesn't meet expectations".

Were Affinity Photo to adopt subscription pricing, that would be a compelling reason for me to switch to other software. As an amateur hobbyist, my use of Affinity Photo is episodic, not continuous. During the current tax season and garden planting season, I will most likely go a couple of months without editing a single photo. Even old retired guys have only so much free time for photo editing.
Fortunately, we amateur photographers have many choices when it comes to photo editors, as emphasized by a recent review at
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-adobe-photoshop-alternatives
Sadly, Affinity Photo is not an editor's choice in any of the nine "Best For" categories. APhoto is mentioned only in passing as if the writer just wanted to assure us he is not ignorant of alternatives. He writes:
"Another popular budget pick for Photoshop alternatives is Serif Affinity Photo though we find it's less polished than Corel PaintShop Pro."
His link is to a July 2023 review where APhoto is described as "Affordable but basic photo editing."
Were that all APhoto was I would not have started using it seven years ago, nor would I still be using it today.
I myself have grown restless after seven years using APhoto, so I bought one of the alternatives about a month ago to see what I might be missing with AI non-destructive editing. The alternative is powerful and eye-opening, but it doesn't provide me with a compelling reason to abandon APhoto. Still, neither have I any compelling reason to continue using APhoto other than familiarity and some features I use only occasionally that are missing in alternative software.
In any case, I am enjoying exploring other software where I am learning how far behind APhoto has fallen in some areas. Perhaps the purchase by Canva will lead to renewed energy in Nottingham.

Can we please stop being so condescending and dismissive of others. I'm not a fan of Canva, but I know many individuals, business, non-profit orgs, and large brands who absolutely love it, as it enables them to create effective communications/media without having to hire (and wait for) a professional, which they often can't afford anyway. As for large brands, it enables their marketing departments to move at pace assembling their own brand assets and scheduling the publishing of social media campaigns in a much faster, and more coordinated manner than was available to them before.

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Oh look, more freaking moonspeak 🌙 ... Might as well be written by AI.

Exactly. Even if Serif announces tomorrow they are to reveal all our hopes and dreams will come true (in a future update, of course), it means very little in the grand scheme of things as they are the ones who have been bought out. At best they buy some time until Canva figures out what they will ultimately do with the software, but what Serif says itself is irrelevant. Canva can allow them continue to run as-is for a little while to maintain some semblance of stability, but the longterm is now uncertain and the rug can be pulled at any moment.

I'd already started packing my things before this announcement because I could see clear as day that the suite was not being maintained but superficially (unfixed bugs&features, patch updates, lack of polish). We now see why.
It's disappointing for its users, but it's literally a Tuesday for most other people in the design world. Serif does have its own employees to look after and if it can't go full steam ahead on its own, it is what it is. I don't take it personally.

I appreciate that the effort was made and that we got this far. It's been a pleasure watching development, but at some point I'd like to just get on with reality. I do also appreciate that we can now take a moment to again review our own individual decisions in terms of where we invest our time and energy and go from there... so there is that.

In the end, our tools do not make us, but rather we are what make our tools great and that the growth process involved there is what makes us better designers...

The biggest scandal of that tweet is that it is admitting it would be rather "uncool" if Affinity were acquired. The Deal With It sunglasses tell us so...