Good plugin, NO support (don’t pay to upgrade tickets!!!)

To start, I would like to say that this is a robust plugin with many features. Everything I tried to do with this plugin worked perfectly, except using the remote API. I burned a lot of time trying to get it to work with no success. Unfortunately, that’s where I get to the part of my review that accounts for knocking off two stars.

From https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/mycred/:
“I provide free support if you can not get myCRED to work as described in the documentation, and pay myCRED Store Tokens as a reward for reporting bugs and/or bug fixes. There is also a community forum where you can post your questions or contact me directly.”

Similar statements can also be found on the plugin website.

I was unable to get the remote API to work as described in the documentation, so I went to the community forum. A thorough search did not turn up anything helpful, so I registered for an account and tried to post to the forum for help. Unfortunately, the forum is moderated and your first post must be approved by the developer. I submitted a post on December 18, 2017 and as of this review on January 4, 2018 my post has not been approved.

I also submitted a ticket asking a simple question, “Should the remote API be working as documented?” I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t on a wild goose chase trying to get it working. I also asked for some basic guidance on troubleshooting if the remote API in indeed functional. My ticket was submitted on December 18, 2017. After two days with no response I purchased tokens in order to upgrade my ticket to “Premium” priority. I have still yet to receive any response from the developer.

I don’t expect free support for free plugins. I think it is amazing that the developer has put in so much work on something that he is giving away. However, I think it is disingenuous to say you offer support when you cannot/will not respond to tickets or approve forum posts. I can tell from the reviews that some requests are attended to, so it seems making a support request is just a gamble.

My real problem though, and the reason I am writing this review and taking off two stars, is that I PAID good money to upgrade my ticket. I didn’t expect the developer to hand-hold me through my project, but I think I at least deserved an answer to my basic inquiry. I wish I had read the reviews before upgrading my ticket because I see this has happened to at least one other person.

My advice is that if you want to use this plugin, know from the beginning that you may not be able to get help if you need it. This is the case with many free plugins (which is ok) but should be stated in the plugin info on WP.org and on the plugin website. Also, I would not recommend paying to upgrade your support ticket under any circumstances. You are just giving your money away and will probably get nothing in return.