blongbus 
Right now I received an electronic mail titled ‘Your Manuscript Account Stability’ which mentioned:
Your Manuscript account is now in arrears within the quantity of $31.25. Use this hyperlink to specify a bank card in your account and we are going to use it to settle your stability: https://****.fogbugz.com/default.asp?pg=pgEditCC You may prepay for a yr upfront utilizing a verify, company buy order, or bank card: https://store.fogbugz.com/FogBugz/?sCategory=prepayfb&nUsers=0&ixOrderCoveredBySupport=***** Thanks, FogBugz Buyer Success [email protected]
Fogbugz was a web-based bugtracker developed by the a lot revered Fog Creek Software program. They offered it some years in the past when their firm headed off into the stratosphere (Stackoverflow, Trello and so forth). I feel I might need had a free Fogbugz account 10+ years in the past. I requested round on Twitter and fairly a number of individuals appear to have received the very same electronic mail. It seems that:
- The venerable FogBugz software was just lately offered on to https://ignitetech.com and they look like making an attempt to demand cash from anybody who ever used FogBugz. Which is prone to be 1000’s of individuals.
- IgniteTech describe themselves as “The place software program goes to dwell”, however “The place software program goes to die” is likely to be a greater description.
- FogBugz was renamed to ‘Manuscript’ in some unspecified time in the future.
I attempted replying to the e-mail, telling them in no unsure phrases that they weren’t going to get a penny from me. That is the reply I received:
Hello, In an effort to supply a greater expertise to our current prospects, we're consolidating our electronic mail help channel into our Assist-Middle. In case you want technical help for FogBugz it is possible for you to to submit a case from our 'FogBugz Help Web page'. Replies made to this mailbox are routed to an unsupervised mailbox. Please don't reply to this message. Thanks, FogBugz Help Staff
It’s unhappy to see somebody utilizing darkish enterprise practices to attempt to wring a few cents from the corpse of a as soon as much-respected product. Does Joel Spolsky know? I don’t suppose he’d be impressed.
** Replace 24-Sep-2022 **
I received this electronic mail late on the twenty second:
Pricey FogBugz Person,
Mea culpa — sincerely.
We’ve turn out to be properly conscious of the maelstrom of concern and feedback brought on by a collection of emails that a few of you obtained, however to elucidate, we have been simply as shocked as you when a number of emails have been despatched. Our authentic and solely meant electronic mail, which was managed by people, was to tell you that the “free,” non-expiring model of FogBugz is being phased out on October 17, 2022. Moreover, we wished to give you the choice to proceed utilizing FogBugz by updating your account to a paid subscription. This was your entire, deliberate effort.
Nevertheless, as soon as we up to date the accounts that had been recognized as free and non-expiring within the inner FogBugz accounting system, the software program mechanically generated a kind electronic mail, notifying you that we had summarily transformed you to a paid account, and worse, really triggering assortment/dunning notices to some. This was unintended and isn't correct. Sure, we’ve owned the software program for a while and will know the entire nooks and crannies by now. We don’t know if this was a nook or a cranny, but it surely determined to behave by itself. Fact. It’s embarrassing, and we’d react the identical manner as a lot of you could have. So this electronic mail is to set the report straight.
We don't mechanically cost any buyer for utilization of the software program until a subscription has been expressly elected, regardless of what the inaccurate auto-email acknowledged.
Right here’s what it's good to know:
All free subscriptions for FogBugz will expire on Oct. 17, 2022. In case your FogBugz subscription has already expired, and you do not need to proceed utilizing FogBugz, you don’t have to take any additional motion. Your knowledge might be deleted from the system; you'll not be billed and you'll obtain no additional emails from both the nook or the cranny.
For those who have been erroneously charged as a result of your free account nonetheless had your bank card on file (e.g. some customers have been on paid accounts and had downgraded), we are going to guarantee that you're promptly refunded. Please use the e-mail [email protected] in case you have not seen the refund already posted.
Regardless of this mishap, we hope the advantages of the software program will encourage you to proceed. In case your FogBugz free-account subscription is presently lively, and also you wish to proceed as a subscriber, please authorize your paid subscription by following these directions.
Please be aware: If you improve, your account will qualify for 50{3bf1a0b9f90a8591564e8a12da997102101d2267f2f3e5b921298d29714621c3} off any subscription tier.
For those who want any help whereas upgrading, please contact us at help.fogbugz.com.
We sincerely apologize for the confusion that was induced and are working exhausting behind the scenes to resolve all points associated to this motion.
Sincerely,
The (humbled) FogBugz Staff
So Fogbugz grew to become sentient and began demanding cash? And this primary occurred at least a week ago, however the brand new house owners didn’t discover and an entire load of emails went out days later (together with the one I received a number of days after the primary publish on HN)? Hmm.
