Sits there and does nothing

Have you considered raising a support topic for your problem?

https://www.ads-software.com/support/plugin/backupwordpress#postform

Actually, I did.

Then I looked through the reviews and found people have been talking about this same problem for a little less than a month and with 0 comment from the plugin author.

Then I looked through the 4 star reviews and found people taking the trouble to revise their review, point out problem areas while acknowledging how it has proved itself useful – with ZERO comment from the plugin author.

We all appreciate the things that we get for free and the work that goes behind creating them. However, where I come from, when you provide free service you are expected to be more courteous than when you are getting paid for it. I did not feel the need to raise a support ticket when the author is so disinterested in responding to reviews. And if you look through the reviews you will notice that this has been the case for years, not days.

NOTE: I am not connected to this plugin, I am just another friendly neighborhood support forum moderator.

I’m always happy to get that out of the way. ??

Actually, I did.

Cool. I mentioned it because there’s no support topic in your profile for this plugin.

https://www.ads-software.com/support/profile/kapush

If you contacted the author on their site then that’s fine. It’s also fine if you elected to not seek support.

We all appreciate the things that we get for free and the work that goes behind creating them.

Awesome! I’m glad that we agree on that.

However, where I come from, when you provide free service you are expected to be more courteous than when you are getting paid for it.

Courtesy, like good manners, is the sign of civilization.

But the idea that a free user gets more benefit than a customer (as an example) doesn’t make much sense. It’s a resource thing, do you spend more effort on paying customers or users of the free code? I’d be happier myself if the author replied to these posts but support is optional here.

I did not feel the need to raise a support ticket when the author is so disinterested in responding to reviews.

You considered leaving a support topic but chose to leave a review instead. OK, that’s fine too.

And if you look through the reviews you will notice that this has been the case for years, not days.

I read all the reviews. Are you reviewing the plugin or the reviews?

*Does hand timeout thing*

Anyone can leave a 1 star review, many do with just “Plugin. Bad. Doesn’t work.” Your review here is better than that and you do provide substance. Much thanks!

It really helps the community and not the author when you also take the time and try to work with the author via a support topic. It may not go anywhere, you may not get a response. But when you do get help it’s great and genuinely helps other users.

*Finishes coffee*

Please don’t misunderstand me, your review is fine and these free volunteer support forums really do not have any expectation on your time or effort. I’m just in the habit of trying to encourage users here to participate more. ??

I like your style ?? – think I’m going to emulate it some here –

I’m always happy to get that out of the way. ??

Not a good idea. Moderators getting out of the way when no one else is around to respond (as in this case) is definitely not a recommended course of action. Keep up the good work *nods indulgently*

But the idea that a free user gets more benefit than a customer (as an example)

Bad example. Wasn’t talking about benefits. *has the ’nuff said look*

You considered leaving a support topic but chose to leave a review instead. OK, that’s fine too.

Glad we agree on that but your next remark does not show that you understood how that came to be. I always look around to see if I’m wasting my time or using. And no, I’m not wasting my time replying to you, which is why I’m doing it ??

Are you reviewing the plugin or the reviews?

*rolls eyes at the sheer inanity*

Moving on, I totally get your point and I see what you are trying to do here – so no misunderstanding and I do appreciate your taking the time to point out that I might have considered raising a support topic. Although, your opinion (which may well be a fact) that no one here has any expectation on my time or effort makes me feel a bit left out and sad, somehow ??

Hope your coffee was good? And don’t you think we both have too much time on our hands? *rolleyes at self*

Jan, you might want to take a look at THIS – Firefox didn’t even give an ‘add exception’ option…

Hey there –

Thank you @kapush for the details you included in your review. I’m sorry you were disappointed in the plugin itself and the lack of support.

Regarding Support:

I help to provide support for the BackUpWordPress plugin and I’ll be honest, I’ve never really checked the reviews out for support requests – I’ll do better to check in on the reviews more frequently in the future in case of support needs. I’ve always stuck to checking the support forums and our own dedicated support module, but I’ll add checking the reviews to that list so no more issues slip through unanswered.

Of course we try to provide the best support we can, knowing that our plugin won’t work for everyone’s needs all the time in every server environment. I know the whole BackUpWordPress team appreciates helping as many users as possible.

——–

Regarding Your Backup Running, not Completing

Your issue is a fairly common one, but not a simple one to address, because it can be caused by a number of issues, including server-side limitations.

When backups fail, and the backup hangs instead of completing, it is usually because of server limitations, but it can also mean there is a missing function or permission.

We have basic troubleshooting we go through to try and determine the cause of the backup failure:

• Did the user read through the basic setup instructions to make sure the plugin does what you need it to do and you have it set up right?
• can the user run a database-only backup?
• how about a files-only backup?
• If not, can the user try to exclude their /wp-content/uploads folder, then run a manual backup. If it works, we know the size of the backup is probably hanging up the server itself.
• The user can try disabling all other plugins, and switch to a default theme if possible as plugin conflicts can occur. Does that help?
• Can the user check with their host about whether the host blocks use of the MySQLDump Command and/or the Unix Zip Command?
• And finally, we’ll have the user ask their host or search through the host’s FAQs to see if they have any hard limits set on their server for CPU usage, max_execution_time or other variables. We also ask to see if they are able to set up their own php.ini file or edit the values already on the server.

Usually, after going through this testing we will know more about why there’s a problem on the server. If the backups don’t run at all through any of the testing or troubleshooting, we can look to see if it tied to a bug/glitch and work from there.

I understand that the plugin didn’t meet your needs and I’m sorry for that. Hopefully this information can help others who come across this post in the future and if you decide to give us a try again.

Best of luck to you moving forward and again, I’m sorry our plugin didn’t meet your needs and my service specifically was lacking. I appreciate your comments.

Kat

Hmph.

Now you’ve gone and made me feel bad about what I had written!

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. I had wanted to respond a couple of days later because I am neck deep in work right now. But having just had an exchange with the most
uncivil and intolerant (not to mention irresponsible) plugin creator I have ever come across, I figured I could surely make time for someone as courteous as you ??

I just hope you are able to fix your stuff to a degree where the maximum number of people can benefit from it.

Best wishes!

How the heck do I revise my rating?? Please don’t say it isn’t necessary – I know you can do without it, but I can’t.

Little help? Somebody?
……………..

I could edit this one, but no edit option visible in the original review…!

Done ??

Well I sure didn’t mean to make you feel bad! I just wanted to make sure others knew what steps to take, and if you tried to give us another chance you’d know there was a person on the other side trying ??

Thanks for the well-wishes – we are certainly trying to fix outstanding issues so more users can successfully use the plugin without going through lots of troubleshooting and hassle.

(I see you were able to make the changes you wanted above)

Thanks for checking back in with us and again, we’re sorry the plugin didn’t meet your needs!
Kat