Outfitter not discontinued after all
by Eliah Hecht 
Apr 14th 2009 at 2:30PM
Once upon a time, Mundocani created Outfitter, and it was good, and lots of people used it, and there was general rejoicing. Then Blizzard released their new addon policy, prohibiting selling addons and asking for donations in-game, and many addon writers thought that was not so good. Mundocani pulled his addons from public distribution in protest, as did some other authors. This was sad, even if I did seize the moment to write about some other mods that did the job.
Now it has been brought to my attention (thanks, nadewow) that Mundocani is both continuing development on Outfitter and returning it to public distribution (i.e. Curse and WoW Interface). His stated reasoning for this latest move is that "Blizzard isn't going to respond to the concerns raised by the community, which puts things at a stalemate," and he doesn't want to punish users for what he sees as Blizzard's mistakes.
In short: Outfitter is coming back (this goes for GroupCalendar too, by the way). Yay! That news is especially welcome because we won't be seeing the Blizzard Equipment Manager in 3.1 as we had expected to. While we wait for them to be posted back to the addon sites, you can get a copy of either mod at the author's forums (registration required).
Filed under: Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Limbero Apr 14th 2009 2:35PM
Great News!
Todd Apr 14th 2009 2:35PM
Awesome!
Todd Apr 14th 2009 2:35PM
I clearly don't recall that.
Trilynne Apr 14th 2009 2:35PM
Well, I switched to ItemRack when I heard about Outfitter being pulled from public distribution, and it turns out that I like it better, so win-win? Maybe?
Arashikou Apr 14th 2009 3:42PM
I believe that is the very definition of a win-win situation for you, my good fellow.
Racci Apr 14th 2009 4:58PM
I too switched to ItemRack.
I loved Outfitter and the first switch I did was to ClosetGnome, and I haaaaaaaaated it. So I didn't have much hope, then I tried ItemRack. Turns out I like it way more than Outfitter, so yeah. Doesn't matter to me, grats to the people that use Outfitter, but yeah ItemRack is better. :D
saxnbass Apr 14th 2009 2:37PM
I used to use Outfitter and switched to Item Rack. I prefer Item Rack, so I didn't find much sadness in Outfitter being pulled.
Ian Apr 14th 2009 2:38PM
Heh. His forum server is already melted. But great news! Huzzah!
Noodles Apr 14th 2009 2:41PM
I switched to ClosetGnome after he pulled Outfitter from Curse, imo it's a better (and more lightweight) addon. I would recommend trying if you consider Outfitter to be a hassle and the author of Outfitter a douche.
metallic Apr 14th 2009 2:44PM
He might be a whiny douche for pulling it in the first place, but it's still a better addon.
Clbull Apr 14th 2009 3:30PM
I don't like how the free addon developers have responded to the new addon policy. QuestHelper has been discontinued and Outfitter's developer had decided to stop too until now.
Its like how i switched to Carbonite from Questhelper (because Carbonite has become free) and find it a more lightweight and better addon for questing.
jfofla Apr 14th 2009 2:40PM
To me this is the most important news of the day!
Outfitter is back!
Thank you!
Heilig Apr 14th 2009 2:40PM
Blizzard - 1
Addon Developers - 0 (?)
Community - 1000
My favorite part was "Blizzard isn't going to respond to the concerns raised by the community, which puts things at a stalemate."
So let me get this straight: Blizzard wants you to stop promoting your addon in-game or discontinue it. You discontinue it. Then you decide to not discontinue it and do exactly what Blizzard told you to do in the first place. And that's a STALEMATE? Someone needs a dictionary.
While you're at it, look up "800 pound gorilla."
Boydboyd Apr 14th 2009 2:50PM
^this is win
Wowie Apr 14th 2009 2:51PM
Oh man, I thought that was hilarious, too. Stalemate? Riiiight...
akw Apr 14th 2009 2:56PM
+1
GuyGascoigne Apr 14th 2009 3:03PM
Outfitter never advertised in game (there might have been a paypal link on one of the web links somewhere, I don't remember), the author just thought that Blizzard was being heavy handed.
That said, I'm really glad that he's continuing with support for Outfitter, I much prefer it to the alternatives.
jrizutko Apr 14th 2009 3:13PM
Yeah that add-on developer clearly had a very high opinion of his influence right until the moment when every guild everywhere decided they would just move on and try GEM.
Sumitra Apr 14th 2009 3:17PM
"Then you decide to not discontinue it and do exactly what Blizzard told you to do in the first place. And that's a STALEMATE? Someone needs a dictionary."
He didn't do what Blizzard told him to do. He wasn't violating the policy in the first place and didn't have to make any changes.
On the one hand he had users who were begging him to put the addons back and not punish them for Blizzard's policy, and on the other hand he had Blizzard who won't even talk about their policy change, which is all he asked for. He was stuck.
So, in the end, he decided to give users what they wanted. The relationship between Blizz and the addon community got a lot of scrutiny. Many people who previously didn't know about what addon developers go through spoke up and supported him.
And for everyone who thinks they are somehow smacking him down by saying they use something else... /shrug. He doesn't care if you do, doesn't make money off his addons, and is in a comfortable enough position where he doesn't have to :)
(Yes, I know Mundocani.)
PopeJamal Apr 15th 2009 1:13PM
"and is in a comfortable enough position where he doesn't have to :) "
Well good for him. /cookie
And here's one for you because you did such a good job standing up for your little buddy. /cookie
Now you kids run along and play now...
It wasn't a big deal when he pulled it, and it's not a big deal now that he's put it back online. IT IS, however funny as hell. All that piss and vinegar about Blizz being "heavy handed" for nothing.
LOL @ half-assed activists. Three cheers for people who kinda stand up for what they believe in... sorta... mostly... sometimes... a little?