Yep, anyone is free to charge whatever amount for whatever service/feature they offer. But apparently, in this case, the backlash against Caddy's move is greater than the willingness to pay for the service rendered (building binaries without the sponsor header).
Matt's post, and a lot of comments here on HN defending Matt, are missing the point: yes, there was vitriol, and yes, people reacted in a way that was disproportional to the announced changes, but in the end the most important take-away is that people are _not_ willing to pay for the product and are angry because of the changes and the way they were handled. This will cost Caddy a lot of business. Period.
In my opinion Matt should have done one of two things:
- Own up to his mistake (if he agrees it's a mistake)
- Stand by his choices, grow a pair, and laugh at the community for their silliness
What he did instead, is play the victim. He's not a victim. He tries to run a business. That alone will always alienate people. Deal with it!
